The Struggle Climbing Show Pro Access

Elite climber Michaela Kiersch shares her struggles and breakthroughs in Training, Nutrition, Tactics, and Mental Game
 


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Michaela Kiersch has been crushing for decades. She’s the first woman to climb both 5.15a and V14 (9a+ / 8B+). The 5.15 was La Rambla, and as Michaela shares today, she doesn't feel like she has yet hit her limit in sport grades. Other notable sport sends for Michaela include the 14d/9a ascent of the Chris Sharma line Dreamcatcher in Squamish, a first female ascent of another classic Sharma route, Necessary Evil, and pretty much everything at the Red River Gorge, including the 14c FFA of The Golden Ticket. On the blocks she’s got a few V14 (8B+) sends to her name, including Tigris Sit and New Base Line, both in Magic Wood. And what’s perhaps more impressive than her ticklist is the fact that she’s done pretty much all of it while being a full-time student and youth coach. If you want to get psyched on what we’re all capable of accomplishing with busy lives and limited time to train… you’re in the right place. 



 


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CHAPTERS:


Struggle: 0:10:10
Training: 0:12:01


Nutrition: 0:26:52


Tactics: 0:36:33


Mental Game: 0:46:00


Purpose: 0:57:14


Takeaways: 1:03:22


 


Follow along on Instagram @michaelakiersch and @thestruggleclimbingshow. 
 
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The Struggle is on YouTube! Watch interviews with the sport's best climbers come to life with amazing footage and actionable takeaways that'll help you to level up your Training, Nutrition, Tactics, and Mental Game. Check it all out at YouTube.com/@thestruggleclimbingshow. 
 


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BIG THANKS TO THE AMAZING SPONSORS OF THE STRUGGLE:
 
Crimpd: The absolute best tool for self-coached climbers to stay on track with training. Visit Crimpd.com to download the app for FREE and take your training to the next level. 
 
SCARPA: Whether you’re a climber, trail runner, skier, or hiker, SCARPA offers an array of adventure footwear for the adventure seeker in you. with a commitment to sustainability. Shop the whole collection at SCARPA.com. SCARPA, No Place Too Far.
 
PhysiVantage: the official climbing-nutrition sponsor of The Struggle. Use code STRUGGLE15 at checkout for 15% off your full-priced nutrition order. 
 
Frictitious Climbing: Check out their revolutionary doorway mount for hangboards (no drilling!) along with their amazing boards for training your fingers at home or on the road. Score 20% off a board when you purchase a doorway mount: 


 


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The Struggle is carbon-neutral in partnership with The Honnold Foundation, whose mission is to promote solar energy for a more equitable world.
 


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Want to gain access to 20+ hours of exclusive content featuring Chris Sharma, Alex Honnold, Nina Williams, Ravioli Biceps, Michaela Kiersch, Emil Abrahamsson and more? Support the show and the climbers who make it by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/thestruggleclimbingshow
 


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Still reading? You deserve a free sticker: Please rate and review the show -- it really helps us to reach a wider audience! Snap a pic of your review, post to IG, and tag @thestruggleclimbingshow so that we can find you, and we'll send you a sticker just because you're rad.
 


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This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin. The Struggle is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a diverse group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
 


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The struggle makes us stronger. Let's climb hard and do good things in the world!

 

