The TrainingBeta Podcast: A Climbing Training Podcast

Neely Quinn and climbing coach Alex sit down to talk through one of the most common — and least discussed — challenges in climbing: the friction between partners. They cover emotional projection, mismatched goals, unsolicited beta, belay trust issues, passive aggression, sacrifice dynamics, competition between partners, and trip planning stress. Both share candid stories from their own partnerships, and Neely explains what couples coaching for climbers actually looks like and how she helps partners hear each other differently. Whether you climb with a romantic partner, a close friend, or a family member, this one will resonate.

Matt Pincus is back, and this time we're going deep on the how of board climbing — not the pros and cons of each board like we talked about last time.  Matt will tell you how to use boards well and have good etiquette while you're doing it. Whether you're getting in your head about crowded sessions, unsure if you're working the right problems, or stuck in a plateau you can't explain, this episode is for you. Matt coaches athletes on board climbing regularly, and this conversation is essentially a distillation of the most common friction points he hears — along with his direct, practical answers. I add my own experience throughout, and together we cover a lot of ground.

In this episode, I talk with neurologist and headache specialist Dr. Danielle Wilhour about migraine headaches and how they affect climbers and athletes, in general. We discuss common triggers, exercise and recovery, hormonal influences, and the role of medications, supplements, and lifestyle factors in managing migraines. Dr. Wilhour also explains the different phases of a migraine and shares practical strategies for prevention and treatment.

In this solo episode, host and integrative nutrition therapist Neely Quinn digs into a topic that doesn't get enough airtime in the climbing world: food anxiety. Neely breaks down the most common reasons climbers feel stressed about what they eat — from carb fear and fullness phobia to rigid food rules and weight-gain worry — and shares practical, compassionate strategies for each one.

She also opens up about her own recent experience adjusting her diet after starting hormone replacement therapy, and what it looked like to approach that change as a scientist rather than from a place of shame. Whether your anxiety around food is mild or it's genuinely affecting your daily life, this episode will leave you with new ways to think about eating — and more space in your brain for climbing.

Topics covered: carb fear, fullness anxiety, food myths, food rules, weight management, eating disorder resources, and working with a nutrition or mindset coach.

In this episode, Coach Alex Stiger and I talked about the ways we see our clients overtraining and the consequences it has on their bodies, minds, and climbing performance. We also share how we overdo it ourselves, and how that has affected us. We go into the causes of overtraining: feeling like more is better, fearing falling behind, not knowing how much training is enough, and as Alex calls it, "chasing fatigue." I talk about the ways I work with my mindset coaching clients on this to help them gain perspective and talk to themselves differently.