In this interview with Daniel Woods, we talk about his training, comp climbing, his upcoming goals, and the pressure he feels to send. 

I interviewed chiropractor Natasha Barnes about the 4 bests lifts for climbers,  shoulder and finger injuries, and optimal body weight for climbers. 

In this interview I talked with Shannon O'Grady, PhD, from Gnarly Nutrition about what she thinks are the best supplements for climbers.

In this interview, Physical Therapist Esther Smith talks about her protocol for healing finger injuries for climbers. She and Dan Mirsky used the protocol for their own finger injuries. 

• What is body awareness?

I've talked with Mercedes Pollmeier on the podcast a couple times now (#1 and #2), she wrote an article for us, and she's our in-house online personal trainer for TrainingBeta. So knowing how knowledgeable she is and how easy she is to talk to, I wanted to make her a more constant presence on TrainingBeta. That's why we decided to begin a new podcast mini series together. 

We'll be talking every month or so about a different topic of climbing training. The talks will be shorter than a normal podcast: only about 20 minutes. They'll be a quick bite of information that will be usable and digestible that will hopefully help your training immediately. 

Mercedes is a Strength and Conditioning coach out of the Seattle Bouldering Project. She has a Master’s degree in Human Movement and works with climbers of all types and abilities, ranging from elite level/competition climbers to novice alpinists. Currently she works at the Seattle Bouldering Project with climbers and other athletes of all ability levels. 

She’s offering 1-month and 3-month online training programs to people who feel like they need a little more individualized help than our other climbing training programs can provide. She is detail oriented, very focused on proper form, and offers continuous support and feedback to her online clients via the Trainerize app.

 Madaleine Sorkin is a 35-year-old climber originally from D.C., who's known for her alpine and big wall ascents. She makes a living as a sponsored climber and as a climbing guide and clinic leader. She's currently hosting "Mad Sensei" clinics with Justen Sjong helping people gain confidence leading trad and sport climbs. 

Madaleine is a mentally tough climber with a lot of experience up high, having freed Moonlight Buttress (5.12+), Leaning Tower (5.13-), El Corazon (5.13b) in Yosemite, and most recently, The Honeymoon Is Over (5.13c) in Rocky Mountain National Park. All of those climbs are nails hard, long granite climbs. 

In this interview we talk about how she physically and mentally prepares herself for those kinds of endeavors, what she eats while she's doing huge days, and what her current goals are. 

• Highlights of her climbing career 

• Guiding and climbing Website at www.madaleinesorkin.com

Henna Taylor