The Testpiece Podcast

By TestpieceSports

The Testpiece Podcast episodes

September 04, 2023 #62: You're Training Wrong — The North Star, Inspiration from Japan, The Fundamental Question, #Training, Learning How To Learn, Curling Your Way Past V4, Squatting Your Way to V14 and Past Guest Reflections [Eric Jerome]
You're Training Wrong, my dude.
Maybe... In this podcast, Tim and Josh ask the question "Are we thinking about training all wrong?"
This topic goes into the current state of "#Training", and figuring out how to answer The Fundamental Question: "How do we get better at climbing?".

Spoiler -- It's not a simple question. As Will Anglin says: "Climbing is hard."

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1 hr 55 min
August 28, 2023#61: Eric Jerome — Quest For the BEST, The Top 100 Boulders, The Origin of Star Ratings, 6 Attributes of Quality, Focusing on Quality, and The Story Behind the Current #1 Best Boulder in the USA
Eric Jerome has multiple V15 FA’, he is a prolific developer, and he works in the climbing industry at KAYA.
But what made us want to talk to Eric on this podcast was his pursuit of the BEST boulders. Who doesn’t want to climb the best boulders?! First Eric had to answer the question “What makes one boulder better than another?”
Join us on this journey as we dive deep into the origin of the “Star” system, and how to apply it. Then go to Eric’s website: Top100 to see the best boulders, and follow along on his YouTube while he travels the country trying to climb these boulders and better understand what makes a boulder good.

NOTES:
Max Zolotuhkin's Article
Eric's Top100 Website
Eric's YouTube
The Revenant Video (V15), 6 Stars
Promised Land Video (V11/12)
"Schelling Point"

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2 hr 19 min
August 21, 2023#60: Conquering Cruxes — Sequencing Macro to the Micro, Infinite Beta Layers, V15 @ 15, Pro Climber Volume, Food Safety Gloves, and Past Guest Reflections [Will Anglin]
Sequencing is one of the core abilities we must develop as climbers. It starts with the macro, but if you want to really solve that crux you have to go into the micro details.
But learning how to know where to look for efficiencies in the micro is hard. Tim and Josh try to demystify this process and show how to figure out where to eek out tiny bits of help in order to unlock that seemingly impossible crux move.
Oh ya, and there’s lots of normal banter and general psyche that all of the episodes start out with. Enjoy!
NOTES:
Sam Richards climbing V15 at age 15

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2 hr 5 min
August 14, 2023#59: Will Anglin — Tension Founder, Training With the BEST in the World, A Student/Master of The Craft, Strength Metrics vs Sending Reality, Infinite Variables, and Being Consumed by Something You Love
An absolutely EPIC podcast with Will Anglin, one of the founder’s of Tension Climbing. Other than creating the coolest climbing brand that every “climber's climber” love, Will has coached for years, smashes V14, and dove deeper into training than most.
Tune in to:
Hear amazing stories from the legendary training center / “The Shop” at the Tension HQ. This is where the strongest in America get stronger, and has been visited by anyone that’s anyone while traveling through CO.

Find out what Will has learned by training alongside the greats, and how he has integrated what makes them special into his own climbing.

Know more about how a company like Tension has become so successful and what it takes to put out amazing products.

And just so so so much more. Didn’t we already tell you that it was EPIC?!

NOTES:
Tension Climbing Website
Tension Board 2 Video
Joshua Waitzin Podcast w/ Tim Ferriss

Will's Articles Mentioned:
Foundations
Hangboarding: A Way
MESHUGGAH - Bleed

Quotes:
“Find what you love and let it kill you.” — Charles Bukowski
“Don’t seek to follow in the footsteps of great people. Seek what they sought.” — Zen Master Basho

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2 hr 44 min
August 07, 2023 #58: Boards > Gym? — Why Boards?, F*CK! Josh Got Hurt, Mallorca Dreamin’, Classroom Review, Reducing Variables, and Reflections on Tim’s Favorite Episode [Jason Kehl]
Lot’s of psyche but also some bad news on this one…
You can’t miss Tim’s reflections on his “favorite episode” with Jason Kehl!
Tim and Josh discuss some of the questions that were brought up in the first Testpiece Classroom. (Join them next month by signing up on Patreon!)
The podcast closes with a discussion about board climbing and why so many climbers gravitate towards them instead normal gym climbs. It’s a surprising part of the indoor scene and there’s lessons to be learned from the phenomenon.
NOTES
Jakob Schubert’s epic Mallorca video that was brought up: https://youtu.be/YOCwtzqZXWU

