The Rock Climber Life Podcast

My favorite climbing partner and I went down to the New this past weekend and enjoyed the fabulous Spring temperatures.  On Saturday we went to The Other Place and climbed: Hope Pathology (10a) – done this one before My First Eleven (11b) – Redpoint finally!!!!! Makes You Tigger (11a) – 1 fall On Sunday we headed out to Endless Wall and got on: The Upheaval (9) – done this one before Remission (10b) – Redpoint on gear It was a great weekend even though we didn’t climb too many routes (I’m recovering from a slight muscle strain).  I checked another project off my long list too!  What did you all do??

This past weekend, I went down to the New River Gorge.  We ended up at Endless Wall both days.  The highlights are: Exoduster (10b) – Redpoint Stim-o-Stam (11c) – Redpoint in 2 tries S’more Energy (11c) – 2 trouble spots…no send Party in My Mind (10b) – Top rope Homer Erectus (11b) – Top rope Remission (10b) – Top rope Be sure to listen to the Podcast for all the goodies!

The supplements I use. In this podcast, help I talk about the importance of dietary supplementation.  Taking supplements will speed your recovery and muscle soreness will decrease faster than normal.  I have found these all to be a huge benefit for multi-day climbing trips and training for climbing.  The convenience of using these supplements versus eating real food is worth it to me.   The protein powder I use is Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey The carb/protein powder I use for post workout is Dymatize Elite Mass The branch chain amino acids I use to reduce muscle soreness is USP Labs Modern BCAA Do any of you use supplements?  Have you found that they help you?  

This past weekend, I met my friends, Greg and Jamie, down at the New River Gorge.  The weather was the best we’ve had this year.  On Saturday, we spent the day at South Side Crags, starting at Area 51, then moving down to The Other Place Instant Gratification (11b), Accusing the Innocent (10d), My First Eleven (11b), Unnamed (8) On Sunday, we were met with perfect temps which means only one thing:  Endless Wall season!!! Two Step Arete (8), Black and Tan (10a), Aesthetica (11c), What a Jam (9) Listen to the Podcast to get all the gritty details of our weekend.

This past weekend, sales I took advantage of the unseasonably mild August and went climbing at the New River Gorge.  Listen to the podcast for all the highlights and fun!  Saturday was spent at The Other Place and Sunday was spent at Summersville Lake. The Other Place:  Treeiage (10b), pilule My First Eleven (11b), generic Makes You Tigger (11a), Accusing the Innocent (10d) Summersville Lake:  Personal Pronoun (9), Under the Milky Way (11d), Jesus is My License Plate (10d), All Ears (10b), Sniff the Drill (8)  

In this podcast, I talk about the benefits of heavy weight training.  If you haven’t listened to my previous podcast on the myths of heavy weight training, check that out first.  The highlights from this episode are that lifting heavy weight will make you really strong, reduce your chances for injury, create a more balanced body, and increase your mobility when you couple lifting with a good mobility program.  At the end of the podcast, I mention the Mobility WOD.  Be sure to check it out…it’s awesome.

This podcast is a trip report of our three day weekend to the Red River Gorge.  We survived the hot weather and enjoyed many of the overhanging routes the Red has to offer.  We met up with some new climbing partners and had a fantastic weekend.  Routes climbed include: The Zoo:  Jailbird (10d), dosage Geezers Go Sport (11b) Muir Valley:  Sam (10b), cialis 100 Years of Solitude (11a), sildenafil  No Country for Old Men (11b), A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (11b), The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber (10b) Left Flank:  To Defy the Laws of Tradition (10b), Aquaduck Pocket (11b), Maypop (11a) Michael cruising the steep walls of Bibliothek Gaelyn working hard on To Defy the Laws of Tradition Favorite photo of the trip! Hitting the crux move on Aquaduck Pocket Chicken wingin' on Maypop

This podcast is a trip report of our weekend at the New River Gorge.  Saturday we went to The Other Place and climbed: Rosetta Stone (10a), Disco (11a), Hope Pathology (10a), Flaming Pellets (11b), Unnamed (10c) On Sunday, we went to Butcher’s Branch at Kaymoor and got on: Springer (10b), Lost Souls (12a), The Green Piece (10b), Mo’ Betta’ Holds (11c) Crossing the Creek Disco Hang Doggin' Drama If this climbing thing doesn't work, maybe I can mime. I wish there were Mo' Betta' Holds

Here’s another podcast in my training series on the myths of heavy weight training.  I’ve touched on this before but hopefully this will complement the previous article and add some new things.  The main thing to take away from this podcast is that lifting heavy weight will not make you huge!!  Your weight gain or loss is predominantly monitored by your nutrition.  This podcasts focuses on the myths of heavy weight training.  I will do another shortly that talks about the benefits of lifting heavy.  Does anyone out there lift heavy weight?  More importantly, did you suddenly get HUGE?!

This podcast is dedicated to cross training for climbing.  There are lots of advantages to cross training and I go over several.  I also give my definition of cross training and how you can effectively cross train for climbing.  I definitely get on my soap box on this one! It’s been about a year since my last podcast.  If you would like to hear more podcasts, please let me know.  I didn’t think anyone cared about these.  If there’s interest, I plan on doing several podcasts on training, and some of the trip reports in podcast form. Do any of you cross train for rock climbing?  What does your training consist of?

Join me in today’s podcast as I talk about my goals for this year.  I have some lofty goals, but I think I can accomplish them all!  Some of my goals include climbing many 5.11′s this spring, picking up where I left off last fall.  I would also like to climb more trad this summer at Seneca and the New River Gorge.  This fall, I’ll be trying to complete my first 5.12. I’ll be taking mostly weekend trips to the New River Gorge and Red River Gorge this year.  Hopefully I’ll have time (and money) to take some longer trips out west, to the southeast, or up to the northeast. What are your goals for this year?  Please share them in the comments below!

“What gear do I need to get to start climbing?” This is a question I frequently am asked.  The answer is not so simple, and usually follows with:  “Where do you want to climb?” Depending if you want to boulder, top-rope at the gym, top-rope outside, or sport climb outside will dictate what gear you need to obtain.  Below is an outline of gear needed for each type of climbing that I talk about in today’s podcast. Basic Gear For All Climbers: Climbing Shoes Chalk Bag/Chalk Bouldering: Basic Gear Bouldering Pad Top-rope in Gym: Basic Gear Harness Belay Device & Locking Belay (Pear) Carabiner Tope-rope Outside: Tope-rope in Gym gear Climbing Rope 75′ Static Rope 2 Double Shoulder Length Slings 2 Locking Oval Carabiners 2 Locking Offset-D Carabiners Sport Climb Outside: Top-rope in Gym gear 10 Quickdraws Climbing Rope Optional Gear: 2 Double Shoulder Length Slings 2 Locking Oval Carabiners 2 Locking Offset-D Carabiners Gear to Rappel What other gear do you consider essential?  Let me know in the comments below!

In my first podcast, I review the book, How to Climb 5.12, by Eric Horst.  This is a great first training book for anyone looking to better their physical and mental training.  Whether you are trying to climb your first 5.10 or 5.14, this book can help!  I review each of the chapters and go through some of the points that really stuck out to me. Have you read this book?  What did you think of it?  Let me know in the comments! I hope you enjoy my first of many podcasts at Rock Climber Life!