The Power Company Climbing Podcast

Dr. Allen Lim is a sports physiologist, author (you can find his great cookbooks below), and founder of Skratch Labs. We sat down at Skratch headquarters in Boulder, Colorado for what might be the most fascinating and easily digestible (pun intended) look at nutrition and hydration ever recorded.  Seriously.   We talk how hydration works and why water just isn't enough. We also go into recovery an...

Heather Weidner doesn't need an introduction, but this episode certainly does. When I recently watched a film made about Heather's ascent of China Doll , putting her into a small group of women to have climbed 14a on gear, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. It seemed that given the current gender climate, the filmmakers, Jon Glassberg and Caroline Treadway, could have crafted a story that di...

If you've heard of Justin Salas, you may refer to him as a "blind climber". You'd be wrong. He's a climber who happens to be blind, just like you're a climber who happens to have sight.  I had the opportunity to session with Justin at Tension Climbing, and it was fascinating to get to observe and be a part of his process, and talking through it with him was just as interesting. The tools that Just...

Russ Clune has climbed in more places than you. That is, unless you're Brittany Griffith (maybe). Climbing since the late 70's, and having climbed in around 50-some countries, I wanted to know what the legendary Clune had learned from other climbers in other cultures, and how he's applied that to his own climbing. His climbing partners are a who's who list of legends: Wolfgang Gullich, Lynn Hill,...

Marina Inoue is a 5'2" force to be reckoned with. She's intimidating until you talk to her, and then she's the sweetest person you've ever met. Then she pulls onto the rock and straight up crushes your project. But you can't be mad at her, because she'd be stoked if the tables were turned. It was her amazing attitude that led me to talk to her for this interview, and it's the same thing that makes...

It's a new year, and it's our 2nd birthday! It's been a wild ride, and I want to say thanks to everyone for being on it with me.  In this episode Nate and I talk goal setting. Not resolutions. Goals. Different animals altogether.  How to set appropriate goals, some of the pitfalls, what the research says, and we even give up some of our own goals.   Speaking of which... We don'...

Routesetting is hard. You know that if you've tried to set your own problems. It's also hard on the body, so it's difficult to keep a high level of fitness while setting full time. Jonathan Brandt has continued to improve as a climber while simultaneously running the setting crew at Climb Nashville, which is opening two new gyms next year. In this episode we discuss comment boxes, World Cup settin...

Constance Lightner is, in my mind, a perfect representative for climbing parents. At a time when we're seeing a whole generation of young crushers becoming adults, the role of the parent has become more and more important. Connie didn't have a connection to climbing before her son, National Champion Kai Lightner, found the sport, but she's dove in headfirst and become an official mom for many of A...

No, that isn't a typo. It would be amazing if we kept all our attributes forever, but the reality is that we lose things, we forget things, and we just stop doing some of the things that made us good to begin with.  In this episode, Nate and I sit down to discuss the Top 3 things that we used to know and practice, and we wish we still adhered to. We don't tweet. We scream like eagles.   The Power...

In this episode I sit down for an important conversation with wordsmith Kelsey K. Sather.  We discuss her series of blog posts titled "The Work Behind the Body", a series of interviews with female outdoor athletes in Bozeman, Montana.  Kelsey delves into the details of Body Image, and that being a topic I don't know much about, I was both excited and nervous to struggle through the conversation.  ...

Last summer I started a list titled "Non Climbing (realistic) Dream Guests".  I only got as far as one name: Dan John.  I was planning to be in Salt Lake for the OR Trade Show, so I emailed Dan on the off chance that he'd do an in person conversation.  To my surprise he emailed back almost immediately, scheduled a call for the next day, and invited me to his house to workout and record the convers...

It's been a while since Nate and I sat down and did one of these, so we figured we'd kick it back off with a shorty.  The interwebs are going crazy with Andrew Bisharats new miracle hangboard program, Five Minute Fingers, and we've gotten several messages asking for our opinion.   Here it is. You can find the original article at www.eveningsends.com/five-minute-fingers   The Power Company Podcast...

Growth Mindset has recently become a hot topic in the world of sports, and for good reason. Mindset, which can be greatly affected by the feedback you give or receive, is key to learning and performance. Trevor Ragan is one of the most well versed in the science of learning and how mindset affects it, and he's out there working with teams, coaches, teachers, and businesses to actually apply the sc...