Elite climber Michaela Kiersch shares her struggles and breakthroughs in Training, Nutrition, Tactics, and Mental Game
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Michaela Kiersch has been crushing for decades. She’s the first woman to climb both 5.15a and V14 (9a+ / 8B+). The 5.15 was La Rambla, and as Michaela shares today, she doesn't feel like she has yet hit her limit in sport grades. Other notable sport sends for Michaela include the 14d/9a ascent of the Chris Sharma line Dreamcatcher in Squamish, a first female ascent of another classic Sharma route, Necessary Evil, and pretty much everything at the Red River Gorge, including the 14c FFA of The Golden Ticket. On the blocks she’s got a few V14 (8B+) sends to her name, including Tigris Sit and New Base Line, both in Magic Wood. And what’s perhaps more impressive than her ticklist is the fact that she’s done pretty much all of it while being a full-time student and youth coach. If you want to get psyched on what we’re all capable of accomplishing with busy lives and limited time to train… you’re in the right place. 
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CHAPTERS:
Struggle: 0:06:55
Training: 0:08:46
Nutrition: 0:23:37
Tactics: 0:31:05
Mental Game: 0:40:29
Purpose: 0:51:42
Bonus: 0:58:44
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Follow along on Instagram @michaelakiersch and @thestruggleclimbingshow. 
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The Struggle is on YouTube! Watch interviews with the sport's best climbers come to life with amazing footage and actionable takeaways that'll help you to level up your Training, Nutrition, Tactics, and Mental Game. Check it all out at YouTube.com/@thestruggleclimbingshow. 
-
The Struggle is carbon-neutral in partnership with The Honnold Foundation, whose mission is to promote solar energy for a more equitable world.
-
This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin. The Struggle is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a diverse group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
-
The struggle makes us stronger. Thank you so much for supporting the show as a Subscriber! You're awesome.

Dr. Tyler Nelson dives deep into all things finger strength training
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Tyler is bringing cutting edge science to the world of training for climbing and, in the process, he is blowing up myths of training that we’ve long thought to be true and helping climbers, from pros to everyday climbers, identify exactly what types of training will take their climbing performance to new heights. In graduate school Tyler completed a dual doctorate/masters degree in exercise science with an emphasis on tendon loading and rehabilitation. He is also a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the NSCA and teaches conferences worldwide on a host of topics. Get ready to get strong!
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Topics:
The difference between strength training protocols and hypertrophy protocols, and why many climbers are getting it wrong
How to balance off the wall finger strength training with on the wall climbing 
Exploring the various methodologies of finger strength training
Why using a fingerboard doesn’t make sense for training strength in experienced climbers 
Why most climbers are doing too many hang board reps that are too long for building strength
Proper set/rep schemes for building strength
Whether a no hang protocol like Emil’s viral routine is actually beneficial
Minimal edge training vs just climbing
The significant benefit of training fingers on an un-level edge
How to switch things up to build muscular endurance
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Follow along on Instagram @c4hp and @thestruggleclimbingshow. 
Get $10 off a Tindeq with code C4HP at https://tindeq.com/?ref=530
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THANKS TO THE SPONSORS WHO SUPPORT THE STRUGGLE:

 
PhysiVantage: the official climbing-nutrition sponsor of The Struggle. Use code STRUGGLE15 at checkout for 15% off your full-priced nutrition order. 
 


Fricition Labs is the official chalk sponsor of The Struggle. Level up your grip game with the best in the biz, free of fillers, rosins, and drying agents so your skin stays healthier. Use code STRUGGLE20 for 20% off at frictionlabs.com. 
 

KAYA Climb: Log your boulder sends and access 35+ GPS guidebooks and 300k community-uploaded beta videos. Download for free, and get 20% the PRO version HERE
 
-The Struggle is on YouTube! Watch interviews with the sport's best climbers come to life with amazing footage and actionable takeaways that'll help you to level up your Training, Nutrition, Tactics, and Mental Game. Check it all out at YouTube.com/@thestruggleclimbingshow. 
-
The Struggle is carbon-neutral in partnership with The Honnold Foundation, whose mission is to promote solar energy for a more equitable world.
-
This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin. The Struggle is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a diverse group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
-
The Struggle makes us stronger. Thank you so much for supporting this show! And if you're still reading (wow!) would you take 10 seconds to rate/review the show? Thanks so much, it makes a big difference in reaching more climbers! 

