The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

Neely Quinn
  • 4.5 (372)
  • Wilderness
  • Updated Biweekly

Hosted by climber, nutritionist, and mindset coach, Neely Quinn, The TrainingBeta Podcast is a regular conversation with rock climbing’s best and brightest, including pro rock climbers, climbing trainers, and other insightful members of the climbing community. You’ll learn how to train for climbing, how to fuel yourself well for climbing, and mindset strategies to help you perform well on the wall and have a great time doing it. Whether you’re a beginner climber or a seasoned pro, you’ll learn something from these conversations, or at the very least, get really stoked to climb and train.

  1. 5d ago

    TBP 319: Rocklands Trip Report and What Matt Needs to Train Now

    Coach Matt Pincus recently got back from an extremely productive 2-month bouldering trip to Rocklands in South Africa, and he’s on the podcast to tell us all about it. Matt’s hardest boulder to date is V12, and on this trip he sent 36 new boulders: 3 x V11 4 x V10 4 x V9 (1 flash) 9 x V8 1 x V7 9 x V6 and a bunch of V5 and lower At one point, he sent a double digit boulder 6 sessions in a row climbing day on day off! In the episode, he explains: how he prepared for the trip (not much) how he planned out his climbing schedule how he maintained his skin why he didn’t focus on any one boulder for very long what he realized he needs to train that he's been neglecting for years I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Matt had such an amazing trip after making the lifestyle changes this past year that he talked about in ​his last interview​. --> Listen on Apple --> Listen on Spotify Or find episode 319 of The TrainingBeta Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was just super exciting to hear about all the success Matt had – sending is fun, and it’s gratifying to see all of Matt’s hard work as a climber pay off for him this year. Matt Can Help You Send Too Matt can help you reach your own climbing goals, whether they’re with bouldering or route climbing. He’s available for coaching commitments where he’ll talk with you over zoom and create a program for you and keep in touch with you via the TrueCoach app throughout the duration of your training program. He’ll help you get stronger and he’ll cater to your specific goals so that you can go out and send your dream boulders and routes. ​Learn More about Working with Matt

  2. Sep 10

    TBP 318: Zoe Sayetta on Cognitive Dissonance, Competitiveness, & Body Image in Climbing

    Coach Zoe Sayetta is back on the show, and this time she’s talking about something she’s been seeing constantly in her coaching: athletes who have trouble holding two feelings about the same performance at once. You either crushed it or you blew it. You’re a good slab climber or a bad one. There’s no room for “I’m proud of this AND I’m disappointed by this,” and Zoe thinks that binary trap is quietly shaping how climbers see themselves, compete, and recover from setbacks. We get into how to actually sit with disappointment instead of talking yourself out of it, why social comparison isn’t automatically the enemy, what it looks like to let a competitive “killer instinct” back into a team culture built on support, and why owning your biggest goals out loud matters more than people think. We close on a heavier but important topic: body image, RED-S, and eating disorders among elite climbers, and how coaches can respond responsibly when they see an athlete in trouble. Find Zoe at www.sayettacoaching.com.

  3. Aug 19

    TBP 317: How to Overcome Climbing Plateaus with Alex Stiger

    Coach Alex Stiger joins Neely to break down what a "plateau" actually is — because most climbers lump together very different problems under that one word, and that's part of why it's so hard to get unstuck. In this episode: The three patterns of progress: linear, growth-spurt, and wave Four types of plateaus — psych, strength, grade, and mental — and why the fix is different for each Why some plateaus don't need fixing at all Zooming out before zooming in: consistency, overusing what already worked, trap grades, recovery, and structure Alex's story of climbing better while getting weaker, and what that reveals about false narratives Practical tools to progress in every session Why changing your partner, gym, or discipline is one of the fastest ways out of a rut Alex has three coaching spots open right now for the first time in a long time! Email her at alex@trainingbeta.com to work with her.

