Lattice Training Podcast

Today’s guest is one of the best climbers in the world right now. He’s redpointed 3 9b+’s and 7 9b’s, and won multiple IFSC world cups. Yes, it is the one and only Stefano Ghisolfi! The journey that this athlete has taken in the sport is a remarkable one, not simply because his incredible grades, but because he has so many relatable actions that many of us can also deploy in our own climbing pathway. Sure, we may not all reach 9b+ or Olympic selections in our life, but at our own personal level there are strategies that pay off ... big time. 

Those key strategies discussed come down to:

1. Playing to your strengths and understanding how you can work on your long term (changeable) weaknesses.
2. Building a solid grade pyramid of performance, experience and skill. 
3. Appropriate methods for making a change in performance metrics. What strategies actually work for the thing you're trying to alter. 
4. Working on your fear and mindset in a performance setting.

Around these topics, we discussed - amongst other things:

1. His first competition at 14 and how only 3 years later he’d got a podium and also competed in the Senior world champs and placed 10th in combined. 
2. What his early journey in climbing looked like. How quickly did he go through the grades?
3. His first 9b Lapsus. 
4. His views on repeating some of the world’s hardest routes like Change, Bibliographie, Perfecto Mundo. How important is this process/goal?
5. His repeat of Bibliography and proposed 9b+ grade vs 9c.  
6. How much bouldering does he do compared to sport climbing? Does it change at different times of the year?
7. How does he fit in fingerboard work and other forms of more 'basic' S&C?
8. His fear of heights, falling and exposure. 
9. How does he identify what he wants to work on each season?

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

This episode's guest is professional climber and competition athlete Staša Gejo, who's track record is rarely matched. She has stood in every single position - gold, silver and bronze - across a variety of competitions from World Games, World Champs, European Champs and World Cups, climbed V13 and puts out consistent content on her social channels and YouTube channel which shares her thoughts and journey in climbing. 

Her top level track record extends way back from 2015 where as a junior competitor she won the World Junior Champs in bouldering and combined, so there is a big depth of experience and expertise here. What’s so cool about Staša is that not only is she operating at the top end, she's also really good at communicating her thoughts about her journey in the sport. The ups and downs and also what works well when it comes to performance - especially around some recent dialogue on the topic of weight.

We talked about:

1. Her experiences with weight control and early journey as a comp athlete.
2. The repercussions of a calorie controlled diet at 1200/day. 
3. How does her healthy weight management look these days.
4. What does her indoor vs outdoor training and performance habit look like.
5. Her thoughts on mixing forms and disciplines for performance and training. 
6. What does her specific finger strength work look like.
7. How much strength work she finds optimal per week. 

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

On today's show we have Kejt Najman, who sits in the 'sweet spot' of training knowledge as she's both a coach and internationally acclaimed athlete. She was World Weighted Pull Up Champion in 2019 & 2022, Polish Champion four years running, has bouldered 7C and sport climbed 7c (before concentrating on her competitions in recent years) and also works as a strength and conditioning coach for climbers.

At Lattice we greatly value those who have a blend of sports science and practical knowledge - it's the area where 'science' meets 'art' and 'subjectivity' in training. In another knowledge packed episode Tom explores Kejt's methods and experiences in upper body strength training, how she works on herself as an athlete and also her approach to her own clients.

1. Kejt's original journey as an athlete - couldn't do a single pull up initially!

2. How much she trained in the earlier years and what methods she used.

3. Her approach to 'push' vs 'pull' gym work.

4. Low specificity vs high specificity training.

5. Kejt's experiences as an elite plant-based athlete.

6. Her next steps and thoughts on training as a 40 year old athlete.

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

Part 2 of '10 Things That Matter More Than You Think'

Climbing performance is fairly complex because there's so many moving parts to the equation and many of the skills take years, if not decades, to perfect. Fortunately, Tom Randall is on the podcast in this episode to give you another 'solo' session on what things really make a difference in climbing your best. 

In this second part, he dives into a variety of factors that probably don't get enough discussion, but make a massive difference to your climbing. Get over half of these items ticked off and perfected, and you'll probably see 1-2 grades of climbing improvement at your projecting level in a single season. 

1. Hip position
2. Ladders and dogging tactics
3. One Last Go
4. Power training
5. Supportive partners

• HIPS: How close, how far left or right and how much you throw them. Get strong in the entire ROM

• TACTICS: Ladders, ab ropes and spotter shoulders for feeling holds, starting higher up, dogging with clip stick, clipping in tight, get a power pulls and many more...

