EP 197: Melina Costanza Returns — Harnessing the Power of Nerves, Praising Your Effort, and Choosing Good Over Perfect

Melina Costanza swept the US National Championships in October, making one hell of a comeback after her competition break. She returns to the podcast to talk about why Nationals was the hardest competition she has ever done, how to use nerves to focus and thrive, training for Nationals, praising effort, her fueling strategy, gaining weight to be more powerful, Alex Johnson’s hype shirt, balancing training with fueling and mental health, choosing good over perfect, upcoming goals, and much more!

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We are supported by these amazing BIG GIVERS:

• Michael Roy, Craig Lee, Mark and Julie Calhoun, Yinan Liu, Zach Emery, Alex Pluta, and Matt Walter

Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/melina-costanza-returns

Nuggets:

0:00:00 – Intro/Ads

0:04:40 – Recovery from her foot surgery, and sweeping the National Championships in Boise Idaho

0:07:05 – Trying a new approach with fueling and training

0:08:17 – A message about Melina from Tyson Schoene

0:09:55 – Why Nationals was the hardest competition Melina has ever done, and finding flow in the sport climbing final

0:16:00 – Training primarily for bouldering, and proving to herself that she is a better climber than before

0:21:39 – The limit is higher when you focus on getting stronger vs. lighter

0:23:28 – The nerves and joy of competitions, and a weight lifted

0:29:10 – Training for lead and bouldering at the same time, and her training phases before Nationals

0:34:51 – How she won lead despite her lack of power endurance after getting covid, and the mental side of competition

0:37:11 – Praising her effort more than her performance

0:41:21 – Effort is trainable

0:42:48 – How Melina’s fueling strategy has changed, eating more carbs on comp days, and Sour Patch Kids

0:51:13 – Gaining weight to be more powerful

0:54:06 – What Melina does when she has dark thoughts around eating, and how to know when you’re “overtraining”

0:58:51 – Knowing when to take more rest vs. put your head down and do the work

1:01:51 – Doing every part of your training for a reason

1:06:30 – “You just have to go to win.”

1:10:55 – Coming out last in finals, and pressure as a privilege

1:13:46 – Alex Johnson’s shirt

1:16:03 – Balancing training, fueling, and mental health, and choosing good over perfect

1:19:01 – What Melina would tell others who struggle with eating disorders

1:22:07 – The false promise of success, achieving your goals while being true to who you are, carrying guilt, and giving each other permission to be imperfect

1:27:37 – Surrounding yourself with people who love you unconditionally

1:29:55 – Melina’s goals

1:33:11 – Melina’s thoughts on the Paris Olympics, and the 2028 Olympic games

1:35:56 – Thanks to Melina for bringing us along on her journey

1:37:16 – Check out this week’s Patreon bonus episode for more fun facts with Melina!