FEATURED BLOG POST COLLECTIONS
Power Company Climbing started as a blog, and will remain a place for us to share our insights (and rants) with you. The articles we've written, and information we've compiled is still at the heart of what we do, and we aren't stopping any time soon. Below are our favorite collections, or you can explore the entire blog archive HERE.
Fingers are pretty important to us. At some point, all of us will have a tweak, twinge, or injury, and we'll need to know how to deal with that. In this episode I sit down with Dr. Lisa Erickson, and we dive deep into the methods behind dealing with finger injuries.
Tension Climbing makes wood climbing holds. Why wood? That's exactly what I wanted to know. I've long known that I'm a fan of climbing on wood, and I have my reasons, but I've never put even remotely close to as much thought into it as the guys at Tension have.
Pressure. No matter if it's a comp, a project outdoors, self inflicted or external, we all feel it. In these 3 episodes I sit down with good friend Angie Payne and discuss the pressure cooker situation of a World Cup comp.
We all like to call climbing an art form, but very few of us take it to the high degree that Jason Kehl does. From his haircut to his hold lines, his videos to his gym designs, Jason is anything but conventional, and that's exactly why he's so compelling.
In this episode, Paul, Blake, Nate and I discuss the top 2 ways we break through plateaus. Whether it's mental or physical, unless you're a mutant, you've gotten stuck. That upward trajectory has slowed to a grinding halt, and you don't know what to do. Well, we have some advice.
If there is a polar opposite of "nutrionist", I'm it. I blank out immediately when talking the details of nutrition. Not so with our guest today, Neely Quinn.
Another example of the extras that we'll be giving to the patrons! Nate and I noticed a trending topic online that was causing waves. Jon Glassberg recently wrote a blog for La Sportiva titled "How To Climb V15". He begins the article with this statement:
For this episode we sat down in the Red River Gorge with coach and trainer Dan Mirsky to talk about the redpoint process on his route Solid Gold, but the conversation went elsewhere, and we uncovered something interesting. What resulted is a conversation that essentially boils down to: Do what you're motivated and inspired to do, even if it doesn't make sense.
Tanner Wilson is a 22 year old climber from the middle of Ohio who just went on his first extended road trip of over 5 weeks. Originally he had planned on one big goal, but just before the trip he made a mature decision and changed his mind about what he wanted to accomplish. Because of the new goals, Tanner learned several important lessons... ones that take most of us many trips and seasons to absorb.
Our very first live in front of an audience, live streaming on facebook recording! With the number of things that could have gone wrong, this went REALLY well. We talk with Dave Chancellor of the famous So iLL brothers, and Yusuf Daneshyar, co owner of the Climb So iLL gym in St. Louis about how we all define success and the different paths we took to get there.
Why only 2? Because there are 4 of us in this episode! The whole team sits down for our first Board Meeting together, and discusses the top 2 places where we each get our information. The internets are full of bullshit information, so it's hard to know when what you're reading has any sort of integrity or validity. We break it down the way we do, with lots of laughs in between, and let you know where we look to first for the information we believe in.
Justen doesn't need an introduction, but if you've been hiding under a rock, he's an accomplished climber and coach who has worked with a veritable who's who of American climbing elite. Justen is known for his ability to get into a climbers head and coax more out of them. I wanted to give you something different
This fall and winter as I've traveled from the Red River Gorge for steep, pumpy routes, to Chattanooga for delicately thuggy sloper squeezing, and finally to Hueco Tanks for powerful steep roofs and incut edges, I've heard the same question over and over while I'm foam rolling in the evening.
"Whoa! Why didn't I think of that?"
As a result of our Episode 29 podversation with Rhino Skin Solutions, we've partnered with them to offer the Power Company Performance Pack. Because Nate and I have very different skin, thus very different needs, we specifically chose these products so that you can discover which products work best for your skin type.
Skin Care. You're probably not doing it right. Even if you are, there is much to learn from this podversation with Justin and Andi Brown from Rhino Skin Solutions. We talk skin types, how to use each of their individual products (and how not to), and how and why they work.
This an extremely rare "catch and release" episode. Nate and I were in Austin for a workshop at Crux Climbing Center, and I saw the news that Cody Roth had completed the FA of "Me I Eat Dust", which at 14+ is the hardest sport climb in Texas. However, it was his comments about the idea that while he isn't in the shape he was in his 20's, he's climbing better, that got me interested.
Today we're talking to our Strength and Conditioning Coach, Paul Corsaro, about a topic that is extremely important to all of us.... Why Form Matters. Whether it be strength training, climbing, or just sitting at a desk chair. Regardless of what you're doing, form matters.
Meghan Baker is a recently married 43 year old mom (to a teenager), who works 50 hours a week, is a brilliant actress in local theater groups, volunteers her time to both The Beta Fund and The HERA Foundation, and still makes time to train for climbing. You think you are tight on time? Well, to be frank, you're full of shit.
In our first episode of 2017, we talk with climber Craig Demartino, who also happens to be an amputee. You'd never know it by talking to him or climbing with him, unless he pulls up his pants leg. Despite the odds, he's become a better rock climber after deciding to amputate his leg. That's correct... he DECIDED to amputate. A tough decision that he's very nonchalant about.
