Trainer to the JStars: Part 1 – New Post on RCTM.com!

Check out my new post on “Trainer to the JStars – Part 1” over at RockClimbersTrainingManual.com:

“Over the past six months we’ve been extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to train one of America’s most accomplished sport climbers. I can say unequivocally that the experience has been one of the highlights of my varied climbing career. It’s every coach’s dream to work with the very best athletes within a given sport, and we are no different. While we have tremendous confidence in our program, and its long track-record of producing results for mortals like us, we’ve long ‘fantasized’ about recruiting an elite-level guinea pig for some next-level experimentation. Would it work for a top-level athlete? Can it be adapted to the full-time climbing schedule of a legit pro? There was only one way to find out, but we needed a strong climber with an open mind….”  Continue Reading

Lander Days – New Post on RCTM.com!

Check out Mike’s new post on “Lander Days” over at RockClimbersTrainingManual.com:

“The family and I just got back from a great week in Lander. If you’ve never been, Lander is a throw-back; it’s a small community at the foot of the Wind River mountain range in Wyoming, so the pace of life is a little slower, and life is a bit simpler. When we’re in Lander, for whatever reason, there is no TV watching or any of those distractions. Instead, we’re outside a lot, and we spend time with great friends. On this trip we were fortunate to stay with Steve and Ellen Bechtel, and BJ and Emily Tilden. Thanks for the hospitality!  When we first arrived, I was in the midst of my Power phase, so I sought out powerful routes to supplement my training. That’s a big reason we were in Lander in the first place, to climb at the Wild Iris…..”  Continue Reading

Unfinished Business Part 2: Insurrection – New Post on RCTM.com!

Check out my new post on “Unfinished Business Part 2: Insurrection” over at RockClimbersTrainingManual.com:

“In July 2012, Mike and his family took an extended road trip through Colorado, visiting a number of crags, included the ultra-scenic and oft overlooked Independence Pass. I spent that entire summer re-habbing an A2 Pulley Strain, so I was not climbing, but the family and I visited the Pass one weekend to hang out. Mike was working a classic 5.13+ face climb established by Tommy Caldwell called Before There Were Nine, located on the right end of the overhanging central shield of the Pass’ proudest cliff, The Lower Grotto Wall.  I wandered up to the wall, and between burns Mike and I gazed at the large swath of flawless, unclimbed granite to the left of his project, fantasizing about a potential directissima through this shear and stunning wall….”  Continue Reading

Unfinished Business Part 1 – New Post on RCTM.com!

Check out my new post on “Unfinished Business – Part 1” over at RockClimbersTrainingManual.com:

“In 2011, Denver climbing activist, king of psyche and all-around great guy Luke Childers bolted a stunning arête at The Armory, a compact crag at the top of Clear Creek Canyon.  Clear Creek is quickly becoming the epicenter of sport climbing on the Colorado Front Range, largely thanks to guys like Luke who have a knack for finding great new lines on supposedly tapped out cliffs.  After finishing off American Mustang at the end of March, I had a few more climbing days to spare before beginning my summer training cycle.  I was really psyched to check out Luke’s Armory arête, which looked to me like the best unclimbed line in Clear Creek . I was stoked when Luke generously encouraged me to have at it….”  Continue Reading

Focus – New Post on RCTM.com!

Check out my new post on “Focus” over at RockClimbersTrainingManual.com:

“Focus is all about summoning maximum concentration and attention at the moment it is crucially needed.  Most climbers think of this when its time to send, but the ability to summon and maintain sufficient focus is also vital during daily training.  With training cycles that last for months, often involving several weeks of training on plastic, maintaining this focus can be quite a challenge.  When I have to post-hole through two feet of fresh snow to get to the Lazy H for a workout, the moment of tying in for a difficult send may be the furthest from my mind.  Regardless, the effort & attention given to the ensuing workout, completed two months before booting up below my project, could have as much bearing on the eventual outcome as the effort put into the redpoint attempt….”  Continue Reading

Slideshow in Golden, CO, May 14th @ 6:00pm!

I will be presenting a slide show at Bent Gate Mountaineering’s Community Night on Wednesday, May 14th.  Festivities run from 6:00-8:30pm.  Here’s a Google Map of the location.

I’ll be talking about how I evolved from a novice climber to my current level, and key ascents that inspired me to improve along the way.  In particular I’ll be talking about some of the hard milestone climbs I’ve done recently like Mission Impossible.  There will be loads of SWAG–Trango has been extremely generous and will be giving away a Rock Prodigy Training Center as well as a few rope bags and other goodies.  There might also be a very special RCTM celebrity guest (TBD).  It promises to be a good time, and I hope to see you there!

How to Build a Campus Board – New Post on RCTM.com!

Check out Mike’s new post on “How to Build a Campus Board” over at RockClimbersTrainingManual.com:

“Previously we described how to install a hangboard, even in tight spaces. In this article, we’ll expand these approaches to Campus boards. Campus training is important to the Rock Prodigy method, but it’s often the first training activity to be skipped because it requires unique equipment. This is a unfortunate because; as described in the Rock Climber’s Training Manual, campus training develops several vital attributes for climbing:

• Muscle Fiber Recruitment
• Increased Muscle Fiber Contraction Speed
• Neuro-muscular coordination for dynamic movement
• Contact Strength (the ability to quickly generate force through your forearm muscles to “latch” a hold)
• Hand & Finger Accuracy
• Dynamic Aggression (or “go-for-it-ness”)

Therefore, Campus Training should be a part of your comprehensive training program.

Many climbing gyms have campus boards these days, but many of these seem more suited to show-and-tell rather than actual training. Just like with a hangboard, it is always preferable to build your own Campus Board so you can have complete control over the design and customize it to fit your needs…”  Continue Reading

Adjustable Mount for the RPTC – New Post on RCTM.com!

Check out my new post on “Adjustable Mount for the RPTC” over at RockClimbersTrainingManual.com:

“Ever since I first conceived of the Rock Prodigy Training Center, I’ve been pondering a cheap and simple mounting system that would allow for instantaneous spacing adjustments. Once the RPTC was unveiled I got a number of great ideas from other climbers. Julian Marks suggested a “French Cleat” system in this Mountain Project thread, which uses two pieces of angled lumber to create an integrated hook on the mounting structure that slides along a fixed receptacle…”  Continue Reading

Announcements! – New Post on RCTM.com!

 Check out my new post on “Annoucements!”  over at RockClimbersTrainingManual.com:

“We are very pleased to announce a new feature of RCTM.com — a user forum! This will be a great tool for interacting with each other, and will hopefully facilitate the development of a vibrant international “Community of Interest” in rock climbing training. For now, the forum is hosted on Pro Boards.com, which is a great forum site with lots of functionality. We have a link to it in the menu bar at the top of the page (or you can click here)…” Continue Reading

Bonus Climbing – New Post on RCTM.com!

Check out my new post on “Bonus Climbing”  over at RockClimbersTrainingManual.com:

“…Lately it seems like my eyes are generally too big for my forearms; I’m continually selecting objectives that turn out to be harder than I expect, and take longer to send than I’d hoped. More often than not I have to extend the length of my seasons to send my projects, if I send at all. This season has been a nice exception from that trend! I was prepared to spend the entire season on Mission Impossible, but instead I sent on my third outdoor day. That left me with ample ‘fitness capital’ to expend on my endless list of potential objectives….”  Continue Reading