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Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast

Eric Hörst's Training For Climbing Podcast

By: Eric J. Hörst
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About this listen

 Training and performance podcasts by Eric Hörst, the internationally renowned author, climbing coach, researcher, inventor, and accomplished climber of more than 45 years. Founder of TrainingForClimbing.com and PhysiVāntage Nutrition. With his unique combination of veteran climbing and coaching experience and knowledge of the latest climbing research, Eric presents practical, effective guidelines to climb harder, reduce injury risk, and maximize the experience of moving over stone. Eric is one of the world's most knowledgeable climbing coaches and his eight books (and many foreign translations) have sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide. His latest book release is the 3rd edition of Training For Climbing. Learn more at: http://www.trainingforclimbing.comCopyright 2024 Eric J. Horst | All Rights Reserved Exercise & Fitness Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Hygiene & Healthy Living
Episodes
  • #124 - 15 Concepts That Changed My Life

    #124 - 15 Concepts That Changed My Life
    Jan 6 2026
    If there's one podcast you listen to this week, I hope it's this one! I'm genuinely proud of this episode, as it distills some of the most powerful concepts I've learned, refined, and applied over the past 30 years. I believe you'll find it thought-provoking and impactful—and for some listeners, it may even prove life-changing. To mark the new year, I've intentionally broadened the scope of this episode beyond climbing-specific training...to explore human performance, mindset, values, and intentional living. For this month, think of it as a true training for life podcast. At the heart of the episode is a simple but important idea: most people live far below their true potential—not because of a lack of ability, but because of unexamined habits, limiting beliefs, fear, distraction, and cultural groupthink. Reclaiming personal power, I believe, begins with conscious control of your thoughts, decisions, values, and daily actions. Drawing on decades of study, coaching, self-experimentation, and reflection, I present a set of 15 principles designed to lift you above mediocrity and support sustained progress toward meaningful goals. These concepts aren't quick fixes—they're daily disciplines that compound over time. When applied consistently, they elevate core life habits and mental frameworks, and ultimately feed back into better climbing performance, improved health, and deeper fulfillment. A recurring theme throughout the episode is agency: you are largely self-made, your future is mostly under your control, and lasting change begins with intentional action taken today—not someday. RUNDOWN 0:15 - New Year's greeting!? 0:45 - Are you reset for a "reset" and course correction with your life? 1:12 - Value-based goal setting. 3:54 - Overview of human performance -- YOU, dear listener, are far more powerful than you can possibly imagine! 11:15 - Brief Podcast Sponsor message from PhysiVantage Nutrition. Save 15% off full-price nutrition with checkout code: PODCAST15 at PhysiVantage.com (USA and Canada only). International climbers, please get your PhysiVantage from the EPIC-TV Shop >> 13:17 - 15 concepts and strategies for Uncommon Success and Happiness. I called them my "Mental Wings." 15:23 - #1: Your quality of life is directly related to the quality of your thoughts 17:05 - #2: Human beings are the embodiment of unused potential. 17:52 - #3: To outperform the masses, you must do things they don't do. 20:02 - #4: Clarity of values and goals, and a clear purpose for living form the foundation for a life full of rich, transcending experiences. 21:02 - #5: Risk is a precursor to reward. 22:07 - #6: Almost anything is possible once you conquer fear. 25:05 - #7: Singular focus and indomitable persistence knows no limits. 26:20 - #8: Obstacles and adversity make you stronger. 27:50 - #9: A fit body potentiates a fit mind. 29:14 - #10: Life is subtle—sweat the small stuff! 32:40 - #11: Your future is largely determined in the brief moment between stimulus and response (in any activity). 34:05 - #12: Maintain a dynamic, evolving life process by reinventing yourself from time to time. 35:50 - #13: Enjoy this moment—this moment is your life. 36:40 - #14: Unconditional love is the most powerful force in the universe. 37:17 - #15: In the final analysis, you are mostly self-made. 39:15 - Summary thoughts -- please share this podcast with a friend...or on your Social Media. (Thanks!) 40:30 - Share your struggles and successes with me via email or Instagram DM to: @eric_horst 42:05 - Hörst out! A word from this podcast's sponsor, PhysiVantage. Get 15% off full-priced nutrition with checkout code: PODCAST15 (North America only). Europe and elsewhere visit EPIC-TV Shop or BananaFingers.com to get your PhysiVantage! PLEASE write a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and SHARE this podcast with a friend! SAVE on La Sportiva shoes here >> Thank you! La Sportiva, Maxim Ropes, DMM Climbing, Friction Labs Music by Misty Murphy Follow Eric on Twitter @Train4Climbing Check out Eric's YouTube channel. Follow Eric on Facebook! And on Instagram at: Training4Climbing Copyright 2026 Eric Hörst | Horst Training, LLC.
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    43 mins
  • #123 - Effective Training - Part 2 - Applying a Systems Approach to Program Design