• ONE LAST GO: Sticking around, trying even when you’ve given up, learning your mind-body connection when you’re at your limit, trying to be the last person to have a go every session
  . 
• POWER TRAINING: Execution of strength/force with speed, efficient movement that’s sport specific, power training in 'peak' cycles, trying projects that you can’t do statically

• SUPPORTIVE PARTNERS: The 'fun' factor, verbal and video feedback, accountability, absorbing your partner's practices. 

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

In the words of one of Grip Sport's legends, Eric Roussin, the relative newcomer of Tanner Merkle has seriously ruffled some feathers in the Arm Lifting World. Three years running International King Kong Champion and outright holder of the Captains of Crush Silver Bullet Record, his incredible grip strength showed immediately. 

Unusually for an elite arm lifter, he was previously a top level US competition climber (2nd at US Boulder Nationals). Tanner transitioned away from high climbing to really explore his gift and passion for grip strength, which clearly set him apart in both climbing and grip sports. 

Tom sits down with Tanner to explore his early days in climbing, how he transitioned his training through the two sports and where he feels there's transfer and knowledge to be applied across both of the disciplines. This episode is the first a number of interviews we're doing with world famous grip strength athletes, diving into the methods, knowledge and strategies they've evolved over their own journeys to the top. 

We talk (amongst other things) about:

1. What exactly are Grip Sports and Arm Lifting.
2. What is different about the tools used in this sport compared to climbing?
3. How Tanner transitioned from climbing to Grip Sports. 
4. How to train for Arm Lifting vs pulling or hanging in climbing.
5. His CoC Silver Bullet record. 
6. How he trained for specific records.
7. His thoughts on Cross Training
8. How he tackles training "the entire kinetic chain" in Arm Lifting
9. Issues around weight, mass and how it relates to Grip Sports vs Climbing. 

The beat is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

Climbing performance is fairly complex because there's so many moving parts to the equation and many of the skills take years, if not decades, to perfect. Fortunately, Tom Randall is on the podcast in this episode to give you another 'solo' session on what things really make a difference in climbing your best.

In this 2 parter, he dives into a variety of factors that probably don't get enough discussion, but make a massive difference to your climbing. Get over half of these items ticked off and perfected, and you'll probably see 1-2 grades of climbing improvement at your projecting level in a single season.

Obviously, if you're already at a Dave Graham level of obsession and strategy, then this can act as a list to give yourself a big pat on the back as you'll find that he and all the rest of the pros are seriously paying attention to these factors. They are not to be taken lightly! 

1. Shoe choice
2. Skin quality
3. Humidity and wind speed
4. FULL warm up
5. Visualisation

• SHOES: Heels, toes, downturn, rubber, tightness, stiffness

• SKIN: How dry, how thick, cuticle pain, smoothness

• HUMIDITY & WIND: Friction and grip effect, humidity limits, glassy skin, cold vs wind. 

• FULL WARM UP: Fingers, core (esp posterior chain), flexibility, power, knowing the demands on your goal

• VISUALISATION: Timescales and frequency of visualisation, how long can you sustain a visualised sequence, internal vs external, hyper-detail 

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

In this episode we take a dive into the history of climbing training and performance with Peter Beal. With over five decades of climbing and training experience under his belt, we thought there was no better person to talk about what has occurred in the training side of the sport since the 70s and how this has impacted performance at the top end. 

Peter has been climbing hard since 1977, with a specific focus on bouldering which is unusual given the decade in which he started - it was hardly recognised as its own 'thing' at the time! With ascents up to V12, he is also a contributor across publications like Rock & Ice, UKC, The Alpinist and  also the author of the book - Bouldering: Movement, Tactics and Problem Solving.

Peter is a training and performance focused guy, having trained methodically for going on 40 yrs and also operates as a climbing coach for local climbers in Colorado operating right up to the elite end of the scale for just over 20yrs. For all the above mentioned history and background, I thought this would be the perfect person to have on the show to talk about how climbing and performance has changed over the last 5 decades.