  4. Aug 6

    TBP 316: Consent On and Off the Wall with Author Lillian Frances

    Lillian Frances is a rock climber, music producer, and the author of Finger Banging for Climber Boys, a 50-page illustrated guide to female sexual pleasure, consent, and communication written for the climbing community. She makes a compelling case that asking for what you want isn't a mood-killer: it's the thing that makes everything better, on the wall and off it. We talk about how to set boundaries before a sexy situation escalates, why saying no is actually hot, how "belay on / climb on" is consent too, and why the way a partner reacts to a "no" tells you everything you need to know about them. Fair warning: we use explicit language throughout.

  5. Jul 23

    TBP 315: Climbing Hard at 70 & 56 and Full-Time Road Life with the Odettes

    Chuck Odette is 70 years old, has been climbing for 47 years, and is currently projecting 5.13 with a hip replacement on the horizon and a shoulder replacement behind him. His partner Maggie is 56 and working toward yet another 5.14 send a year out from her own shoulder surgery. Together they've been living and climbing full-time out of a trailer for 11 years, having retired at 59 and 45. In this episode, we talk about living peacefully together in small quarters, navigating a number of surgeries, why Chuck has always prioritized building muscle over staying light, Maggie's experience with menopause and rebuilding muscle in her 50s, how they train outdoors full-time, and the dietary shift in Chuck's early 40s that took him from 5.13- to his first 5.14a in a six-month period — the same year he became a grandfather. This one is for anyone who has ever wondered if you can still climb hard past your 30s and 40s.

  6. Jul 8

    TBP 314: Lifestyle & Training Changes Matt Made to Send a 3-Season Project

    Coach Matt Pincus recently sent a three-season project at Wolf Point, and we thought you might be able to take something away from his experience on it. He changed a lot of things about his life in order to send this route. While Matt has sent numerous 5.14a's and b's at Wolf Point, this route was 5.13d, but it was more challenging for him in a few ways. In this episode, we talk about exactly what he changed in his training and his lifestyle in order to send the route and become a healthier human in the process.

  7. May 27

    TBP 313: Research on Burnout, Performance, and Mental Health in Climbers with Dr. Maria Stefania Ionel

    Dr. Maria Stefania Ionel is a clinical and sport psychologist, postdoctoral researcher, and 8b climber based in Romania who has spent the last decade studying the psychology of climbing specifically. In this episode we talk about what personality traits actually predict climbing performance (grit and openness to experience top the list), the difference between fear of falling and climbing anxiety, perfectionism as a double-edged sword, and how to recognize athletic burnout before it becomes something more serious. Maria is currently running a research study on stress, burnout, and mental health in climbers of all levels. If you've been climbing for at least a year — any discipline, any level — you qualify. It's four surveys over four weeks and fully anonymous. 👉 Take the survey: https://unibuc.questionpro.com/a/TakeSurvey?tt=T/9YT60gbdYECHrPeIW9eQ%3D%3D Full show notes with links to Maria's research and contact info: trainingbeta.com/media/maria-stefania-ionel-burnout

  8. May 13

    TBP 312: Navigating Relationship Issues with Your Climbing Partner

    Neely Quinn and climbing coach Alex sit down to talk through one of the most common — and least discussed — challenges in climbing: the friction between partners. They cover emotional projection, mismatched goals, unsolicited beta, belay trust issues, passive aggression, sacrifice dynamics, competition between partners, and trip planning stress. Both share candid stories from their own partnerships, and Neely explains what couples coaching for climbers actually looks like and how she helps partners hear each other differently. Whether you climb with a romantic partner, a close friend, or a family member, this one will resonate.

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4.5
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About

Hosted by climber, nutritionist, and mindset coach, Neely Quinn, The TrainingBeta Podcast is a regular conversation with rock climbing’s best and brightest, including pro rock climbers, climbing trainers, and other insightful members of the climbing community. You’ll learn how to train for climbing, how to fuel yourself well for climbing, and mindset strategies to help you perform well on the wall and have a great time doing it. Whether you’re a beginner climber or a seasoned pro, you’ll learn something from these conversations, or at the very least, get really stoked to climb and train.

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