    #123 - Effective Training - Part 2 - Applying a Systems Approach to Program Design
    Dec 15 2025
    In this second installment of a two-part series, Coach Eric Hörst takes the high-level systems philosophy introduced in Episode #122 and brings it down to earth with practical, actionable guidance. This episode walks listeners through the nine elements of an intelligent training system and illustrates how each one applies directly to climbing preparation and long-term improvement. Eric emphasizes that as climbers progress beyond the beginner stage, climbing and training grow increasingly complex—requiring intentional, organized, and year-round development of strength, technique, mental skills, recovery habits, nutrition, and lifestyle management. Rather than ad-lib sessions or singular-focus programs (like only training strength), climbers need a comprehensive system fine-tuned daily and seasonally. The episode explains how to evaluate your training "inputs," recognize both positive and negative "outputs," manage disturbances, and use ongoing feedback (sensors) to modulate your training wisely. Eric underscores that self-awareness, discipline, and responsiveness—not just effort—drive long-term progress. He makes the case that thoughtful systems dramatically improve performance, reduce injury risk, and provide clarity amidst the complexities of climbing life. The episode concludes with guidance on setting meaningful long- and short-term goals, adjusting training loads with intention, eliminating counterproductive habits, and being vigilant about the subtle disturbances that erode progress over time. Ultimately, Eric encourages every committed climber to craft a personalized system—one aligned to their goals, life structure, recovery needs, and unique path in the sport. RUNDOWN 0:15 – Eric's welcome 0:30 - Recap of Part 1 - Episode #122. If you haven't already, please listen to Part 1 now >> 2:20 - 9 elements of a Systems applied to training for climbing. 7:00 – Some climbing-specific examples of employing an intelligent system approach to training. Examples of how each system element relates to daily training activities and mission pursuit. 11:55 - You have two choices... 12:40 – Tips for applying a systems approach to your training and non-training activities 15:00 – Importance of having a mega-goal. What's your BHAG? You also need a series of short-term goals to make your journey more rich and enjoyable…and to help maintain motivation and a sense of progress. 17:50 – Importance of consciously selecting your INPUTs—training, rest, food, things you do to support recovery, etc. 22:30 – SENSOR…your subjective sense of movement quality and fatigue while climbing and training; but also via objective measures...such as tracking of metrics of fitness (grip strength, bodyweight, etc.) 25:05 – The power of DISTURBANCES to covertly sabotage your training and knock you off course from your goals. Strive to anticipate, avoid, or quickly course-correct. 28:00 – Most important: Be proactive and fully engaged in the process of training, climbing, and living. Don't be an NPC! 29:30 – Wrap-up & Eric's 50% Challenge. 🎧 Support Podcast Sponsor: PhysiVantage Nutrition's Premium Proteins Boost your strength gains, recovery, connective tissue health, and immune system with PhysiVantage proteins: Supercharged Collagen, Weapons-Grade Whey Complex, and plant-based Powerplex. Save 15% with checkout code: PODCAST15 at PhysiVantage.com PhysiVantage is available in Europe from the EPIC-TV Shop and in Mexico from PhysiVantage.mx SAVE on La Sportiva shoes >> Thank yous: La Sportiva, DMM Climbing, Friction Labs Music by Misty Murphy Follow Eric on Twitter @Train4Climbing Check out Eric's YouTube channel. Follow Eric on Facebook! And on Instagram at: Training4Climbing Visit PhysiVantage.com and get a 15% discount on full-price items with checkout code: PODCAST15
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    33 mins
  • #122 - Train More Effectively: The Systems Approach That Will Transform Your Climbing

