The Power Company Climbing Podcast

FOCUS Q&A 1: Climbing Movement Principles, Skill vs. Strength, and How to Evaluate

Be the first to learn about about the new Movement Assessment Tool & Mini-Course!
 
In this special Q & A episode, Kris fields questions from YOU! Sent in from our Patrons, Kris digs into what you want to know when it comes to climbing movement.
This is Part 1 of 2 episodes so be sure to stay tuned for Part 2, coming soon!
Thanks to Patrons Cody Ratterman, Matt, Martin Bertram, Lydia Benitez, and Yoav Pinto for the great questions!
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🔍 EXPLORE FURTHER
You might enjoy these related articles, episodes, and other resources:
Our Movement Practice Resource Page
Rethinking Climbing Technique and Movement Skills
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🔌 SUPPORT + CONNECT
Help us keep the show sponsor-free when you join our Patreon Community for as little as $3.
Get two or more bonus episodes every month on Patreon, Spotify, or Apple.
Subscribe to THE CURRENT and get a monthly exploration of how we can all become better climbers.
Find Power Company on Instagram and YouTube.
Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
_________________________
The Power Company Podcast is a proud founding member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.
_________________________
📚 CHAPTERS
(0:00) Intro
(2:02) Movement Principles Specificity
(5:14) Wall Angles
(9:07) Conditions Affect Movement
(13:40) Training with Bad Feet
(19:50) Combined Movement and Energy Systems
(25:02) Movement vs. Strength Questions
(31:48) How to Evaluate Movement
(37:52) Movement Assessment Tool

TAPED TIPS | How To Climb Taller AND Smaller

Short climbers are good at getting scrunchy, and tall climbers are good at climbing extended, right?
Ummm, no. Not always.Actually, not even most of the time.
Believing that, particularly if you’re one of those short or tall climbers, is a trap. I’m going to tell you why, and I’m going to tell you exactly how to make sure you don’t fall into this trap. Or if you’re in it already, how to get out, so that we can all extend our useful range...
Read the rest on the blog!
Watch the video on YouTube!
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🔍 EXPLORE FURTHER
You might enjoy these related articles, episodes, and other resources:
Taped Tips | The Secret to Hard Moves that Most Climbers Are Missing
Taped Tips | The Setup Mistake Climbers Make on Hard Moves
Our Movement Practice Resource Page
Marina Inoue | Does Size Matter?
Applied Body Tension Ebook
_________________________
🔌 SUPPORT + CONNECT
Help us keep the show sponsor-free when you join our Patreon Community for as little as $3.
Get two or more bonus episodes every month on Patreon, Spotify, or Apple.
Subscribe to THE CURRENT and get a monthly exploration of how we can all become better climbers.
Find Power Company on Instagram and YouTube.
Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
_________________________
The Power Company Podcast is a proud founding member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.

REWIND | Can We Accurately Measure the Movement Skills of Sport Climbers?

Today we rewind to an episode of Breaking Beta where Kris and Paul dig into a paper that presents and then tests a method for measuring movement skills in climbing:
Climbing performance analysis: A novel tool for the assessment of rock climber's movement performanceAuthored by Nicola Taylor, Dave Giles, Michaela Panáčková, James Mitchell, Joel B. Chidley, and Nick Draper; published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance in January, 2020.
They’ll attempt to determine whether or not movement skills in climbing can even be measured reliably, and if the proposed system translates to anything useful for everyday climbers and coaches trying to assess movement.
 
This episode originally aired on July 27, 2022.
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🔍 EXPLORE FURTHER
You might enjoy these related articles, episodes, and other resources:
Our Movement Practice Resource Page
More Episodes of Breaking Beta: The Science of Climbing Podcast
____________________
🔌 SUPPORT + CONNECT
Help us keep the show sponsor-free when you join our Patreon Community for as little as $3.
Get two or more bonus episodes every month on Patreon, Spotify, or Apple.
Subscribe to THE CURRENT and get a monthly exploration of how we can all become better climbers.
Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
____________________
The Power Company Podcast is a proud founding member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.
____________________
📚CHAPTERS
(00:00) Notes From Kris
(3:11) Introduction
(6:48) Methods
(15:37) Results and Our Thoughts
(27:37) What Should Come Next?
(34:34) Wrap Up
(39:28) Credits and Theme

EVERY BODY CLIMBS | Ben Mayforth on Discipline, Paraclimbing World Championships, and Letting Go

