For us here at Training Beta, one of the most inspiring things we see is climbers who commit to making serious changes to their approach in an effort to improve their climbing. And we’re not talking about simply changing up what sort of hangboard protocol you use or committing to doing a set of core work after climbing in the gym. What we’re talking about is climbers who are able to take a step back, realize that what they have been doing isn’t going to turn them into the climber they want to be, and then make whatever changes are necessary to achieve their goals. This past summer, Black Diamond athlete and long time contributor and friend of Training Beta Dan Mirsky did exactly that.
In an effort to revamp his climbing and training, Dan took a step back from climbing outside and committed to three months of intense training with fellow BD athletes Joe Kinder and Sam Elias. Dan recently published an article on the Black Diamond website in which describes his experience and how he was able to preserve through the mental and physical challenges of three months hard training.
“After the first two sessions, I was worked, and the reality that this was my life for three months really set in. Fully committing to a long-term training program in order to get stronger was a big challenge for me. In my life as a climber, I have an established process for attaining my goals. Measuring progress is about accomplishing small goals, like figuring out specific moves or linking bigger sections of the route, and ultimately the small goals lead to the larger goal. It can be a long, arduous process, but it’s a process I am familiar with.” – Dan Mirsky
Ultimately, Dan’s article and the video that accompanies it doesn’t give you any workouts or tell you exactly how Dan, Joe, and Sam structured their training. However, it is a motivational example of climbers who, despite many years performing at a extremely high level, were willing to honestly self-evaluate, put the control of their climbing and training in the hands of a coach (Kris Peters), and follow through with the hard work and suffering necessary to make the desired gains.
Click through below to read Dan’s thoughts and check out the video of his experience. Additionally, if you are looking for some guidance with your own training and would like Dan to coach you and help you apply some of the lessons he learned through his BD Bootcamp experience to your own climbing, check out our Personal Coaching options and set up a consult with Dan.
Click Here: Dan Mirsky – Thoughts on BD Bootcamp
(photo by Ben Moon; courtesy of blackdiamondequipment.com)
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