Climbing Coaching with Matt Pincus

matt pincus online climbing training

Matt is a seasoned climber and trainer who will provide you with a personalized training plan based on your goals, your abilities, the equipment you have, and any limitations you have with time or injuries. As your coach, he’ll stay in constant contact with you from anywhere in the world.

If you’re looking for exercises to help you get stronger, he will definitely give you those, but he’ll also teach you about efficient tactics, sustainable training habits, and avoiding projecting pitfalls. In other words, he’ll help you reach your goals using methods beyond just making you stronger.

Description of Services

When you sign up for online coaching with Matt Pincus, you’ll start with a detailed 4-week plan on the TrueCoach app to help you reach your goals. Whether you have a project you’d like to send during a trip coming up in 6 weeks or you just want to get stronger so you can onsight more climbs next season–or anything in between– your plan will be tailored to your goals and available to you on the app.

Along with specific strength, power, and endurance work, Matt will guide you in how to structure your climbing sessions, whether they’re outside or inside. He’ll also give you tactical advice and encouragement whenever you need it.

  • Plan available on any phone, tablet, or computer

  • Contact Matt any time for feedback and advice on app

  • Video instruction for each exercise

  • Regular check-in phone calls

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have other questions, please email Matt at matt@trainingbeta.com or call us at (650) 731-5615.

After you sign up to work with Matt, you’ll be sent an email with a link to an intake questionnaire. You’ll then be asked to make your first appointment with Matt on his calendar for your initial 90-minute phone or Skype call. Matt will get you your first 4-week training plan within one week of that call. You’ll get set up on the training app, TrueCoach, and from there you’ll have constant access to your training plans and to Matt, as he checks in with his athletes’ accounts almost every day.

After you sign up to work with Matt, you’ll be sent an email with a link to an intake questionnaire. After your fill that out, you’ll do your initial consultation with Matt, which is usually within a week of signing up. Matt will get you your first 4-week training plan within one week of that call.
Matt uses the app TrueCoach as his platform for his athletes. You’ll sign up for free as a user of TrueCoach and get the app on your phone or other device. He will create your training plan in TrueCoach and then you’ll be able to access it whenever and wherever you need it. The app facilitates constant contact between you and Matt, so you can ask him questions and get feedback or encouragement whenever you need it.
As a seasoned boulderer and route climber and an avid student of training for both of those aspects of our sport, Matt is excited to work with any type of climber at any ability level. He will build a program that fits your needs, your goals, and the equipment you have available.

Most of Matt’s clients sign up to work with him for 4 weeks to start with. That way they can experience his training plan and coaching style and see if he’s a good fit. So if you’re a new client, the 4-week plan is where we’d suggest you start. However, if you know you want to work with Matt on a regular basis, then the subscription plan is an easy way to do that and not have to worry about re-upping your payment every 4 or 12 weeks. It’s also a good option if you don’t want to (or can’t) pay $715 all at once for the 12-week option. But either way, we recommend the Subscription and the 12-Week options to people who’ve worked with Matt before and know they want to keep working with him. But just so you know, he has clients that have been with him for years now, and many stay for at least several months.

The ideal climbing training setup is a steep bouldering wall, a hangboard with the ability to adjust the load (a pulley system or whatnot), weights/kettlebells, and gymnastic rings/TRX. That being said, you can definitely get by with less. It’s just not as ideal.

If we all stopped climbing and training every time we had a minor tweak or somethings hurt a little, we wouldn’t get to climb very often.  That being said, no single climb or training cycle is worth turning a tweak into an injury. If you are currently injured, we can try to work around your injury, but it really depends on the individual injury and the severity of the injury. Injuries will have to be discussed on a case by case basis. Feel free to email matt@trainingbeta.com if you’re not sure if your situation is a good fit.

As climbers, we shouldn’t be thinking of training as a path to quick gain. Long-term development as a climber is much more important, and that’s why Matt likes to work with athletes on an ongoing basis. However, even with a more long-term focus, climbers, especially those without an extensive training background, can start to see results in as little as a couple weeks.

No, not at all! If this is the first time you’ve focused much on your training, it’s actually great to have someone guide you through it so you’re not just guessing about what to do. Matt will work with you no matter what your experience with training is.

