The Nugget Climbing Podcast

Alex Bridgewater is a high-level rock climber who moved to Lander, WY in 2016, to train at Elemental as part of the Climb Strong Program. Alex now works for Climb Strong as a coach. We talked about his transition into coaching, managing a chronic back injury, favorite barbell and bodyweight exercises, speed walking, and the importance of self-belief.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/alex-bridgewater  Nuggets:  1:26 – Skating, early climbing, competing, and mentors  5:46 – Climbing in college and meeting Charlie’s brother Mike  7:27 – Alex’s first time swinging a kettlebell  8:26 – Plans for the ‘PreMuir’, and starting to train with Charlie  11:49 – Coming to Lander and learning about strength training  13:41 – Learning on the fly on the side of El Cap  16:21 – Getting sold on training, moving to Lander, and getting started with Climb Strong  22:15 – Discipline, second-tier routes, and volume days  25:04 – Kettlebell swings, and Alex’s back injury  28:53 – Setting the goal of being injury-free for a year  29:32 – The exercises that made the biggest difference for Alex’s own climbing  32:41 – Unilateral vs. bilateral exercises, Zercher squats, and goblet squats   39:02 – Kettlebells for climbers with limited overhead mobility, and bodyweight strength training  40:45 – Example bodyweight exercises, and handstand pushup progressions  43:02 – Alex’s experience at the Strong First bodyweight certification, and benefits of bodyweight strength training  45:43 – One arm one leg pushups, and body awareness and control  47:48 – Reading Stuart McGill and fixing his back with core exercises and speed walking  50:57 – The McGill Big Three  51:43 – More speed walking  53:40 – Alex’s current training, barbell overhead press, and deadlifting from blocks  57:12 – Alex’s most recent hangboard cycle (Ladder program with two grips)  1:00:16 – Current climbing projects, and the history behind ‘Fibinachi Shimmer’  1:02:26 – Alex’s takeaways from the training camp  1:08:53 – The one piece of advice Alex took away from Jonathan’s presentation  1:11:55 – Alex’s future with Climb Strong, and Climb Strong as a collective  1:14:08 – One thing that holds us back, the importance of taking the steps, and pushing ourselves  1:16:43 – Social media, “can’t”, and confidence  1:17:43 – Carlo Traversi’s insight  1:18:42 – Positivity  1:20:10 – “Just go up there and try”, a becoming a better person  1:21:54 – “To the death.”  1:23:14 – Showing emotion, “Leave it up there”, and try hard

