Do you want to know more about using the gymnastics rings as a training tool for climbing? 

On Tuesday, October 6th at 6-7:30pm MDT, Climbing Coach Alex Stiger will be hosting a very affordable, 90-minute workshop where you’ll learn the key considerations for using gynmastics rings in your training plan.

You’ll Learn…

• How to properly use the rings

In the episode, Coach Alex and I tackled the topic of making a gym session really count, and how to stay in a positive mindset even when you’re having a bad session. It’s easy to get derailed in your climbing session if you do poorly on a route, can’t make move, or just feel tired in general and lack motivation.

We talk about things you can do to keep your motivation high and to make small wins in your sessions. She provides drills and exercises you can use to keep yourself in a growth mindset as opposed to a fixed mindset, and we talk about what those things are.

Alex is about to start her next 6-week Team Training Program with 12 team members, and this is the most hands-on way to work with Alex. If you’re interested in being part of her next cohort, you can sign up here. Earlybird sign-ups end Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 and there are only a handful of spots left!

• What constitutes a “bad” or “good” session for both of us

• Take Alex’s class on Rings for Climbers

Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

In the episode, I talk with Lor Sabourin, who is a successful climber and a mental training coach for The Warrior’s Way, where they travel to teach clinics and work one-to-one with climbers of all levels. Lor is also a graduate student on their way to becoming a counselor.

I met Lor a long time ago at the base of Dinosaur Rock in the Flatirons, where I was struck by their calm demeanor and friendly smile. I’ve followed Lor on Instagram since then and have been continually impressed by their ability to talk about difficult subjects with eloquence and humility.

Lor recently became the first non-binary climber to climb a 5.14 route on traditional gear when they clipped the chains of Sedona’s East Coast Fist Bump (5.14a). I wanted to talk to them about what that projecting process was like, how they improved their climbing so quickly, and what kind of response they’ve gotten from the climbing community about it.

We also talked about some mental aspects of climbing, which is what they work on with people every day, and Lor’s insights did not disappoint. They also shared about their experience of coming out as non-binary, and how that affected their relationships with friends and how it affected their climbing.

For some reason I feel a kinship with Lor, and I always like talking to them. In this interview we navigated difficult topics, sometimes with less panache than I would’ve liked (on my part), but these are the conversations that need to happen at the moment, even if they’re not easy. I VERY much appreciated Lor’s willingness to be open and vulnerable in talking about personal things.

• What they did to improve climbing in such a short amount of time

• Article on Rock & Ice about Lor

Photo of Lor by Blake McCord @blakemccordphoto

I was interviewed on the Nugget!

This is a re-post of an interview with me on the Nugget Climbing Podcast with host Steven Dimmitt. I love being on the other side of an interview occasionally, and Steven is a fantastic interviewer. We had some laughs, talked about some serious stuff, and I feel a little vulnerable about how much I shared personally, honestly. 

I'm an open book, but when it's recorded and put out to the world, it's a little nerve wracking! I hope you enjoy this interview and maybe get to know me a little better (than you even wanted to).

Here's Steven's description of the interview from his site, and he has some other good show notes on the episode page if you're interested.

Neely Quinn is the founder of TrainingBeta, and the long-time host of The TrainingBeta Podcast. We talked about Neely’s health journey and discovering paleo, not wanting a boss, why she decided to create TrainingBeta, lessons learned from hosting 160+ interviews, injuries and surgery, project piano pieces, kids vs. houses, and her new puppy named Willa. You can learn more about Neely at trainingbeta.com

• This episode on The Nugget Climbing Podcast website

Do you LOVE to run but don’t know how to fit it in with your climbing?

In just a couple weeks, Climbing Coach Alex Stiger and Running Coach Sean Hopkins will be hosting a very affordable, 90-minute class where you’ll learn the key considerations for balancing training for climbing and running.

You’ll Learn…

• Which strength training exercises are great for climbing and running

Sign up below and you’ll be the first to be notified when the class is ready for purchase.