Are you allowing yourself to be too nonchalant with your projects? It's one thing to have big goals, understand their magnitude, and incrementally work your way towards them. However, this is very different from allowing yourself to get intimidated by your goals and using that fear to exaggerate the process required to achieve them
Believe me, I understand the urge. You want to help. Or you want to show off. Or you want to be an Exspurt. It could be that you have every great intention, and you really want to see that person succeed and see progression in their climbing. I doubt it, but it's possible.
Problem is, progress is about learning, but because of your spray, they likely didn't learn a damned thing.
"Comparison is the thief of joy." -Theodore Roosevelt
Around here, we like to use the hashtag #webuildmachines.
However, I'm acutely aware that you could just as often substitute with the hashtag #webuildmonsters, and I don't mean that in a positive way.
Do as I say, not as I do. I wish those instructions actually worked, but they never do. Fact is, I train hard. I train smart. Most of the people I work with do the same, and I'm not shy about telling them that if they are taking shortcuts, they are only hurting themselves. But here's where it goes wrong...
Recently Rock and Ice posted This Video, from Daniel Woods and The North Face to their Facebook feed, and like everyone else, I watched. At first I just dismissed it, but the more I thought about it, the more I needed to rant a little to you guys (and whoever else will listen).
We've been building a Power Company training room, complete with new toys that you'll be seeing in reviews, including Eva Lopez's Transgression hangboard, and the system holds from Atomik Climbing.
I feel your pain. It's easy to get discouraged by how quickly the pros seem to put down the hardest projects, when for 2 seasons you've worked on the same 12c, and still haven't been able to clip the chains. Maybe you're just in too far over your head? Maybe those guys and girls you read about just aren't trying things that are hard enough for them.
A kid at the crag wanted to try and flash a steep, cruxy 12b, which would have been his hardest flash by far. The hardest moves are right off the ground and ease up considerably after the 2nd bolt, leading to a mostly juggy pumpfest to the chains. Standard protocol is to stick clip the 2nd bolt, where blowing the tough clip would certainly be disastrous. I gave the kid, who boulders stronger than I do, beta. Good beta. He climbed through the crux, and the very moment the 2nd bolt was at his waist, he said "Take!".
Several years ago I came off of a hiatus to rediscover rock climbing, in the form of clipping bolts. After embarrassingly realizing complete failure on an 11a (and an incredibly painful pump that lasted about 6 hours) it was obvious that I lacked endurance, specifically when the rock was even slightly steeper than vertical. Like any good boy, I got my ass into the gym asap, and ran laps like a madman.
This fall and winter as I've traveled from the Red River Gorge for steep, pumpy routes, to Chattanooga for delicately thuggy sloper squeezing, and finally to Hueco Tanks for powerful steep roofs and incut edges, I've heard the same question over and over while I'm foam rolling in the evening.
"Whoa! Why didn't I think of that?"
When it comes to training, and training for climbing in particular, it's incredibly rare that a product hits the market that I really feel is a game changer. On average, most products are just a reshaping of another, equally useful (or useless) product. Many of these "NEW!", "AMAZING!!", "GUARANTEED!!!" products quickly end up as toys for circus tricks or drunken contests.
While I've not had the opportunity to read either of these books, I definitely plan to (and review them both), and wanted to let you all know of their existence, so you can check them out HERE.
Shortly after it was available in the U.S., I eagerly got my hands on this new book from Patrick Matros and Dicki Korb, trainers and coaches of German wunderkind Alex Megos. I'm naturally a skeptic, particularly when it comes to a training program that any uber-strong climber uses. I mean, who's to say that said training program had anything to do with getting them there?
By now you've all seen them somewhere. The first time I remember seeing anyone using hanging "balls" for training was Patxi Usobiaga in the BigUp film Progression. While the way Patxi's training was portrayed struck me as not only uninformed but possibly dangerous, the image of those free hanging orbs stuck with me.
If you've seen, or been lucky enough to climb on any of the dual textured holds created by the DRCC, then you're already aware that they serve two important functions.
In my own experience, as well as in my experience with clients, Limit (or Max) Bouldering is a tough exercise for many people to connect with, and is probably the most misunderstood exercise in your training plan. Ironically, for most of us, it is also the most important.
Oh shit, it actually happened... Episode 1.
In this, our inaugural episode, we talk with pro climber Carlo Traversi, exploring the merits of being dynamic in your climbing.
So in Parts 1 thru 3 we learned why we should campus, the basics of how to do it, and when to use the plyometric approach to campusing. Still, that doesn't tell you much about how to actually implement it, now does it?
Many of you have seen the video of Daniel Woods sending the infamous "Bubble Wrap" project at CATS in Boulder, Colorado. If you haven't, you should. But prepare yourself... this isn't the typical bouldering video.
I've been meaning to write this post for quite some time, so to those of you whom I've told "Coming Soon", I now say "Finally!". I've recently been designing training protocols for our mobile app, and while building campus plans for several types of climber, it reoccurred to me how misunderstood campusing is. In this post, I'm simply going to go over the basics, and then I'll get into more detail soon. Promise.
