EP 133: Neil Gresham — Using Ballet to Climb Harder, Developing Your Finishing Game, and Extensor Training for Stronger Fingers

Neil Gresham is a British climber and coach who has been at the cutting edge for over two decades. We talked about using ballet as part of his training for his FA of ‘Lexicon’ E11, the importance of developing your finishing game, extensor training for stronger fingers, go-to ring and TRX exercises, sticking our training in the bank, thumb crimping, climbing his first 5.14c (8c+) at age 45, and much more.

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Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/neil-gresham

Nuggets:

0:05:45 – The Mythical Challenge

0:18:15 – “Flitting” between different styles of climbing to keep motivation high

0:20:25 – Improving two sport grades and one trad grade between the ages of 45 and 50, and what it would take to climb 9a (14d)

0:24:49 – Feeling satisfied after climbing Lexicon (E11)

0:27:33 – Olympians, and being a series of sliders

0:30:08 – Lexicon breakdown, and Steve McClure’s 80-foot whipper

0:39:10 – Why is bold trad climbing so glorified in the UK? And the “rules” for trad areas vs. bolted areas

0:46:02 – Patron question from Elina, why Neil used ballet to train for Lexicon, and looking outside the box for ways to improve

0:50:45 – Struggling to improve at climbing, and how that led to coaching

0:58:52 – “People don’t realize how hard they can climb.”

1:01:47 – Goal setting and finishing game

1:06:33 – Getting more specific with your goals, and being willing to learn from each project

1:12:19 – The tactical and psychological skills in redpointing, and how many of the top climbers just go climbing

1:14:59 – Don’t expect your project to feel easy

1:16:31 – Unlocking things on your project when you’re feeling weak

1:21:24 – “Hard routes have been climbed in every conceivable mindset.” - Dave MacLeod

1:22:57 – Patron question from Doug: What old-school training methods get overlooked nowadays? What modern training methods got overlooked back then?

1:25:15 – Injury prevention, and extensor training for stronger fingers

1:30:23 – Rings and TRX training

1:32:42 – Neil’s go-to exercises on the rings/TRX, and feeling like an athlete after discovering rings training

1:34:29 – How to combine extensor training with your other training and climbing, and Adam Ondra’s rule for antagonist training

1:36:57 – Neil’s strength protocol for finger extensor training

1:39:23 – How to incorporate rings or TRX training into your climbing and training, and finding the appropriate amount

1:44:41 – Patron question from Jan: What should climbers who started at a later age (30s) focus on to improve, and would that be different from someone who started in their 20s?

1:46:59 – Should beginners use hangboards?

1:49:31 – How Neil and I both developed a weakness in the half crimp grip by avoiding the hangboard early on

1:52:56 – “Stick the training in the bank.”

1:56:58 – The way to make killer gains in your hangboarding: stop climbing! (And which types of climbers benefit from hangboarding)

2:01:49 – Dan Varian from Beastmaker, and other people who have influenced Neil’s climbing and training

2:02:59 – How to combine hangboarding with climbing to make gains over the long term

2:06:51 – How Neil addressed his weakness in the half crimp, and his thoughts on full crimping on the hangboard

2:11:08 – Thumb crimping

2:14:37 – Pinkie wrapping three-finger crimps, and how everything we do should be built up incrementally

2:16:34 – Why Neil’s climbing shot up between ages 45 and 50

2:23:33 – Neil’s golden rule in coaching, and taking breaks from structured training

2:27:33 – Finding balance

2:30:58 – A teaser for the keto diet conversation (let us know if you want to hear us talk about that!)

2:31:39 – Where to connect with Neil