EP 255: Dave MacLeod Returns — Moving the Needle on Your Climbing, the Value of Daydreaming, & How to Thrive in Your 40s

Dave MacLeod is one of the best all-around climbers in the world. He returns to the podcast to talk about his new book, Moving the Needle. We discuss the simple decisions that led to his success, getting the basics right, how to climb harder in your 40s, the value of daydreaming, writing books, how diet affects mood, Paul Saladino’s meat and fruit approach, how to thrive on a keto diet, metabolic health, LCL cholesterol, seed oils, alcohol, the state of scientific research, and much more.

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Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/dave-macleod-returns

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:02:34) – Themes for the today’s podcast

(00:04:59) – ‘Moving the Needle’

(00:10:54) – How curiosity feeds consistency

(00:17:44) – Simple decisions that move the needle

(00:21:55) – Time x mileage x variety

(00:34:09) – Balancing projecting & volume

(00:41:08) – Tree crimping

(00:43:50) – Almost daily training

(00:49:08) – The basics

(01:00:38) – When to end bouldering sessions

(01:06:38) – Rolling with the punches

(01:13:31) – Managing training load & staying in the game

(01:24:43) – Finger training

(01:30:09) – An unlikely breakthrough (FA of ‘Bultitude’ V14)

(01:37:09) – Finger strength PRs

(01:43:42) – How to climb harder in your 40s

(01:59:54) – Taking short breaks

(02:02:56) – Daydreaming

(02:05:30) – Making it hard to fail

(02:13:27) – One thing at a time

(02:17:19) – Writing books

(02:25:25) – Factors that led to sending ‘Rhapsody’ E11

(02:32:16) – Books vs. podcasts

(02:34:35) – Confidence & conflict

(02:42:06) – Dave’s experiment with a Western Diet

(02:46:48) – How our diet can affect mood

(02:52:26) – Paul Saladino, keto, fruit, & metabolic health

(03:10:37) – Why Dave keeps coming back to keto

(03:15:52) – How much protein Dave eats on keto

(03:19:36) – Energy & weight management

(03:26:40) – LDL Cholesterol

(03:40:25) – Kitavan Islanders, heart disease, & lifestyle factors

(03:46:51) – Seed oils & alcohol

(03:49:25) – A need for unbiased scientific research

(03:54:50) Where to buy Dave’s book