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2 hr 11 min
July 31, 2023 #57: Jason Kehl — Evilution FA, Mutate Your Body, When Climbs Take Your Breath Away, Creating Experiences of ‘Awe’, Why Hueco is Special, “Real Climbing”, Becoming Obsessed, and SO Much More
This was a dream come true for Josh — hearing straight from Jason Kehl himself about the FA of Evilution!
But wait, there’s more. Jason’s impact within the climbing world is second to none. You’ve either climbed on one his FA’s, or climbed on a gym wall he’s designed, or grabbed a grip he shaped. Yes, he’s that prolific.
Tune in and hear more from the absolute LEGEND, Jason Kehl!

Find more from Jason here:
Instagram
Real Climbing [YouTube]
Hueco Guidebook
Hold Shaping
Gym Design HYPE Reel

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1 hr 43 min
July 24, 2023 #56: MAXIMIZE — Dealing with Constraints, Falling in Love, 2016 Moonboarding, Tim’s Big Move, Goals and How to Actually Train for Them, Bucket List Climbs, and Fitzgerald Reflections
Tim and Josh are extra psyched on climbing right now. They share what’s been going on in their training and the goals they’ve set for themselves. They also share some highlights and lessons learned from the David Fitzgerald interview last week.
The topic of the day is about how to maximize your training while dealing with the reality of what facilities you have available. How do you train for a 60m tufa route on a moonboard? Tim and Josh don’t quite agree… but their approaches both have merit and will help you get to where you want to go.

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2 hr 10 min
July 17, 2023 #55: David Fitzgerald — Technique and Strength on Small Holds, Getting Granular, The Tahoe Scene, Training Minutiae, and Editing “A Little Life”
David Fitzgerald is “one of the most underrated climbers out there” per Jimmy Webb. If that doesn’t make you hit play immediately, keep reading because there’s more…
On top of being a v15 climber (v16 soon!) with insane finger strength, he is also an extremely talented editor/videographer. You probably have seen his newest film with Keenan Takahashi, “A Little Life”, and if you haven’t yet… Why not?!
In this podcast, David breaks down his training techniques, how his fingers got to be so strong, tips on how you can do the same, as well as a peek behind the scenes on what it looks like to be part of the Mellow crew where he is developing new areas and hard boulders in Tahoe, Yosemite, and more.
He also shares the process of editing “A Little Life” and what it was like working with the top talent in our industry to bring about one of the best films of the year.
Don’t miss this one!!

Find David on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dv_fitzgerald/

Join Tim and Josh on July 19th @ 7pm PST for a Live Classroom / AMA! Available to Patreon supporters (LFG!). Sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/TESTPIECE

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2 hr 3 min
July 10, 2023 #54: World Cup '23 [Spoilers!] — Why This Season Was So Good, New Amazing Talent, Bouldering Results, Venue Vibes, and Why it’s like F1
The ’23 Boulder WC season is over and it was a banger! Even if comps aren’t your thing we all have a ton to learn from watching the best of the best battle it out. This season had some of the most impressive breakout talent — hear Tim and Josh talk about the 16 year old phenom, Sorato Anraku.
And per usual, the pod starts with a review of the most recent guest — Jon Cardwell. There was a lot packed into that episode so Tim and Josh made sure to pull out some of the highlights and share their takes.

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1 hr 46 min
July 03, 2023 #53: Jon Cardwell — 5.15 Sport Climbing, Busting Plateaus and Structured Training, Dirtbagging in Europe, Advice for Young Pro’s, Anaerobic vs. Aerobic, and The Best Climbing Areas in the World
Jon Cardwell is one of the top sport climbers in the world with multiple 5.15’s sends under his belt. Oh ya, and the 3rd ascent of a legendary V15 you might have heard of, “The Game”.

And during this podcast you’ll see why. Jon is introspective, open minded, and relentlessly puts in the work. Join us while he shares how he has figured out how to send hard, and what he has learned from the all star crew he has spent the last 15+ years traveling and climbing with.

You also don’t want to miss his wild stories of dirtbagging around Europe and all of the amazing places he’s visited. Saying Jon is well traveled is an understatement.

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2 hr 7 min