In the episode, Coach Alex and I tackled the nebulous topic of trying hard in climbing. Like, really trying hard. A couple years ago, Alex spent some time working with Coach Hazel Findlay and realized that she needed to work on her own try-hard. So she went through a transformation in her mindset that led her to not only understand the importance of trying hard, but how to make it a practiced skill for herself and for her clients.

Alex Stiger is a coach at Movement Climbing and Fitness in Boulder, CO and a Performance Climbing Coach for TrainingBeta. She’s been on numerous episodes of the podcast and will continue to be until we run out of things to talk about in climbing.

She’s currently in the middle of a very successful 6-week Team Training Program with 12 students, and she’ll be taking on another team in the fall. This is the most hands-on way to work with Alex, so if you’re interested in being part of her next cohort, you can sign up here.

• How to make trying hard a skill instead of a windfall

• Take Alex’s class on Running for Climbers

I’m not sure why I haven’t done this before, but I’ll be publishing regular episodes on nutrition for climbers. Seeing as how I’m a nutrition professional, I should’ve been talking more about this topic all along! But it’s never too late, so here’s the first of many to come.

A little about me, in case you didn’t know:

After completing my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Zoology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, I did a 4-year nutrition certificate program at Seven Bowls School of Nutrition, Nourishment, and Healing. I graduated in 2007 as a Certified Integrative Clinical Nutrition Therapist. During those 4 years, I learned about not only nutrition, but herbs, homeopathy, and other alternative practices. I’ve been seeing clients since 2007 and I’ve worked exclusively with climbers since 2013.

In this episode, I talk all about protein, which is the number one issue I see in my clients’ diets. I talk about why it’s important to get enough of it as climbers and how to realistically get enough of it every day, whether you’re a meat eater, vegan or something in between.

This is a recording taken from a 5-day nutrition challenge I did last year in front of a live audience. I talked for about 15 minutes on the topic and then took a bunch of questions from the audience (very common questions, so they’re quite relevant).

If you’re looking for help with your own nutrition and you feel like you need personalized help, I’m taking new clients right now. I also have a program that is self-paced with 4+ hours of video from me, PDF’s, and meal plans laid out for you. You can find more information about my services and the program at www.trainingbeta.com/nutrition.

You’re welcome to email me at [email protected] if you have any questions at all.

• Why protein is so important

• Work with me one-on-one or do my self-paced program

Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

Caroline Treadway is a writer, a photographer, a film maker, and a climber. She recently released the documentary film “Light” about the eating disorder struggles of high profile rock climbers including Emily Harrington and Angie Payne.

In this interview, we discuss why she made the film, what impact the film has made in her life, and then we go deeper into her own eating disorder as well as my experience with disordered eating behaviors. At the end, we even discuss what we thought about each other in times when we were both experiencing disordered eating behaviors – we’ve known each other for many years.

This is an incredibly vulnerable conversation, and I want to thank Caroline for her willingness to be open about these topics and for her bravery for creating the film.

According to one study, 16.5% of female rock climbers and 6% of male climbers experience some disordered eating behaviors. This is a big deal, and because shame is such a large component of disordered eating, this interview is a further attempt to destigmatize the topic and bring it into the “light.”

If you have not seen the film yet, it’s amazing–I loved it–and you can watch it for free here.

• Why she made the film

• Caroline on Instagram @carolinelovesphotos

A while back I asked for questions about training and climbing for an episode that Coach Alex and I did together. Well, we got so many questions that we decided to do an entire episode answering some more of them.

That full Q&A episode can be found on our Patreon page, but today I published half of the episode as a Sneak Preview on the main podcast so you can get some of that good beta, too.

If you’d like to get bonus episodes from TrainingBeta, you can go over to Patreon where you can subscribe for as little as $5/month and get at least 75 minutes of extra stuff EVERY MONTH.