23 Sep 20201h 26min

This is a mashup episode from the 2020 Climb Strong Training Camp. We talked about hangboard training, strength as a skill, climbing performance, takeaways from the training camp, and lessons learned from coaching athletes. Featuring: Chrissy Vadovszki, Jonathan Siegrist, Ken Klein, Carly Cain, Alex Bridgewater, Kathryn Perkinson, Charlie Manganiello, and Amanda Sempert.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/climb-strong-team  Nuggets:  [Chrissy Vadovszki]  1:37 – Introduction  1:50 – Getting the team together and refreshing principles  3:32 – Strength is safety, “the strongest person isn’t the best climber”, and prioritizing sending  6:17  – Reflecting on the redpoint process, lessons from listening to Jonathan, and the vulnerability of second-tier projects  8:41 – Definition of Second Tier routes  9:21 – Paired exercises, and stoking the fire  10:27 – Chrissy’s take on the value for participants  [Jonathan Siegrist]  12:13 – Introduction  12:35 – Jonathan’s mountain biking crash, shoulder injury, and recovery  19:04 – The goal is to clip chains, losing the plot, and getting to 100% try hard  22:35 – Stacking the odds in his favor, some of Jonathan’s strategies for success, and removing pressure  24:31 – Jonathan’s takeaways from the weekend  [Ken Klein]  26:12 – Introduction  27:06 – Coffee for breakfast  29:09 – “Climbing is magic.”  30:57 – Why Ken thinks the word “impossible” gets used too much in climbing  33:07 – We all experience the same feeling, and the satisfaction of seeing people try hard  34:13 – Ken’s ‘perfect repeat’ drill he uses with newer climbers, and balancing repetition with trying harder moves  38:09 – The One-Touch drill  40:17 – Jonathan’s three-month breakdown  41:52 – Rock sense, and a reminder to do more rock climbing  44:16 – Hangboarding, 7:3, 7:13, and 6:10 repeaters, and max hangs  48:27 – Hold size and crimping on the hangboard  51:40 – Decreasing edge size vs. adding load  52:05 – Strength repeaters vs. max hangs, and the four-burner stove  54:59 – How Ken thinks about different fingerboard protocols depending on the climber and their goals  56:53 – “Three steps forward one step back.”   1:02:59 – Clarification about progressing hangboard sessions  1:04:28 – Owning the weight  [Carly Cain]  1:05:54 – Introduction  1:06:06 – Working with a 16-year-old girl at the training camp   1:08:31 – Getting more comfortable with failing   1:10:44 – Reframing  1:12:08 – Learning to love bouldering  1:13:05 – Life is a work in progress  1:14:38 – Rifle!  [Alex Bridgewater]  1:15:58 – Introduction  1:16:12 – One thing that holds us back, the importance of taking the steps, and pushing ourselves  1:18:47 – Social media, “can’t”, and confidence  1:19:48 – Carlo Traversi’s insight  1:20:47 – Positivity  1:22:14 – “Just go up there and try”, a becoming a better person  1:23:59 – “To the death.”  1:25:20 – Showing emotion, “Leave it up there”, and try hard  [Kathryn Perkinson]  1:27:37 – Introduction  1:27:47 – Coffee for breakfast (again), fresh-baked bread, and breakfast moves  1:28:40 – Moving to Lander, working with Steve as an athlete, and joining the coaching team  1:30:06 – Philosophy  1:30:43 – Participating in the training camp  1:32:02 – Managing a finger injury as a coach  1:33:02 – A helpful reminder  1:34:08 – “We are all far more capable and more powerful than we can imagine.”  1:35:35 – “Climb second-tier routes.”  [Charlie Manganiello]  1:36:43 – Introduction  1:37:03 – “Climbing is really important to people.”  1:38:29 – Keeping climbing in perspective, but not letting go of it completely  1:42:03 – Self-talk, lessons from golf, and putting our negativity away  1:45:08 – “This is where I’m at.”  [Amanda Sempert]  1:48:07 – Introduction  1:48:39 – Kettlebell press, tension techniques, and energy links  1:51:08 – Hardstyle plank  1:53:47 – Kettlebell press cues  1:56:23 – The zipup drill, and practicing tension  1:59:00 – The ‘Quicken The Dead’ program, and trying alactic training  [Outro]  2:01:37 – Gratitude, and how to support the podcast