Peter Beal Instagram
Peter Beal's local (amazing!) gym:

1970s

• Jim Holloway - front levers and gymnastic strength training feats. Ascents of V12-13! 
• Pete Livesey and training at Leeds wall, raising the standard in leading from E2-E6
• Tony Yaniro - FA of Grand Illusion 8a/+ in 1979

1980s

• Enter John Bachar! 2 arm pull ups at +63kg and 1 arm pull up +5.5kg
• Moffatt, Bachar etc, all possibly started with the first bit of fingerboard training
• 1984 C’était Demain V11 – Fontainebleau, by Godoffe 
• 1988 - The campus board & Wolfgang Güllich 

1990s

• 1990 Hubble - 8c+ but maybe the world’s first 9a?
• Action Directe 9a 1991
• The Sheffield Schoolroom -  built in 1993 by Gavin Ellis, Ben Tye and Andy Coish
• Replicas, system board climbing, systematic endurance training, campus boards, and early fingerboarding all find their ground.
• 1996 - Open Air by Huber as the first 9a+ (upgraded later from 9a)

2000s

• 2000-2002 for long and shorter V15s (Hollow Mountain Cave and Monkey Wedding)
• 2008 - 9b Jumbo Love
• Indoor Walls really start to have an international impact en masse. 

2010s

• 2012-2013 3 x 9b+ all by Adam Ondra!! 
• Early 2010-2015 massive explosion in indoor bouldering
• 2016 - Burden of Dreams V17 – by Nalle Hukkataival 
• 2017 - Silence 9c by Ondra
• The Moonboard, Kilterboard and Tension Board go big. 

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

Last year, we had a parenting-focused interview on the show with Caro Ciavaldini joining Mina (who's also recently a new mum!) for a discussion about climbing and training post pregnancy. We had some great feedback from you guys on the content, which also included a request to do a "dad" version of the interview....

So here it is folks. You asked and we will always try to deliver! Two Lattice dads - Tom Randall and coach Jon Procter sit down to chat about their own experiences since having children. Never ones to sugar coat, Tom and Jon share their ups and downs and some of the strategies they've used to maintain a path of progress and performance in climbing. 

Key topics discussed:

• Tom and Jon's parental set up.
• The early days of changing lifestyle and how this affected training and performance.
• Methods for managing time and energy with less sleep or less "free" time in the week. 
• Split sessions for training and climbing.
• Training Mesocycle lengths and format
• Home training set ups. 
• Differences in endurance vs strength training as a parent. 

You can find Mina and Caro's interview here if you're interested in that one too! 

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

In this podcast Maddy sits down with coach Josh, who is our in-house flexibility specialist. Josh has invested his time in both understanding the science of flexibility but also putting it  into practice. His development of our flexibility plans has greatly impacted the work we do with clients and as a bonus point, has just about resulted in him reaching his goal of side splits!

• How to take a practical approach to flexibility training
• Understanding your biomechanics to get the stretches right for your level
• The importance of strength through ranges of motion.
• His approach to the “how” of flexibility training. This is so important for pushing the training (yes, flexibility training should feel challenging!), keeping motivated and monitoring progress. 

Topics discussed:

1) Why flexibility is important and how it plays into performance in climbing 

2) What is the process you go through when it comes to improving flexibility? 

3) The concept of leverage and how we can use gravity to provide the right challenge level.

4) How muscles and joints don't work in isolation, and therefore how we can best facilitate our stretching in certain positions.

5) Length before strength. Session ordering for improving flexibility and strength through a large range of movement.

6) As with many exercises the "how" is important when we train flexibility. Josh talks about setting tasks in flexibility training.

7) ‘Feeling’ before ‘form.’ What should the main focus be?

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.

Whilst we often concentrate specifically on the physical aspects of training and performance, we also have a real passion for psychology and how it relates to climbing. In this episode, I we have a psychology specialist - PhD student and researcher Allegra Maguire, who specialises in applied decision making.

Allegra went from 6a to 7a+ in a single year in climbing and has a practical interest in applying her psychology expertise into the climbing arena itself. In this podcast Tom and Allegra discuss the topic of “mental toughness” and how it applies to sport training and performance. 

1. What is mental toughness.
2. How does this differ from resilience?
3. The 4 Cs model of mental toughness. 
4. Mental toughness as a predictor of performance
5. The state/trait debate, including definitions
6. Interventions and practical examples

• Environmental influences
• Challenge management
• Social support
• Reflection training

Allegra's Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh_uKaHT6EWvyZG55rhYK3Q

Instagram: @climbin.psychology @allegra_maguire  

Mindfulness: https://www.headspace.com/

MT test: https://mentaltraininginc.com/services/mental-toughness-test

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.