Pricing Options

4 Weeks

$295
  • Most Popular
  • 90-min Initial Skype Call
  • 4-week Training Plan
  • One-Time Payment
  • Constant Coaching from Matt
  • Uses TrueCoach App

12 Weeks

$840
  • Save $45
  • 90-min Initial Skype Call/month
  • Three 4-week Training Plans
  • One-Time Payment
  • Constant Coaching from Matt
  • Uses TrueCoach App

Subscription*

$285month
  • 2-Month Minimum*
  • 90-min Initial Skype Call
  • Continuous Training Plans
  • Billed Monthly
  • Constant Coaching from Matt
  • Uses TrueCoach App

Hour Consult

$100hour
  • Quick Consult
  • 60-min Video Consult
  • Help with Building a Plan
  • Advice on Projecting Tactics
  • Climbing Video Analysis
  • Strength Training Advice

*The Subscription option is recommended for existing clients who know they want to continue working with Matt. There is a 2-month minimum commitment for this option. If you’re a first-time client, we recommend the 4-Week option to see if this is the right fit for you.

Have questions? Email Matt at matt@trainingbeta.com or call us at (650) 731-5615.

matt training climbing

About Your Coach, Matt Pincus

Matt Pincus is a boulderer and a sport climber who lives in Jackson, Wyoming, and often travels all over the world to climb. He’s sent up to 5.14a and V12 and is constantly changing and tweaking the ways he trains as he learns new things. Because of his success with his own training and climbing, he began training others.

Matt has studied the art of training for climbing for years, reading dozens of books on climbing training, general strength training, mindset, and coaching. He’s attended two Performance Climbing Coach seminars, BFR Certification Course, and various other continuing education programs to hone his skills as a coach. Beyond providing guidance about strength training and skills development, Matt educates his clients about redpointing tactics and other crag/gym behavior changes that lead to quicker sends.

Matt’s ability to listen to people’s needs, his attention to detail, and his keen interest in all things training contribute to his ability to create effective training plans and coaching for his clients.

Testimonials

I sent my first V12…

I signed up with Matt 6 weeks out from a trip to the USA to try and send my first V12, ‘Wet Dream’ in Red Rocks, Las Vegas. After our initial consultation, Matt did an awesome job of restructured my training schedule to target specific areas, while working around my somewhat limited facilities and 50+ hr work weeks.

I really appreciated his analytical approach and solid justifications for the workouts, and after the 6-week phase I’ve no doubt that I was in the best shape of my life. Three weeks later, late in the day on my last day of the trip, I managed to link all the moves, and top out the boulder. So psyched to have achieved a long-term goal, and to start the next round of training! Cheers Matt!

Lans Hansen, Boulderer from New Zealand

Lans_Wet dream_webres copy

Went from 5.12- to 5.13-…

Before I started working with Matt I was a climber stuck in a plateau. I had tried various training regiments and fads with mixed results. I could never stick to a program, self-made or otherwise, that built me into a better climber. I was fed up with falling off the same climbs and the same grades.

Shortly after starting with Matt, he immediately identified a serious weakness in my technique. He introduced new climbing drills and tailored the training to not only hit my goals but to fundamentally improve my skills as a climber. In the short time I’ve been with Matt, I went from 5.12- to 5.13-. For me, the numbers are meaningless. Far more importantly, Matt has given me a framework for continual improvement and enjoyment of this activity we love so much.

– Said Parirokh, Southern California boulderer and sport climber

photo by @climbak15

Hit my goal of 5.12…

I started training with Matt about a year ago when I began to run into trouble matching my 80+ hour work schedule with climbing. I shared with him my goals of climbing v8 and 5.12 and he assured me I could get there even with my time restrictions. For the last year, he has been available whenever I’ve needed and happily adjusted my workouts to keep them exciting, efficient and fitting into my ever-changing schedule. I’ve recently hit my goal of 5.12 and know that v8 is not far behind.

– Sarah Marschall, medical resident climber with limited free time

From projecting v6 and 12a to onsighting v6 and 12b…

Having followed several self-guided training routines over the past 4-5 years, I had seen some results but didn’t have the support structure I needed to simultaneously address the mental, technique, and strength improvements needed to make sustained progress. Without a good in-person coaching option in the San Francisco Bay Area, I turned to Matt to try something new. Through our 18+ months of working together, we’ve been able to talk regularly about training approach and workout specifics, optimizing the dials to make the most use of my time in the gym and focus on the power development and projecting tactics that have shored up my patience, confidence, and performance abilities. In the gym, I’ve been able to improve from projecting v6 and 12a to onsighting v6 and 12b, and getting some regular v7 and 12c sends.

Outside on my summer trips, I’ve moved from 11a projecting to solid 11a trad onsights and my first 11b PG13+ redpoints. In the same timeframe, I’ve upped my sport climbing results from three 12a’s in two years to twenty 12a’s in the next year and added a good handful of 12b redpoints too. Matt has a great understanding of when to challenge and when to commiserate with his clients, and I’m confident nearly anyone will see great gains working with him while putting in honest efforts and communicating their ideas and reflections!

