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33 episodes
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Modus Cafe: Conversations Beyond Climbing Mercedes Pollmeier & Katja Dove
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- Health & Fitness
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5.0 • 17 Ratings
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Welcome to Modus Cafe. Join us for fun, light-hearted, and educational conversations around training, athletic longevity, and the human side of climbing. Hosted by Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach, Mercedes Pollmeier, and Mindset Coach, Katja Dove. Mercedes has over 15 years of coaching experience in the climbing industry. She was a competitive climber and, in another life, a semi-pro tennis player. She has an M.S. in Human Movement and has helped thousands of climbers feel and perform their best. Katja has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and started her coaching career in nutrition. Now, she helps her athletes overcome some of their biggest mindset obstacles and to find joy in climbing and life.
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33. How To Train Climbing Power | Steve Bechtel Training Series
Do you feel slow or static on most climbing moves or steer clear of dynamic moves? It might be a telltale sign of insufficient power if you're avoiding dynamic movement like the plague. In this podcast, we're joined by Steve Bechtel, who will unpack the critical role of power in climbing. We'll explore effective ways to train for power so you can be confident in your approach, clarify common misconceptions about what power training isn't, and discuss how to effectively integrate these strategies into your climbing programming.
Join our of 3500 subscribers for articles and updates https://www.modusathletica.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modusathletica/Check out our website: https://www.modusathletica.com/Learn with us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mercedespollmeier -
32. Why we choose NOT to climb hard
You don't have to project or climb your limit to climb hard in your sessions. In this podcast, we redefine what trying hard means, and it looks different depending on the session.
Mercedes shares a bit about her training process coming back from an injury, and limit climbing is not in the cards for her. She shares what she does instead.
Katja share her transition from strength phase to her current phase which includes some outdoor climbing.
We also share some of our favorite drills to that help you improve your climbing capacity without completely wrecking yourself.
Join our of 3500 subscribers for articles and updates https://www.modusathletica.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modusathletica/
Check out our website: https://www.modusathletica.com/
Learn with us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mercedespollmeier -
31. The Everyday Climbing Hero - Special Guest Alissa DeBernardo
Our special guest today shares her experience as a mom, training with little time, while in her fifties! She is seeing progress and finds joy in her training. Join us today as she shares her tips for training and how to keep consistent if you're a busy human.
Enrollment is open for our climbing training membership, where we take care of your climbing training! Sign up here: https://www.modusathletica.com/stronger-together -
30. Two Climbing Drills For maximum Impovement
At Modus, we love drills, and we do many of them! But we thought we would share two drills that are our favorite and our go-tos if you have minimal time or have a tough time deciding what you need to focus on.
If you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced climber, these two drills will change how you experience climbing, and as a bonus, you'll also become more confident.
Katja shares her upcoming climbing plans and the importance of effective bouldering warm-ups, while Coach Merc introduces a game-changing drill that promises significant improvements in reach, control, and body tension.
We discuss the benefits of these techniques, how to use them, and provide insights into incorporating them into your routine. Want a jump start to your training?
Sign up here to get instant access to our free Intro To Training Masterclass: https://www.modusathletica.com/masterclass
Want a simple training program to follow? Join our amazing group training membership Stronger Together: https://www.modusathletica.com/stronger-together
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29. Specific Climbing Training | Steve Bechtel Training Series
Join Coach Merc & Katja from Modus Athletica and climbing coach Steve Bechtel from Climb Strong in an in-depth conversation on Specific Training for Climbing.
We cover more nuanced climbing training topics, emphasizing the critical balance between general strength and specific climbing training. Learn from Steve's expert insights on various training boards, the role of technique over raw strength, and the effective use of video self-assessment to refine climbing skills.
For climbers who aim to stay in the sport long-term while balancing performance, this episode offers perspectives on improving finger strength, understanding the importance of overall athleticism, and exploring efficient strength gains.
This episode is perfect for climbers at all levels looking to push their limits and coaches seeking fresh insights into climbing training methodologies.
Links mentioned in the episode:
Project direct article link. https://www.projectdirectcoaching.com/blog/whatmetricsmatter
Slow-motion climbing https://youtu.be/isZ176DKNN4
High step strength drill https://youtube.com/shorts/p18uP1bzGlc
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28. Identifying Your Ego In Climbing | How It Holds You Back
There are subtle ways our ego can creep into our climbing sessions, especially when we are in "training" mode. This podcast discusses signs of ego, how we sabotage ourselves without knowing it, and how we avoid looking weak by sacrificing what's best for us.
There is also a big difference between training and performing, which is important to define and realize if you are currently training.
Check yourself before you wreck yourself.
Customer Reviews
Great Deep Dives into Training Methods
As a scientist, I’ve really enjoyed the deep dives into training methods. Climbing has been a periodic hobby, and I feel like this has equipped me to approach training more methodically, and also helped me understand why plateaus happen. One of the really helpful discussions was the endurance episode, where they de-emphasized power endurance and instead focused on gear 1 and gear 3. Worth a listen and subscribe!
Engaging, insightful, accessible and fun!
I’ve really enjoyed these first 3 episodes. They strike a nice balance between providing useful, practical tips and tricks for training sessions and projecting, and delving deeper into psychological/emotional themes that you may not normally associate with pulling on rocks/plastic. Really looking forward to seeing what Mercedes and Katja have in store for upcoming episodes!
Love it
Two of my favorite people discussing interesting topics in climbing, mobility and mindset? I’m in. Katja and Mercedes are both super knowledgeable and have a great dynamic.