21 Sep 20202h 4min

Steve Bechtel is a strength coach and the founder of Climb Strong. We talked about the gift of changing your mind, lessons from studying sprinting and how to apply them to climbing, developing aerobic capacity, why Jonathan Siegrist and BJ Tilden are such successful climbers, the “real secret” to success, creating better habits, and Logical Progression 2.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/steve-bechtel  Nuggets:  2:25 – Steve’s house  3:38 – Kids, self-taught Parkour, and climbing at Orpierre  5:54 – The Climb Strong Training Camp, the complexity of climbing training, and why the questions always outnumber the answers  9:00 – Changing your mind, learning, and ego  11:41 – Simulation vs. specificity, changes in glycolytic or power endurance training, and when to train skills  15:39 – Peaking and adaptation persistence  17:22 – Studying speed and power, Charlie Francis’s workouts for 100m runners, and the Hi/Low training model  21:02 – Developing alactic capacity for boulderers  22:58 – Example alactic capacity circuit  26:46 – Developing the aerobic system (the “Low”) and shrinking the anaerobic zone  28:57 – Training the “High” via alactic intervals and strength and power, and the Zlagboard test  29:39 – Route 4x4s as an alternative to ARC training (and how to not screw them up)  31:31 – Three cues for finding the right intensity for route 4x4’s to develop aerobic capacity: 1) nasal breathing, 2) conversational intensity, 3) light fatigue or no pump  33:56 – Other activities to develop general cardiovascular capacity, and the MAF (Maximum Aerobic Function) heart rate formula for aerobic training (180 beats minus your age)  37:08 – Training general cardiovascular capacity in a city, Margo Hayes on ‘La Rambla’, and learning to calm down  40:00 – Jonathan Siegrist’s aerobic capacity, sub-goals, and big days  44:39 – ‘9 Out of 10 Climbers Make the Same Mistakes’, climbing with BJ Tilden, and the difference between the pros and everyone else  46:31 – The real “secret” to success, habits, and systems  48:33 – Behaviors, and first, second, and third-order results  50:18 – Why BJ is so strong and successful as a climber, taking time off, and focusing on doing things better  56:03 – BJ’s training for ‘Biographie’, juggling a business and kids, and his partner Emily  58:31 – Thing I was confused about #1, the role of strength training, the 2x2 deadlift workout, and why Jonathan Siegrist only trains in his offseason  1:04:14 – Steve’s hangboard experiment for maintaining strength, strain gauges, finding the bare minimum, and testing yourself on benchmark climbs  1:08:04 – Simple strength benchmarks for climbers, and strength training as we get older to maintain muscle mass  1:11:10 – Thing I was confused about #2, hung up on finding the “best” program, and seeing programs through to fruition  1:16:27 – The ice cube analogy  1:17:49 – Looking behind the curtain on your training program  1:19:03 – Hangboarding, expected results, and the true marks of a successful program  1:24:53 – Jonathan as a “redpoint climber”, and risking failure vs. having a successful training session  1:27:15 – Why Steve is so excited about skill development as the next big thing in “training”  1:30:52 – Logical Progression 2, and an example strength focus block of training  1:35:31 – “What got you here won’t get you there”, and avoiding a common mental trap  1:37:58 – Is the 2nd edition worth buying if you own the original?  1:38:24 – Gratitude for Ellen (Steve’s wife)  1:39:44 – Dinner and meeting the Climb Strong team, and learning from his own coaches

14 Sep 20201h 42min

Roger Volkmann is a retired Orthopedic Surgeon and a lifelong climber. Roger suffered a severe stroke in 2010 at age 55 and was not expected to walk again. Through sheer grit and determination, he managed not only to walk again but to climb. We talked about his stroke, his five principles of life, climbing in the Midwest as a kid, and his three attempts to summit Devils Tower after the stroke.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/roger-volkmann  Roger’s Five Principles of Life:  1 – Life is Movement  2 – Tough is Better Than Strong  3 – Work Pays Off  4 – People are Inherently Good  5 – God Listens to Prayer  Nuggets:  2:38 – Building the spiral staircase for Roger’s treehouse  3:44 – Wood projects, and Roger’s retirement plan  4:59 – Stage 1 of Roger’s incident: the carotid dissection, and the bike crash  10:10 – Losing the farm in an F5 tornado, missing teeth, and going back to work on Monday  12:47 – The seizure, transferring to St. Paul Hospital, and the frozen skull bone  17:16 – Waking up into a nightmare, “a state of denial and a state of confusion”, vomiting, hiccups, and losing feeling in his leg  20:53 – Roger’s first two principles of life, and tough vs. strong  22:56 –  Roger’s third principle of life, taking a jet back to Wenatchee, and falling down unannounced  27:37 – The Paris Marathon, rewiring the brain, and ambulating  30:49 – “Unpromising moments”, and re-learning how to walk  32:43 – Roger’s physical therapist, caffeine, and walking The Loop trail w/ Grace  35:14 – Cutting his teeth climbing at Devils Tower  36:36 – The goal to re-climb Devils Tower after the stroke  38:02 – Small goals, climbing at Vantage, and re-learning how to tie his shoes one-handed  40:03 – Climbing one-handed, milestones, and attempting “The Tower” for the first time post-stroke  43:25 – Roger’s fourth principle of life, and finding what you look for in people  44:28 – More about the first attempt on Devils Tower, Roger’s worse climbing experience (being lowered in the dark), and rain and lightning  47:00 – The second failed attempt, and the third (and successful) attempt on Devils Tower post-stroke  59:59 – Left side neglect, disinhibition, and impatience  1:04:39 – Praying to make it through the day, and doing one constructive thing per day  1:05:57 – Roger’s fifth principle of life, squeaky pears, and a home math problem  1:09:59 – Climbing the dairy barn at age 10 and vaulting through the hay door  1:13:44 – Bird boxes and climbing trees  1:17:26 – Climbing silos  1:20:50 – Climbing ‘Aortic Arch’ (A1)  1:23:02 – A Patron Question, “More work more reward”, and effort vs. work  1:25:55 – Gratitude  1:27:06 – Roger’s next goal  1:27:49 – Returning to Devils Tower to be a tourist, Roger’s prosthesis, and Fat Tire beer