You’ll get a Nutrition Bite, which is a short episode every month from me all about a specific nutrition topic, as well as a Team Roundtable, where Matt, Alex, and I will discuss a specific training/nutrition topic or do a Q&A like this one.

There are also old episodes in the vault that I’ve never published, and I’ll be publishing those on Patreon soon.

In this sneak preview, we answered the following questions:

• When to transition from indoor to outdoor climbing

The questions we covered in the full episode on Patreon are:

• Antagonist muscle training and how to work it into your program

Matt is a boulderer and a sport climber based out of Jackson, Wyoming. He splits his time between training at home in Jackson and traveling to pursue his climbing goals around the world. Matt is also a coach at TrainingBeta and he’s been seeing clients from around the world since 2017.

Matt created our Bouldering Training Program, which is a non-linear plan that will help you gain strength, power, skills, and work capacity. There’s also a maintenance block worked into the program so you can continue to train lightly during your performance phases.

In the episode, Coach Matt and I discuss our top 8 tips for having a successful performance phase, whether that’s a climbing trip, a good weather season at your home crag, or a period of time in the gym when you’re just trying to send hard stuff.

These tips are a mixture of advice for beginner, intermediate, and advanced climbers, so everyone should get something out of it.

At the end of this episode I included a preview of a recent Q&A episode that Matt, Alex, and I did over on Patreon.

If you’d like to get even more episodes every month in the form of Nutrition Bites (quick episodes on specific nutrition topics) and Team Talks with Coach Matt Pincus, Coach Alex Stiger, and me, you can join Patreon for that exclusive content.

• What is a performance phase?

• My 5 tips (it was supposed to be 3, but I couldn’t help myself)
  • Prioritize rest on a macro and micro level

• Nourish: A Self-Paced Nutrition Program for Climbers

Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.

Photo of Dru Mack by Matt Pincus @mpincus87

In this episode, Coach Alex and I answer questions from the TrainingBeta community about nutrition and training. We asked people on Instagram, email, and Facebook what they wanted to know about, and we answered as many questions as we could in about an hour.

Alex is a Certified Personal Trainer, a Performance Climbing Coach, and a 5.13+ climber. She is a coach for TrainingBeta and for Movement in Boulder. She’s been training and coaching individuals and teams for over 7 years.

I (Neely Quinn) am your host (more about that in a sec) and I’m a Certified Integrative Clinical Nutritional Therapist who’s been working exclusively with climbers since 2014.

In the last couple episodes, Alex has been subbing in for me as host, and while she’s a fantastic podcast host, I need her to focus on coaching and creating awesome programs for you, so I’m going to slip back in as your trusty host from now on.

Having her take over for a while gave me some much-needed time to figure out what direction the podcast is going. I did a ton of thinking, researching, and soul searching, and I’m back and I’m psyched! You’ll be seeing more episodes every month now that I’m re-stoked. I’ll explain more in the episode.

If you’re interested in supporting my efforts with the podcast and you’d like to get even more episodes every month in the form of Nutrition Bites (quick episodes on specific nutrition topics) and group Q&A sessions with Coach Matt Pincus, Coach Alex Stiger, and me, you can join Patreon for that exclusive content.

• How to work hangboarding in with a climbing session

• Join Alex’s new Team Program!

Joy also discusses the importance of strength training during pregnancy with key consideration of the pelvic floor, diaphragm, and deep core muscles.  She also addresses how important of a factor mindset is during pregnancy and normalizes a lot of the common hurdles that women face during the “season” of pregnancy.

Joy Black, B.A., NASM CPT is a Certified Personal Trainer and Pregnancy and Postnatal Exercise Specialist/Athleticism Coach.  She is also an avid climber as well as runner and importantly to this conversation, a mother of two!

• Important things to know as pregnant athlete

• Instagram @calliejoyblack

Do you want a well-laid-out, easy-to-follow training program that will get you stronger quickly? Here’s what we have to offer on TrainingBeta. Something for everyone…

• At-Home Training Program: trainingbeta.com/covid

Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunes here to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world.