Ben Mayforth is a decorated climber well known for dialing in his training regimen. He's a Paraclimbing World Cup multi-medalist. Since 2019, he hasn't missed a silver medal at the Paraclimbing World Championships. Ben has a reputation of being extremely disciplined, but he’s recently loosened some of his self-imposed rules, and we discuss the impacts from that “letting go” in this episode.
Every Body Climbs (EBC) is a collaborative podcast, presented across Plug Tone Audio platforms, bringing you interviews with para and adaptive climbers. These profiles can be heard on The Power Company Podcast and Sends and Suffers. Content about festivals, engagement projects and other modes of community building air on Sends and Suffers, while training and nutrition focused interviews can be heard on The Power Company Podcast. Host, Emily Chen-Newton is a freelance adaptive sports reporter working in both print and broadcast. Living with a chronic medical condition herself, her journalism centers athletes, not their disabilities. When she’s not reporting, she’s rock climbing with her husband and their two cats.
 
Follow Emily and EBC on:
Instagram
SoundCloud
Theme music sample attribution: Creeper_Ciller78
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🔍 EXPLORE FURTHER
You might enjoy these related articles, episodes, and other resources:
More episodes of Every Body Climbs
More episodes of Sends and Suffers
Maureen Beck | Adapting
Justin Salas | Nonsighting
REWIND | Craig DeMartino on Making Hard Decisions and Using Limitations
_________________________
🔌 SUPPORT + CONNECT
Help us keep the show sponsor-free when you join our Patreon Community for as little as $3.
Get two or more bonus episodes every month on Patreon, Spotify, or Apple.
Subscribe to THE CURRENT and get a monthly exploration of how we can all become better climbers.
Find Power Company on Instagram and YouTube.
Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
_________________________
The Power Company Podcast is a proud founding member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.
 

Nate Drolet | A Consultation with The Struggle Climbing Show

Today's episode comes from The Struggle Climbing Show and features our very own coach Nate Drolet in consultation with the show's host Ryan Devlin, who has been working hard towards a goal to climb 13a.  They'll talk movement analysis, technique improvement, and more.  This is the first of two episodes with Nate on the topic, so be sure to head over to The Struggle to hear the second part!
 
Check out more episodes of The Struggle Climbing Show.
Follow The Struggle Climbing Show on Instagram.
Get more content on The Struggle's Patreon.
_________________________
🔍 EXPLORE FURTHER
You might enjoy these related articles, episodes, and other resources:
Our Movement Practice Resource Page
Book a Remote Consultation with Nate
_________________________
🔌 SUPPORT + CONNECT
Help us keep the show sponsor-free when you join our Patreon Community for as little as $3.
Get two or more bonus episodes every month on Patreon, Spotify, or Apple.
Subscribe to THE CURRENT and get a monthly exploration of how we can all become better climbers.
Find Nate on Instagram and YouTube.
Find Power Company on Instagram and YouTube.
Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
_________________________
The Power Company Podcast is a proud founding member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.

EXPERT | Udo Neumann on Movement, Learning, and How to Coach Climbing

Udo Neumann is a climber, performance coach, and motor-learning explorer. He’s the author of several books, including the cult classic Performance Rock Climbing.  He was the German National Team coach from 2009 to 2017, working with several European and World Champion athletes during that time, including Jan Hojer and Jule Wurm. Today he advises federations and works with athletes and coaches all over the world.
In this episode, we discuss his ideas around motor learning and coaching movement, whether a coach needs to be as good as the athlete, how he assesses climbers, what makes Janja Garnbret and Tomoa Narasaki special, and what makes the Japanese team so good.
Find Udo online at udini.com and on YouTube.
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🔍 EXPLORE FURTHER
You might enjoy these related articles, episodes, and other resources:
Performance Rock Climbing by Udo Neumann and Dale Goddard
Episode 482: The Coaching Eye - How Reliably Can Expert Coaches Observe Movement? | The Perception & Action Podcast
Cognitive Bias Codex Infographic from Visual Capitalist
Coaching for Mastery Course
_________________________
🔌 SUPPORT + CONNECT
Help us keep the show sponsor-free when you join our Patreon Community for as little as $3.
Get two or more bonus episodes every month on Patreon, Spotify, or Apple.
Subscribe to THE CURRENT and get a monthly exploration of how we can all become better climbers.
Find Power Company on Instagram and YouTube.
Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
_________________________
The Power Company Podcast is a proud founding member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.
_________________________
📚 CHAPTERS
(0:00) Intro and Guest Introduction
(3:09) Have We Overemphasized the Physical?
(7:26) Udo’s Transition to the Ecological Approach to Coaching
(8:42) ANNOTATION: Bernstein, Degrees of Freedom, Repetition Without Repetition
(14:54) Deliberate Play
(29:32) The Athlete Doesn’t Need All of the Information
(32:33) Does a Coach Need to Be Better Than the Climber?
(34:57) Technique vs. Skill
(40:02) Open and Closed Skills
(40:52) ANNOTATION: Open and Closed Skill Continuums
(45:51) Adaptability and Biases in Climbing
(51:07) ANNOTATION: Marshmallow Test and Delayed Gratification
(56:40) What Makes Janja Garnbret So Good?
(59:20) Rhythm and Patience
(1:02:01) How Does Udo Assess Movement Skills?
(1:09:09) How Often Should We Give Explicit Instruction?
(1:16:29) Using Video in Coaching
(1:28:34) Are Comp Boulders Useful for Outdoor Climbers?
(1:32:40) What’s the Secret of the Japanese Team and Tomoa Narasaki?
(1:42:07) Wrap Up