Some time ago I received a reader question about System Boarding for Power. At the time my experience with a system board was limited to the most basic, bare bones, old school version of a system board, containing HIT strips, a few pinches, and maybe a few other holds in random spots.
Ok, obviously it's important to be able to see, though some would rightfully argue that idea. Regardless, that isn't at all the type of vision I'm speaking of. What I'm referencing is having the ability to "see" moves that you can't even imagine. To attempt sequences that you couldn't possibly dream up.
While sitting in the gym staring down the orange problem, and examining the love/hate relationship that I share with it, I can't help but notice the frustration bubbling up all around. I watch several climbers, good climbers, who I consider to have more natural power than I have, quickly giving up on moves they can't yet comprehend. Rather than learn a new body position or movement, they instantly release a familiar barrage of excuses...
This fall and winter as I've traveled from the Red River Gorge for steep, pumpy routes, to Chattanooga for delicately thuggy sloper squeezing, and finally to Hueco Tanks for powerful steep roofs and incut edges, I've heard the same question over and over while I'm foam rolling in the evening.
"Whoa! Why didn't I think of that?"
Like so many of us, my time is very much monopolized by parts of life that have nothing to do with climbing up rocks. Between building a house, work, fathering, and boyfriending, I had already come to grips with the fact that my fall 2011 season would be a short one. Rather than get into any big projects I had decided to just consolidate my climbing where it already is, send a few more 13c's, and get back to building the house before winter hit.
I get immensely motivated when I know that climbers who are really putting thought into their approach to our sport are reading this blog. I've recently had a few great comments that force me to articulate my ideas from other angles, which is exactly the sort of communication I was hoping for in starting The Power Company.
Recently, while reading through the "Kill Bill" workout designed over the years by 50 year old hardman and former Red River Gorge local, Bill Ramsey, one phrase stood out to me.
"for shaking out, which most climbers don't train enough of."
Simple question, right? Well, the simple answer is that yes, in my opinion, it worked wonderfully. In fact, my training season is ramping back up as I write this, and I plan on continuing with the high/low approach.
The High/Low approach to training for climbing sounds incredibly simple. If you feel strong, and it's been at least 48 hours since your last "high" day, then do another. If you don't feel strong, or it hasn't been that long, do a "low" day. The problem is that it's much more challenging than first meets the eye, particularly when you are training for something as complex and hard to measure as rock climbing.
Conditions worsening by the second.
I’m in the car on the way to Denver from snowy Lander, Wyoming. We arrived in Lander just in time for the good weather to fall apart. Realizing that my main objective, The Strawberry Roan, would be completely out of the question with the impending snowstorm, we headed up to Sinks Canyon so I could put in a little work on a 13c called “Endeavor To Persevere”.
It seems to be the question everyone is asking. Admittedly, I had my reservations as well. I love training anaerobic endurance. Leaving the gym absolutely wrecked just FEELS right. I mean, AE is the main building block of hard sport climbing, right? So when I read that Charlie Francis trained his sprinters by avoiding AE training, I was a little taken aback, and extremely skeptical.
Tomorrow is the official first day of my autumn season. I've got high hopes and big goals that I'll be working toward, and the lead up to this point has been a little bit nerve wracking. Reason is, I've completely scrapped the old model of periodization training that I've followed for the last several years in favor of something new.
Simple question, right? Well, the simple answer is that yes, in my opinion, it worked wonderfully. In fact, my training season is ramping back up as I write this, and I plan on continuing with the high/low approach.
I've been friends with, climbed with, and offered training advice to Yasmeen Fowler for several years. While her email didn't exactly surprise me, the timing of it did. Back in the spring of 2009 she broke through the 12d barrier with the classic "Jesus Wept" at Red River Gorge, and added another 12d in the fall of the same year
As I've mentioned about 24,593 times, for most of the season I exchanged my superlight sport harness for a far too heavy toolbelt. We're nearing the finish, and I'm extremely proud of what we've created. Yes, it came at the cost of what could have been a great season for me. Outweighing that is the fact that we've completely rebuilt a house out of our pocket... which means zero debt... which means more future climbing trips. I can hardly wait.
I'll be the first to admit that I didn't have very high expectations for this case study. I was positive that Taylor had the skills to put it all together. I was positive that if he applied himself, he'd do well. However, I wasn't so sure that he'd stick to the program for more than a week or two. His mother told me that I didn't need to do all this training to find out that he had trouble focusing.
You might say that Taylor has a hard time focusing on things for very long. Based on my time spent climbing with him, I would certainly say that. This knowledge played a big part in how I approached coming up with a program for him.
I'm just gonna get it out of the way right now... this particular case study is almost like cheating. My goal is to recruit 3 people for these informal studies: One relative beginner, one average climber who's bumped into a ceiling, and one above average climber who only needs direction. I'm starting with the latter.
n this episode Nate and I sit down with Allison Stowers, a Chattanooga climber and physical therapist. We discuss the climber injuries that Allison most often sees in her clinic... shoulders and hip region injuries.