Tommy Caldwell needs no introduction to any of you. I thought I knew it all too, until I read his recent memoir, The Push. If you haven't read it, buy it HERE and read it NOW! I'm not sure exactly what I expected from the book, but I didn't expect Tommy to have looked so deeply into his own past and motivations in order to discover where his nearly maniacly focused drive comes from. Put simply, it...

The final episode with the Gnarly folks is one I had to talk them into.  They wanted to educate, and I wanted to educate you all about what they have available. So we did both. In this episode Shannon and I discuss the products that Gnarly Nutrition offers. They've got a great line of products that many of you will find useful. Even if you still aren't a supplement person, you may learn something...

Part 2!  In this episode Dr. Shannon O'Grady and I discuss the hot button topic of protein.  Why do we need it, how much we need, and what's the best way to get it.  Gnarly has both Vegan and Whey protein powders, and you can get 20% off by using the code POWERUP20 at checkout at www.gognarly.com   We don't tweet. We scream like eagles.   The Power Company Podcast is brought to you by Power Compan...

Some more nerdy talk for all of you training nerds out there.  This time we go deep into the world of Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) with Dr. Shannon O'Grady, Ph. D., Director of Product at Gnarly Nutrition.  BCAAs are more than just the new fad supplement.  We talk about what they are, why we need them, how to use them, and more. This is the first of a 3 part series with Shannon and Gnarly.  We...

Fresh off of his audacious free solo of Freerider, Alex Honnold sat down with Arno Ilgner and Jeff Lodas from The Warrior's Way to discuss his mental preparation.  Arno asked me to record the conversation, and though I was running around The Salt Palace like crazy, I got it on tape for all of you to hear.   Two mental fitness giants, discussing a topic that is, at best, tough to pin down.  Alex ha...

One of the guests most requested by our listeners, Steve Maisch is a Salt Lake City climber/coach/economics professor who, much like myself, uses himself as a guinea pig to test new approaches to training.  As such, we decided to nerd out on a couple of topics.  For this one, we discuss the different hangboard protocols, when and why to use them, what they can do for you, and where they can go wro...

I'm not often intimidated by people, but Hazel Findlay's reputation is much larger than her 5'2" frame, so I was a bit anxious about this conversation. Mental training can be a pretty nebulous topic to begin with, so if I was going to be stumbling over my words, it could end up being a rough conversation. Not long after Hazel showed up at my house, it was clear that while she is indeed a force to...

If you've been around climbing long enough, you know someone who has or has had an eating disorder. While it's not a secret, it's certainly a topic that is generally shamed and then ignored. As a coach, friend, and partner, I wanted to know more about it, how to recognize it, and what to do when confronted with it.  Savannah Buik reached out to me a little over a year ago to tell me that she had s...

Here in Lander there is a very strong contingent of powerful women. I'm lucky to have become friends with many of them, and I'm extremely fortunate to be able to count Emily Tilden among those friends. She is a no bullshit straight shooter, which I value and appreciate, and like many great athletes, she has a mental tenacity that is sometimes difficult to comprehend. I've watched her handily win t...

Shelma Jun is an unapologetic force to be reckoned with, and she's put more thought than most of us into this feminist movement that is rocking the climbing world. To be honest, while I've put a ton of thought into it myself, much of it was in the form of denial. When that began to change, and I opened by eyes a little, I knew I had to have a conversation with Shelma. I'm extremely happy that she...

In today's episode I sit down with Kerry Scott, an unassuming, but very badass young lady from North Carolina.  Besides coaching a youth team at Triangle Rock Club, Kerry is a crusher.  And she's not ashamed to "spray" a little.  And you all know that I'm definitely not afraid to spray, and I appreciate it when others buck the norm.   I've spent time in North Carolina, and I know that the south an...

In this episode Nate and I sit down with Allison Stowers, a Chattanooga climber and physical therapist. We discuss the climber injuries that Allison most often sees in her clinic... shoulders and hip region injuries.  How to self diagnose, when you should see a doctor,  what to do about it, and most important, how to prevent it.   You can find Allison at www.chattclimberpt.com  or at www.peakfitne...