EP 204: Anak Verhoeven — How to Build 9a Endurance, Why Motivation Trumps Fancy Facilities, and Being Public About Her Faith

Anak Verhoeven is a professional climber from Belgium and one of the most accomplished female sport climbers ever. We talked about growing up with her mom as coach and dad as trainer, why she quit competitions, dealing with a strange injury that plagued her for 3+ years, winning her first World Cup, building 9a+ endurance with mediocre training facilities, making up rules in the gym, her onsighting strategy, being public about her faith, and much more!

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Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/anak-verhoeven

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:03:14) – Living in a small motorhome with her parents on long trips

(00:06:40) – Anak’s 9a and harder resume, and her level of fame in Belgium

(00:10:03) – How Anak makes a living

(00:13:51) – The advantages of doing everything herself

(00:15:48) – How her mom and dad became her coach and trainer

(00:17:58) – Practicing her autograph as a kid

(00:20:13) – Competing in her first international competition

(00:22:34) – Struggling in early competitions, and navigating disappointment

(00:25:54) – Setting the bar high

(00:27:47) – Family meetings

(00:31:24) – Rest days, exercises, and hair washing

(00:37:04) – Leading her first route at age 4

(00:41:08) – Getting injured and falling in love with climbing

(00:44:19) – The variety within climbing

(00:50:50) – Why Anak quit competitions

(00:56:51) – Anak’s strange arm injury

(01:06:46) – Working on her shoulder mobility

(01:10:21) – Keeping her arm injury a secret

(01:14:08) – Current status of her arm

(01:17:05) – Understanding what folks with chronic illness go through

(01:20:59) – What does Anak miss the most about competitions?

(01:25:46) – Longer trips, and the stress of competitions

(01:30:43) – Winning her first World Cup in Arco

(01:34:05) – The satisfaction of sending Ciudad de Dios pa la Enmienda

(01:42:15) – Getting fresh air during competitions

(01:44:59) – Anak’s training shed

(01:47:57) – Training on the same routes for 3 years, and motivation vs. fancy facilities

(01:53:01) – Anak’s strategy for onsighting comp routes

(01:57:11) – Making up rules at the gym

(02:01:36) – How Anak built her endurance

(02:07:15) – Mental endurance

(02:11:27) – 9b and trad climbing goals for 2024

(02:14:43) – Why she is open about her faith

(02:22:33) – How do climbers react to her faith?

(02:29:46) – The pressure I felt as a kid to spread faith, and moving away from religion

(02:33:09) – How Anak thinks about sharing her faith, and her lack of judgment toward other people

(02:34:57) – Choosing her faith for herself

(02:37:57) – Wrap up and EXTRA teaser!