We love board climbing. And if you do too, or even if you are just board curious, this episode it for you. The history of boards, board training, board ethics, board best practices, the future of boards. BOARDS!! This was a special in person recording in Colorado with part of the Tension Climbing crew ( Will Anglin , Michael Rosato , and Quinn Spadafora ). This episode was recorded the day after Josh and Tim did a YouTube video with Tension, “Comparing the Boards: Testpiece Comes to Tension” . Y...
Jun 10, 2024•2 hr 26 min•Ep. 102
Dave Burleson is one of the top agents for professional climbers. He's part of Reppa Athlete Managment that represents athletes like Sean Bailey, Nathaniel Coleman, Nina Williams, Jesse Grupper… the list goes on, but all of them have been on the podcast so we put them here first! Before being an agent, Dave worked at the iconic brands Petzl and The North Face as an athlete coordinator / manager. So that means Dave has been on both sides of the table, representing brands who sponsor athletes and ...
Jun 03, 2024•2 hr 31 min•Ep. 101
Episode #100!!!! Thank you all for the support. What a journey it’s been. This episode was an absolute banger that encapsulates a lot of the Testpiece message. Tim and Josh break down the ‘Simple’ path that the best climbers follow to being great. And then they detail the appropriate role that strength plays in this path. They also go over the latest news and cover the amazing media that has been dropping as well as a quick review of the Moonboard 2024 set by Tim. SHOW NOTES: Janja on Bügeleisen...
May 27, 2024•2 hr 4 min•Ep. 100
Nina Williams pushes the limits in every discipline of climbing there is… comps, bouldering, highball bouldering, big wall, sport climbing, and even free soloing. In this episode she takes us through a harrowing experience she had while free soloing the Casual Route of the Diamond, a multi pitch 5.10. Nina ended up off route during the climb and thus onsight free soloing, 800 feet off the deck. Nina also shares what has propelled her to explore and master the different disciplines in climbing an...
May 20, 2024•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 99
Tim Kang was just in SLC for the World Cup and NACS. He got to watch and session with some of the best climbers in the world. Hear from Tim what his major takeaways were that can help you too. SHOW NOTES: Honnold’s Comments About Competitions and $ Petzl Roc Trip James-Caro Wedding Present Support the show Support us on Patreon: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE Sign-up with one of our coaches: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE...
May 13, 2024•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 98
Davin Bagdonas has developed 1000’s of climbs all over the world. Elite climbers, fellow adventurers, and previous podcast guests, like Jimmy Webb, Jamie Emerson, Roman Yalowitz, Eric Jerome call up Davin when they want to go on a wild adventure to try to find the best boulders in the world. Davin takes us on a trip around the world to places fraught with danger, and explains this up and comping lens on climbing termed “Alpine Fusion”. This is where you go deep into the backcountry to search and...
May 06, 2024•2 hr 13 min•Ep. 97
You’re midway through a redpoint burn and you’re tired. There’s a bunch of moves to go and you tell yourself that you’re so tired right now there’s no way you’ll ever send. But the truth is, you have no idea how far you will get or if the send is actually right there for the taking. You can’t trust your feelings! Tim and Josh tackle the problem of doubt creep and how to find actual success during your attempts. SHOW NOTES: Testpiece Patreon Ryuchi Almost Sending Bon Voyage with James Pearson and...
Apr 29, 2024•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 96
Palmer Larsen is one of the top coaches in the country. This podcast has soooooooooo many helpful tips and frameworks to get you to the next level. DO NOT MISS his description of how to foster an environment for long term success via deliberate practice @ ~1:28! He is the head coach of Momentum Climbing Team, in SLC, one of the top climbing teams in the country. He oversees 80 kids every week AND the coaches! Palmer is also an extremely accomplished athlete. He has been competing at a high-level...
Apr 22, 2024•2 hr 12 min•Ep. 95
What is the best way to approach a climb? It’s a simple question that may be one of the most important things to ask yourself before you pull on each time, but it’s never talked about. Tim Kang, professional climber and coach, shares the fundamental strategy needed to get your best performance each time. Announcement!! $5 Patron’s now have access to all Classroom recordings via Spotify, or through the Patreon app! That’s 20+ hours of NEW content solving the climbing problems we all have! Go to P...
Apr 15, 2024•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 94
Allison Vest has THE STRONGEST FINGERS IN THE WORLD (according to the internet), and she is finally releasing her secret training plan to us! It’s only $9.99, and the best part is Testpiece listeners get 20% off for a limited time! Get it here NOW! 🥸 Allison shares about what it’s like to climb with the extremely strong fingers and why that’s important to climb hard but not everything. Then we go deep into hangboarding. Seriously Deep. Allison also tells us about the transition from Competition...