7 Sep 20201h 33min

Mike Kerzhner is a software engineer, an accomplished Yosemite climber, and an impressive all-rounder. We talked about growing up climbing and competing in Russia, moving to the States and climbing at the Red River Gorge, his path to trad and big wall climbing, free climbing El Cap, writing, poetry, speaking Russian, and discipline born out of necessity.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/mike-kerzhner  Nuggets:  2:05 – Savory oats  3:33  – “Eat, then sleep, then climb.”  4:05 – Big wall food, water weight, and radishes  6:13 – PerMuir, corners, and send cookies  9:04 – Excerpt from Mike’s writeup on the PreMuir, and writing  10:59 – Mike’s internal conflict with social media and sharing about experiences  12:20 – Patron Question: How does Mike contrast computer-heavy career choices with a lack of digital presence?  13:45 – Early climbing and competing in Russia  20:37 – Moving to the states, the EBS competition scene, reckless biking, and getting beat by his younger brother  24:26 – Transitioning from a gym kid to a Red/New River Gorge kid  28:36 – Traveling out West from the Red  29:44 – Why Mike switched from La Sportiva to Scarpa, and getting his shoe-game dialed  33:16 – Going to Stanford, taking a year off of climbing (to drink beer), trad climbing, and ripping a pitch on ‘Romantic Warrior’  39:39 – Climbing ‘Astroman’ with Chicken Pox, getting benighted, and descending in broken flip flops  41:07 – Jailhouse, balancing climbing with drinking, and getting psyched in Bishop  43:10 – Mike’s transition back to trad climbing  46:47 – Mike’s climbing philosophy  48:26 – ‘The Rostrum’, offwidths, and the ‘Freerider’  54:08 – Two-day ascents, ‘Golden Gate’, and making it happen with work constraints  56:14 – Try-hard mode, and screaming  59:41 – Stemming corners, and why Mike struggle with the “medium” 5.12 and 5.13- climbing on big walls  1:03:07 – PreMuir excerpt #2, and what Mike learned from Sam about skill and analysis  1:08:28 – The professional mindset, and learning more by getting on harder climbs  1:09:30 – Mike’s pet peeve, and aspirations  1:10:30 – Chaos and anxiety  1:12:42 – Discipline vs. necessity  1:17:27 – How Mike feels at age 33 (and a half)  1:18:41 – Mike’s experience with the Lattice Training Assessment, 12c finger strength, and climbing V13  1:23:37 – What climbing is for Mike, and why he sucks at training  1:24:43 – Patron Question: The Red vs. the New?  1:25:26 – Summersville dam  1:27:21 – The New  1:27:52 – Patron Question: Favorite sector at the Red? The New?  1:28:55 – Patron Question: Climbing heroes?  1:29:59 – Poems  1:31:14 – Lunch (in Russian), baking bread, and speaking Russian  1:33:52 – The man with no arms, growing up in a starved Russia, and a lot to be grateful for  1:35:27 – The Salathe Headwall, Just Do It, and hanging up the boots  1:38:44 – Plans with Nathan Hadley, route development, learning from others, and surviving ‘Vanishing Point’  1:41:42 – PreMuir excerpt #3

