VIDEO: Beastmaker’s Co-Founder on How to Train for Climbing
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When Ned Feehally started climbing in 1997—as when I started climbing in 2004—information about training was scarce. Sure, there were some scattered magazine articles and a few poorly illustrated books, but those weren’t all that easy to find outside gear stores, which, before smart phones, were themselves not all that easy to find. Fast forward two decades and there’s too much information; it’s all over the place, and it’s often contradictory, and when it comes from a truly legit source, it’s often a heinously scientific slog that only the most cerebral of training fanatics can actually stand to read.
Seeing a pretty big gap, Feehally—who co-founded Beastmaker and makes his own wood holds and is basically the definition of a cerebral training fanatic—decided to write a training book for everyday climbers. In other words, he wrote a book about training that people like me, who are temperamentally allergic to books about training, might still read and learn from.
Now, before I get in trouble, I should mention that this is not a review or endorsement of Feehally’s book, which is called Beastmaking and seems like it’s probably great. The simple fact is, I don’t have a copy yet, so no comment. Instead, this is a review and endorsement of a short film by Wedge Climbing in which Feehally outlines his approach to training and recommends his book.
So what’s the film like?
Well, like all of Wedge’s content, it’s superbly composed and features great cinematography and charming narration. While Feehally climbs on his beautiful home wall (yeah, I said it) and flashes a V11 in the Lake District and FAs some gnarly roof choss in the Peak District, he also outlines his views about how training can fit into an everyday person’s life and make them better at climbing.
An example of those views: “Personally, if I’m climbing well, that’s when I enjoy it the most. So I train a bit, get a little better, and enjoy it more.”
Okay, fine. Maybe I’ll try it.
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