Dr. Tyler Nelson dives deep into all things finger training
-
Tyler is bringing cutting edge science to the world of training for climbing and, in the process, he is blowing up myths of training that we’ve long thought to be true and helping climbers, from pros to everyday climbers, identify exactly what types of training will take their climbing performance to new heights. In graduate school Tyler completed a dual doctorate/masters degree in exercise science with an emphasis on tendon loading and rehabilitation. He is also a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the NSCA and teaches conferences worldwide on a host of topics. Get ready to get strong!
-
Topics:
The difference between strength training protocols and hypertrophy protocols, and why many climbers are getting it wrong
How to balance off the wall finger strength training with on the wall climbing
Exploring the various methodologies of finger strength training
Why using a fingerboard doesn’t make sense for training strength in experienced climbers
Why most climbers are doing too many hang board reps that are too long for building strength
Proper set/rep schemes for building strength
Whether a no hang protocol like Emil’s viral routine is actually beneficial
Minimal edge training vs just climbing
The significant benefit of training fingers on an un-level edge
How to switch things up to build muscular endurance
-
Follow along on Instagram @c4hp and @thestruggleclimbingshow.

Get $10 off a Tindeq with code C4HP at https://tindeq.com/?ref=530
-
The Struggle is on YouTube! Watch interviews with the sport's best climbers come to life with amazing footage and actionable takeaways that'll help you to level up your Training, Nutrition, Tactics, and Mental Game. Check it all out at YouTube.com/@thestruggleclimbingshow.
-
The Struggle is carbon-neutral in partnership with The Honnold Foundation, whose mission is to promote solar energy for a more equitable world.
-
This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin. The Struggle is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a diverse group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
-
The Struggle makes us stronger. Thank you so much for supporting this show! And if you're still reading (wow!) would you take 10 seconds to rate/review the show? Thanks so much, it makes a big difference in reaching more climbers!

Coach Eric Horst continues the Road to 13a series with me as we explore my summer training (and what I did wrong), and then gets specific on how to level up my endurance and tactics for the hardest route I've ever taken on.
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Eric is the host of the Training4Climbing podcast, author of numerous climbing bibles, pro coach for decades, founder of Physivantage nutrition, and all around crusher in his own right. Regardless of your style, grade, or goals, this conversation will help you to plan your projects and training in a manner that leads to big gains. Topics covered include:
- Reviewing my summer training and where I hit and missed - Overview of the 13s I tried, and which one I chose- How to break down a limit route for training and tactics- Should I keep or lose strength training as we get in-season- How to build maximum endurance in 6 weeks- The impact of body composition on an overhung route- The power of believing
 
This BONUS episode is brought to you by Patrons and Subscribers of the show. If you're getting value from this podcast it would mean a lot to me if you'd consider coming aboard. For as little as $5 per month you get full access to Pro Clinics, bonus episodes, extended and ad-free episodes, and other cool perks. Thanks for supporting me if you can! www.patreon.com/thestruggleclimbingshow
 
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Follow along on Instagram @thestruggleclimbingshow and @eric_horst
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The Struggle is carbon-neutral in partnership with The Honnold Foundation, whose mission is to promote solar energy for a more equitable world. 
-This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin. The Struggle is a proud member of the Plugtone Audio Collective, a diverse group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.-The struggle makes us stronger! Thanks for listening. 

Coach Eric Horst continues the Road to 13a series with me as we explore my summer training (and what I did wrong), and then gets specific on how to level up my endurance and tactics for the hardest route I've ever taken on.
-
Eric is the host of the Training4Climbing podcast, author of numerous climbing bibles, pro coach for decades, founder of Physivantage nutrition, and all around crusher in his own right. Regardless of your style, grade, or goals, this conversation will help you to plan your projects and training in a manner that leads to big gains. Topics covered include:
- Reviewing my summer training and where I hit and missed
- Overview of the 13s I tried, and which one I chose
- How to break down a limit route for training and tactics
- Should I keep or lose strength training as we get in-season
- How to build maximum endurance in 6 weeks
- The impact of body composition on an overhung route
- The power of believing

The Struggle is carbon-neutral in partnership with The Honnold Foundation, whose mission is to promote solar energy for a more equitable world. 
-
Follow along on Instagram @thestruggleclimbingshow and @eric_horst
-
This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin. The Struggle is a proud member of the Plugtone Audio Collective, a diverse group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.
-
The struggle makes us stronger! Thank you for supporting the show as a Subscriber. YOU ARE AWESOME.