31 Aug 20201h 44min

Natasha Barnes is a former professional climber, a national powerlifting champion, and a licensed chiropractor who specializes in strength training and rehabilitation for rock climbers. We talked about gaining weight to climb harder, calorie balance, common misconceptions about strength training, on and off seasons, tissue capacity, and rehabbing finger injuries.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/natasha-barnes  Nuggets:  2:22 – Yosemite bouldering, ground-up ascents, and favorite boulder problems  5:04 – Natasha’s current climbing  6:28 – Gunning for state records in Power Lifting  9:11 – Competing, and the mindset of practicing at meets  11:55 – Natasha’s career as a pro climber, her  catastrophic finger injury, and struggling to find information on how to rehab  16:44 – Rehabbing the finger in Lost Rocks  18:47 – Shoulder injuries, trying conventional rehab, and turning to strength training  21:25 – Bench press and overhead press for shoulder strength and health  22:46 – Chiropractic school, and using her chiropractic license to do physiotherapy and rehab with clients  23:54 – Strength training for climbing, “being strong is fun”, and Natasha’s path to Power Lifting  27:16 – Gaining weight to climb harder?  31:31 – Disordered eating, and how learning about calorie balance and tracking macros helped Natasha relax about her weight, diet, and food  32:59 – Performance seasons and off-seasons   37:31 – Gaining weight in the off-season, calorie balance, and a case for tracking calories and macros  43:10 – Natasha’s thoughts on protein requirements for athletes  46:18 – Protein, carb, and fat recommendations for boulderers, sport climbers, and trad/alpine climbers   49:03 – Natasha’s favorite Apps for tracking  50:21 – Trends Natasha sees with her clients (almost all are under-eating protein)  51:25 – My (Steven’s) experience with low-carb diets, why Natasha likes the “if it fits your macros” approach, and caveats  59:06 – Clarification about total vs. net carbs  59:38 – Carb timing  1:03:54 – Avoiding excessive alcohol for recovery, and why Natasha doesn’t like to label foods as “bad” or “good”  1:05:30 – What Natasha thinks her ideal climbing weight would be now  1:08:14 – Off-season recommendations  1:10:03 – Addressing misconceptions about strength training, minimum effective dose, and examples of how Natasha programs strength training for climbers  1:12:45 – Neurological strength gains, and strength as a skill  1:14:29 – Why Natasha advocates for compound lifts, and targeting specific weaknesses through climbing practice/training  1:19:01 – The difference between a human body vs a car  1:24:56 – Increasing tissue capacity through training  1:28:00 – Patron Question: What can we do to avoid recurring finger injuries?  1:33:43 – Discomfort during rehab, pushers vs. avoiders, and finding the sweet spot  1:36:48 – My experience with a finger injury, how much time to take off, and lower entry points  1:40:32 – Surgery as a trauma, and better outcomes through movement  1:41:42 – Natasha’s recommended hangboard protocol for training and/or rehab, auto-regulated training, and why you don’t need to train to failure  1:45:28 – “Reps in reserve”, “Effort level”, and gaining autonomy in our training  1:48:41 – Patron Question: Does Natasha have any climbing heroes/role models?  1:51:20 – Gratitude for health  1:52:35 – How to connect with Natasha  1:53:27 – Natasha’s new ‘Foundational Strength for Climbing’ program  1:55:01 – The Power Mullet

