Have you ever wondered if all the time you spend training is actually going to produce gains? Is it really worth the time away from the cliff?
Here is an article by Andrew Bisharat from his website Evening Sends in which he talks to professional climber Joe Kinder about his intense training over the summer and the results it produced this fall in Spain.
Bisharat first describes how Joe along with fellow Black Diamond athletes Sam Elias and Dan Mirsky took their training seriously not climbing outside for three months in an effort to elevate their climbing to the next level.
“Joe had been training with his fellow Black Diamond athletes Dan Mirsky and Sam Elias. The trio trained like actual professional athletes, too, foregoing the normal pro-climber routine of spending mornings on Facebook, afternoons fucking around with some V-double-digit boulders, and evenings abusing a variety of substances and raging Pearl Street till 2 a.m. They spent six hours a day, six days a week, getting whipped into shape by Justen Sjong and Kris Peters, two of the best climbing trainers in the country. They met with nutritionists, who prescribed healthy diets. They learned new crucial breathing techniques. And they even met with a sports psychologist.”
“In the last 20 years that Joe has been a climber, this was the first time in his life that he had actually trained. For real.” – Andrew Bisharat
While this level of commitment is certainly motivating in it own right, the article also includes an interview with Joe where he talks about how this was his first experience with really training and how it has changed his perspective on his climbing and what he is now looking to accomplish.
“After training, I see climbing in a different way now, and I wish I had picked up training a long time ago as I believe I could’ve accomplished many of my goals by now.” – Joe Kinder
Take a look at the whole article and interview by clicking through below. Not only is it a motivating reminder that training really does work (Joe climbed 10 routes 8c/5.14b or harder on his trip to Spain) its also a good reminder that even climbers who have been at it for several decades can really focus, train hard, and take their climbing to another level.
Click Here: Joe Kinder: “Training Works”
(photo courtesy of eveningsends.com/Javi Pec)
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