TAPED TIPS | The Setup Mistake Climbers Make on Hard Moves

Where's the first place your mind goes when you don’t stick a move?
If you’re like most climbers, it’s probably your finger strength, or tension, or even your effort, and you’re already considering what hangboard protocol to use or some front lever workout.
But it’s possible you’re looking in the wrong direction entirely...
 
Read the rest on the blog!
Watch the video on YouTube!
_________________________
🔍 EXPLORE FURTHER
You might enjoy these related articles, episodes, and other resources:
Taped Tips | The Secret to Hard Moves that Most Climbers Are Missing
Our Movement Practice Resource Page
Coaching for Mastery Course
_________________________
🔌 SUPPORT + CONNECT
Help us keep the show sponsor-free when you join our Patreon Community for as little as $3.
Get two or more bonus episodes every month on Patreon, Spotify, or Apple.
Subscribe to THE CURRENT and get a monthly exploration of how we can all become better climbers.
Find Power Company on Instagram and YouTube.
Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
_________________________
The Power Company Podcast is a proud founding member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.

(BONUS) EXPERT | Will Anglin on Climbing All The Things, the Intersection of Strength and Movement, and the Ultimate Tool

Will Anglin is one of the founders of Tension Climbing, a company that not only makes training tools, but also is committed to innovation in a way that leads climbers toward mastery over success. In this episode we discuss movement skills, some ways climbers are going wrong in their pursuit and how they can continue improving, and the tools that might get them there.
Check out Tension Climbing and use code STONE at checkout for 10% off of select training tools!
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🔍 EXPLORE FURTHER
You might enjoy these related articles, episodes, and other resources:
If you’re a coach or a climber who wants to learn how to give better feedback, check out our Coaching for Mastery course, part of the Power Company Climbing Academy.
Go down the rabbit hole on our Movement Practice Resource Page.
Are Your Skills Current?  Also available on Spotify or Apple
Grades Aren’t the Only Way to Measure Progress  Also available on Spotify or Apple
More from Will and our friends at Tension:
Kerry Scott | Ambition, Confidence, and Climbing All the Things
Will Anglin and Rowland Chen | P.O.E.
Will Anglin and Rowland Chen | P.O.E. 2
Will Anglin and Michael Rosato | Boards vs. Spray Walls
Roy Quanstrom | Translating Movement
_________________________
🔌 SUPPORT + CONNECT
Help us keep the show sponsor-free when you join our Patreon Community for as little as $3.
Get two or more bonus episodes every month on Patreon, Spotify, or Apple.
Subscribe to THE CURRENT and get a monthly exploration of how we can all become better climbers.
Find Power Company on Instagram and YouTube.
Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
_________________________
The Power Company Podcast is a proud founding member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.
_________________________
📚 CHAPTERS
(0:00) Intro and Topic Description
(2:48) Climb All The Things
(6:23) Figuring Out How to Change Me
(8:06) Boards Make It Easier to Skip the Discomfort
(9:12) ANNOTATION: Constraints, Compensation, and Choices
(12:16) Climbing as Training
(13:16) Climb What?
(14:00) Not Stealing the Struggle
(15:45) Unlearning Skills
(16:50) ANNOTATION: Coach Over-Instruction and Skills Currency
(18:19) Improvement Is Hard to Measure
(22:50) Grades Only Say What We’ve Climbed, Not How Good We Are
(23:30) Will’s 3 Grade System
(24:05) ANNOTATION: Vegetable Climbs List and Diamond vs. Pyramid
(26:10) Skills Aren’t Separate from Strength and Power
(27:33) Skill Is the Intersection of What, How, and Doing
(28:11) How the Tension Board 1 Is a Movement and Strength Tool
(30:44) Just Climb, But With Intention
(31:33) ANNOTATION: Where Strength and Movement Overlap and the Ultimate Learning Tool
(34:31) Wrap Up
(35:35) Credits and Outro