24 Aug 20201h 58min

Maya Madere is a 21-year-old comp kid from Austin, TX. We talked about attending school at Stanford and studying computer science, the endurance training program that helped her transition from bouldering to sport climbing, gunning for the 2024 Olympics, competition strategies, outdoor goals, intuitive training and eating, power screams, and windsurfing.  Crafted Energy:  https://www.craftedenergy.com/  Promo Code - CLIMBHARD30 - for 30% off your order!  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/maya-madere  Nuggets:  1:40 – Windsurfing  8:44 – Maya’s transition from comp boulderer to outdoor sport climber  12:06 – How Maya feels about her current climbing  13:29 – Off-season climbing, coronavirus, and taking a break  16:42 – Outdoor climbing vs. training, “quantity over quality”, self-coaching, and doing too much vs. too little. 21:15 – Campusing, endurance training with Solomon Barth, and up-down-ups  24:28 – Up-down-up details  30:00 – Practicing climbing more quickly  32:56 – How Maya mixes endurance with maintaining bouldering strength and power  35:19 – Psicobloc  38:26 – Neverending Story, and why Maya would choose competition climbing over outdoor climbing (if she had to pick one)  41:08 – Where Maya sees her climbing going moving forward  42:14 – Paying her way around the world through competitions, and why it wasn’t sustainable  45:12 – The Boulderfield Master Series, compromise between school and competition rock climbing, and how Maya sees herself in relation to other top competitors  47:37 – Computer Science  50:27 – 2024 Olympics  53:36 – Maya’s most memorable comp, expectations, and why she prefers to be the underdog  57:15 – Making competing routine  59:50 – Practice comps and mock comps  1:02:21 – Breathing exercises and competing and altitude  1:04:45 – Cardio  1:06:54 – Speed climbing, and lead vs. sport  1:08:44 – Diet and weight  1:14:17 – Lifting, systematic vs. intuitive training, and mental energy  1:19:55 – Breakfast, vegetables, and intuitive eating  1:22:42 – Crafted Energy bars  1:24:56 – Dessert  1:26:05 – Maya’s go-to Evolv shoes  1:28:31 – Identifying as an athlete  1:30:18 – Maya’s outdoor and competition goals  1:32:33 – Leisure time, Waldorf school, and crafts  1:34:43 – Gratitude, privilege, and wanting to share  1:38:08 – Instagram, BLM, and using her platform to share information  1:41:33 – Power screams

17 Aug 20201h 48min

Connor Herson is the kid who free climbed ‘The Nose’ at fifteen years old. What most people don’t know is that he is also an incredible sport climber. We talked about his sport climbing goal at age fourteen, his path to free climbing ‘The Nose’, big wall tactics, gear recommendations, headpointing, training power during COVID, recent sends, and future goals on El Cap.  Support on Patreon:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  Show Notes:  http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/conner-herson  Nuggets:  2:00 – Breakfast, caffeine, and sleep  3:26 – Connor’s goal at age 14  8:23 – Jailhouse, kneebar pads, the evolution of climbing, and 5.14d  12:53 – Trying ‘Triple Direct’  14:27 – Outgrowing beta on the ‘Changing Corners’ pitch  15:45 – Breakdown of the ‘Triple Direct’ linkup  17:24 – Three-day ascents  19:51 – Warming up for 5.14 straight out of bed and kneebaring the ‘Changing Corners’  22:08 – The path to freeing ‘The Nose’  30:34 – Making up PE class  33:25 – Two nudges from Tommy  38:09 – “If it’s a free route on El Cap it’s a goal.”, building a base of free routes, and thoughts on ‘The Dawn Wall’  40:21 – ‘Broken Arrow’, moderates to build a base, and headpointing tactics  47:55 – Bad landings, safety margins, and sewing up the first 25’ of ‘Broken Arrow’  49:37 – Offset cams, and cams vs. nuts  51:23 – ‘The Green Mile’  54:12 – Power training during shelter-in-place, ‘Throwin’ the Houlihan’, and ‘Surf Safari’  59:48 – Patron Question: Why are so few young climbers pulled towards trad and big walls?  1:05:06 – Patron Question: Connor’s go-to climbing shoes?  1:06:53 – Patron Question: Strategies for dealing with discomfort on big walls? (water, harness, shoes)  1:12:24 – Patron Question: Continue being an “all-rounder” vs. becoming more specialized?  1:14:16 – Jailhouse for training, and “if it’s training it can be contrived.”  1:15:52 – Gratitude  1:17:31 – Connor’s recent two-week trip, and sharing the driving  1:18:53 – Connor’s upcoming trip and goals

10 Aug 20201h 23min