– Jason Albino, dedicated sport and trad climber

Always has a reason behind the plan…

When I started working with Matt I had been climbing at the 5.11- range for a bit, but couldn’t quite move past it. I was still being held back mentally on harder sport climbs and was hesitant to try harder routes. Shortly after we started working together I sent my first 5.11c in a few tries over a very short trip and went on to send a few 5.11+’s shortly after. Later that year I sent my first 5.12 and then a few more since. Over the time we have been working together, Matt has been very responsive and has always been available to answer any questions I may have. I like that he always has a reason behind the plans, he is willing to listen to my concerns, and that he takes a long view approach to training and climbing. I always get something out of our conversations, be it about training, tactics, and even logistics around climbing trips.

Beyond the physical aspect of training, working with Matt has really helped me develop a toolbox to tackle the mental challenges of trying hard on the sharp end, from fear of committing on hard moves, all the way to dealing with the frustration that sometimes comes in the later stages of working something at your limit.

Ruben Duque, Sport Climber from Seattle

Pricing Options

4 Weeks

$295
  • Most Popular
  • 90-min Initial Skype Call
  • 4-week Training Plan
  • One-Time Payment
  • Constant Coaching from Matt
  • Uses TrueCoach App

12 Weeks

$840
  • Save $45
  • 90-min Initial Skype Call/month
  • Three 4-week Training Plans
  • One-Time Payment
  • Constant Coaching from Matt
  • Uses TrueCoach App

Subscription*

$285month
  • 2-Month Minimum*
  • 90-min Initial Skype Call
  • Continuous Training Plans
  • Billed Monthly
  • Constant Coaching from Matt
  • Uses TrueCoach App

Hour Consult

$100hour
  • Quick Consult
  • 60-min Video Consult
  • Help with Building a Plan
  • Advice on Projecting Tactics
  • Climbing Video Analysis
  • Strength Training Advice

Have questions? Email Matt at matt@trainingbeta.com or call us at (650) 731-5615.

Podcast Episodes with Matt

MATT PINCUS Online climbing training

Matt discusses how he approaches training people online, as well as his own climbing and training.

  • How he transitioned from boulderer to route climber
  • How he stayed strong through finger and leg injuries
  • Why he thinks a personal trainer can benefit every climber
  • An example of one of his clients’ training programs
ask matt

Matt discusses his article called “Comparing HangBoard Protocols.” 

  • Basic breakdown of the most popular protocols out there
  • Which protocol to follow based on your goals
  • What you should focus on with a protocol
  • What he recommends for almost all of his clients
  • 3 main takeaways
Matt Pincus Fitting Everything In

Matt discusses his article called “Fitting Everything into Your Training.” 

  • Why you can’t actually fit everything into your program
  • The 3 things to prioritize when you’re training
  • Why skills training is so important at any level
  • Which strength exercises to choose
Matt Pincus Projecting

Matt discusses how to project routes and boulders more effectively.

  • What is a project?
  • How hard should a project be? What’s too hard?
  • How long should you project something?
  • What a sending pyramid is and why it’s important
Hayley Thomas

Matt does a training session with Hayley, a 5.11 climber.

  • Background on Hayley’s current climbing abilities and her goals
  • Injuries she’s dealing with and how to train with them
  • Detailed plan for the next month, including strength training
  • Wants to improve to 5.12 and beyond

Most Popular Articles by Matt

Pricing Options

4 Weeks

$295
  • Most Popular
  • 90-min Initial Skype Call
  • 4-week Training Plan
  • One-Time Payment
  • Constant Coaching from Matt
  • Uses TrueCoach App

12 Weeks

$840
  • Save $45
  • 90-min Initial Skype Call/month
  • Three 4-week Training Plans
  • One-Time Payment
  • Constant Coaching from Matt
  • Uses TrueCoach App

Subscription*

$285month
  • 2-Month Minimum*
  • 90-min Initial Skype Call
  • Continuous Training Plans
  • Billed Monthly
  • Constant Coaching from Matt
  • Uses TrueCoach App

Hour Consult

$100hour
  • Quick Consult
  • 60-min Video Consult
  • Help with Building a Plan
  • Advice on Projecting Tactics
  • Climbing Video Analysis
  • Strength Training Advice

Have questions? Email Matt at matt@trainingbeta.com or call us at (650) 731-5615.

Bouldering Training Subscription Program by Matt Pincus

If you aren’t ready to make the financial commitment to do Remote Coaching with Matt, he created a more accessible subscription training program just for boulderers. He uses the same methods in that program as he does with his personal coaching clients, and there are 3 levels of training to choose from, depending on your training experience. If you are looking to learn from Matt but aren’t quite ready to commit to remote coaching, this is a great option.