    #122 - Train More Effectively: The Systems Approach That Will Transform Your Climbing
    Dec 9 2025
    This episode is the first in a two-part deep dive into designing a comprehensive, long-term systems approach to training. Coach Eric Hörst unpacks—in rich detail—how systems actually function, and he highlights how transformative climbers throughout history "shake up the box" with innovative, highly effective methods to achieve big goals and push the boundaries of our sport. Eric blends a concise climbing history lesson with an engineer-like breakdown of how intelligent systems operate. Part 2 of this series will deliver the actionable strategies you can use to build a personalized, high-performance training system for this winter…and for many seasons to come. This is an entertaining and thought-provoking episode—so lean in, listen closely, and get ready to feel inspired, challenged, and equipped to level-up your modus operandi at the crag, in the gym, at home, and in everything you do! RUNDOWN 0:15 – Eric's welcome 1:45 - Are you ready for "training season?" 3:15 - The powerful force of the compounding effect of year-over-year gains in strength and climbing ability! 🎧 Podcast Sponsors: La Sportiva | DMM | Friction Labs | PhysiVantage -- Amplify your training and climb your best with PhysiVantage Nutrition for climbers. Save 15% off full-price nutrition at PhysiVantage.com with checkout code: PODCAST15 6:00 – Learning to climb is simple; learning how to train effectively is complex! 10:50 – Employing a "systems" approach to your training and goal pursuit. 13:10 – The value of waking each morning with a mission. 18:55 – Eric shares some climbing history…and names 5 legendary, transformative climbers that influenced him and helped inspire this systems approach to training/climbing. 20:30 - #1 Warren Harding…applied a mission approach to big wall climbing…and took commitment and suffering to a new level. 22:35 - #2 John Gill – The father of modern bouldering and training for climbing. Read his biography, Masters of Rock (by Pat Ament). Gill was climbing V9 (in hiking boots) in 1959! 24:30 - #3 Wolfgang Gullich – Applied a systems approach to training and hard climbing…and opened up the world's first 5.14a, 5.14b, and 5.14d. Wolfgang helped invent the campus board, a climbing-specific form of plyometric training. 26:20 - #4 Todd Skinner – A pioneer of big wall free climbing, hard bouldering, and limit sport climbing, Todd employed a mission approach to climbing on a massive "all-in" and multi-year scale. 27:45 - #5 Lynn Hill – First female 5.14 ascent, World Cup Champion, and Free Ascent of The Nose of El Cap (1994). Lynn, like the other four legendary climbers, employed a systems approach to her climbing life. 30:00 – Two more important influences: my parents, Bob and Ethel Horst. My father, an engineer and inventor, helped shape my innate sense of needing to employ a systems approach to training/climbing. 31:05 – Side note about Jim Collins, a leading climber in the early1980s -- later a best-selling author and business consultant, Jim described my mega-goal concept as a "BHAG". Big Audacious Hairy Goal! 32:25– Conceptual model of a "System". 32:40 - Five elements of an open system: 1. Input, 2. Output, 3, Structure, 4. Transport, 5. Conversion. 35:30 – Making a system into an "Intelligent System" with four additional elements: 6. Goal, 7. Sensor, 8. Controller, 9. Disturbance. 41:55 – Applying an Intelligent System approach to your training and goal pursuit. If you're an advanced or elite climber, then employing a highly personalized system approach to training is essential for pursuing your genetic potential…and mega goals! 45:00 - Wrap up of Part 1 and a teaser for Part 2 coming in T4C Podcast #123! Follow Eric on Facebook and on Instagram at: Training4Climbing Follow Eric on Twitter @Train4Climbing Check out Eric's YouTube channel. 🎧 Support Podcast Sponsor: PhysiVantage Nutrition's Premium Proteins Boost your strength gains, recovery, connective tissue health, and immune system with PhysiVantage proteins: Supercharged Collagen, Weapons-Grade Whey Complex, and plant-based Powerplex. Save 15% with checkout code: PODCAST15 at PhysiVantage.com PhysiVantage is available in Europe from the EPIC-TV Shop and in Mexico from PhysiVantage.mx SAVE on La Sportiva shoes >> Thank yous: La Sportiva, DMM Climbing, Friction Labs Music by Misty Murphy
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    46 mins
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