BUILDER | Lauren Abernathy is Building Better Climbing Movement Skills with In-Person Sessions

Lauren Abernathy works hard to be a better climber. In fact, it’s part of her job as owner of Good Spray Climbing to help other people become better climbers, and she walks the walk. For several years she’s worked with our coach Blake Cash, and has recently been supplementing that with private movement sessions with Nate Drolet. 
In this episode, we discuss why she chose to also do in-person sessions alongside her remote coaching with Blake, what’s going well, how she fits the training and sessions into her busy life, and how the movement skills are showing up in her climbing.
Find Lauren online at Good Spray Climbing and on Instagram 
Check out her Fast Track climbing movement course
Listen to The Average Climber Podcast
Book a remote consultation with Nate Drolet.
Find Nate on Instagram and YouTube.
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🔍 EXPLORE FURTHER
You might enjoy these related articles, episodes, and other resources:
EXPERT | Taylor Reed on Climbing Research and Evidence-Informed Movement Coaching
EXPERT | Rob Gray | How We Learn to Move and Skill Acquisition for Climbers (Part 2)
Lauren Abernathy | From Weekend Warrior to Full-Time Coach
BOARD MEETINGS | Top Ways Climbers are Holding Themselves Back with The Average Climber Podcast
Coaching for Mastery Course
_________________________
🔌 SUPPORT + CONNECT
Help us keep the show sponsor-free when you join our Patreon Community for as little as $3.
Get two or more bonus episodes every month on Patreon, Spotify, or Apple.
Subscribe to THE CURRENT and get a monthly exploration of how we can all become better climbers.
Find Power Company on Instagram and YouTube.
Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
_________________________
The Power Company Podcast is a proud founding member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.
_________________________
📚 CHAPTERS
(0:00) Intro and BUILDER Description
(0:36) Guest Introduction and Details
(2:45) Why Lauren Added In-Person Sessions
(8:17) Was There a Specific Goal?
(9:39) An Example of What Nate Noticed In Lauren’s Movement
(18:43) Lauren Rants About Muggle Gyms
(25:58) Fitting Sessions and Training Into Work and Life
(33:09) Adjusting Skill Session Intensity to Fit Life Stressors
(38:34) Kris Explains His Own Recent Skill Wins
(41:39) How Lauren’s Skill Practice Is Showing Up In Her Climbing
(50:14) The Complexities of Tension 
(1:00:19) Nate’s Monologues
(1:01:43) Wrap Up
(1:04:00) Theme

TAPED TIPS | The Secret to Hard Moves that Most Climbers are Missing

For most of us, climbing looks like this:
Pull on, try the move, fall off. Stare at your hands and try to understand why you fell. Pull on, try the move, fall off. Stare at your hands and come up with a new reason why you fell. Pull on again, try the move again, fall off.  Again
You get it. You've been there. But there’s a better way.
In this episode, we’re going to talk about the obvious thing that most climbers are missing when it comes to difficult moves and learn several strategies that will help you do those harder moves, harder boulders, and harder routes faster. 
Read the rest on the blog!
Watch the video on YouTube!
_________________________
🔍 EXPLORE FURTHER
You might enjoy these related articles, episodes, and other resources:
Our Movement Practice Resource Page
Coaching for Mastery Course
_________________________
🔌 SUPPORT + CONNECT
Help us keep the show sponsor-free when you join our Patreon Community for as little as $3.
Get two or more bonus episodes every month on Patreon, Spotify, or Apple.
Subscribe to THE CURRENT and get a monthly exploration of how we can all become better climbers.
Find Power Company on Instagram and YouTube.
Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
_________________________
The Power Company Podcast is a proud founding member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.