Apr 08, 2024•2 hr 9 min•Ep. 93
Tim Kang and Josh Horsley explore how often to have limit sessions. What limit sessions really mean. And what non-limit sessions look like. They also cover the latest news, give important PSAs, Pro-Tips, and of course there is a rant. There’s always at least one rant. SHOW NOTES: GoFundme for Adriene Felipe Hoo Beastmaking Book Support the show Support us on Patreon: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE Sign-up with one of our coaches: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE...
Apr 01, 2024•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 92
That's right ladies and gentlemen -- Jimmy Webb ! Jimmy is one of the best climbers our sport has ever scene, and one of the humblest and kindest climbers as well. Please enjoy this wide ranging but always fantastic chat with Jimmy Webb. Support the show Support us on Patreon: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE Sign-up with one of our coaches: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE...
Mar 25, 2024•2 hr 24 min•Ep. 91
The topics are in the title! A big focus on what Tim is “re-learning” as he comes back from his serious knee injury. SHOW NOTES: Team Trials Instagram Post by Ryan Paul Robinson on Hueco Rock Rodeo Nathaniel Flashing Scarface Support the show Support us on Patreon: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE Sign-up with one of our coaches: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE...
Mar 18, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 90
Martin Keller is one of the few people to boulder 8C+ / V16... But what's really incredible is he just did it right before he turned 46 years old! Martin is an incredible climber, coach, and teacher. In this episode he shares: How to gain limit strength, rather than just getting tired. The best way to project climbs (he's famous for his decade plus projecting ability). How he's said "No" to naysayers his whole life and proved them wrong. The way to avoid, and deal with, injury. What the big diff...
Mar 11, 2024•2 hr 30 min•Ep. 89
Tim’s back at it and with a big smile. Hear how he’s been returning to his peak strength after injury. Tim also talks about how he coaches clients through plateaus. Big shout outs to the crews that make life special for Tim and Josh and what they did to help them be their best. Bosi repeats ROTSW, and just about every other hard thing in the world. And Josh reports back on the project Tim coached him through in the last episode. SHOW NOTES: Felipe Hoo’s Famous 360 Kilterboard Send Daniel Woods o...
Mar 04, 2024•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 88
Matty Hong takes us to Mallorca where he snagged the second ascent of Big Fish. A 9a deep water solo that culminates in a dyno at ~20m / 60ft! Matty was out there filming for the latest Reel Rock climbing with the legend Chris Sharma. Since he is often the guy behind the camera we asked him to share some tips for any aspiring climbing film makers and he fully delievered! Last, but certainly not least, he takes us to Ceuse to tell us about the interesting things he learned from climbing the iconi...
Feb 26, 2024•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 87
Drugs, cruxes, moonboarding, injuries, making climbs your b*tch... This one's got it all! Tune in for tons of pro-tips that will help you climb better today, and set yourself up for the long term success that we all are striving for. SHOW NOTES: 2017 V8 / 7B+ on Moonboard 2016 Set Podcast #33 with Andy Tollefson Support the show Support us on Patreon: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE Sign-up with one of our coaches: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE...
Feb 19, 2024•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 86
The man, the myth, the Mustache — Keenan Takahashi ! Keenan shares his unique approach to climbing. He seeks out the best lines in the world and then uses that as fuel to transform his body and mind so that he is able to climb them. Keenan also has created one of the coolest new brands in climbing, ANTIGRAV , that embodies his psyche and ethos for climbing. SHOW NOTES: ANTIGRAV Creative Visualization [Book] A Little Life [Movie] Express Yourself [Song] Physics Hyperbole [Squamish Climb] Keenan J...
Feb 12, 2024•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 85
2024 is off the a bang with incredibly hard bouldering FA’s happening non-stop. Is this because USAC caused one of the strongest crews in the world to stop training for the Olympics and start crushing rock again? Hear more from Tim about what a session is like when multiple V16 climbers get together to try the hardest boulders in the world. Support the show Support us on Patreon: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE Sign-up with one of our coaches: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE...
Feb 05, 2024•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 84
Sean Bailey came on Testpiece and shared his decades of experience from sending and competing at the absolute top of the sport. Sean truly is one of the best climbers in the world right now. Sean recently FA’d the low start to Evilution [“Devilution”] which was a long standing sought after project that clocks in around V16 and is now one of the hardest, proudest lines in the world! How he started climbing and training at a young age and what it was like cutting his teeth on his local crags like ...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 83
Tim shares a common problem that holds people back that he sees in even some of the top athletes he coaches. They jokingly call it "Vomit Mouth". Learn about what this is and how you can make sure to avoid it in your sessions. SHOW NOTES: Noah Wheeler on Sleepwalker Support the show Support us on Patreon: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE Sign-up with one of our coaches: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE...
Jan 22, 2024•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 82
Carlo Traversi is back to tell us about his recent FA of The Dark Side V16 (suggested grade) in Yosemite. Josh thinks this FA will go down in the history books as THE testpiece of our generation in Yosemite bouldering. Tune in and see what you think. Carlo explains the incredible tactics he had to employ to get this FA done. It was absolutely mindblowing how detailed he got to make this send happen. A true example of Mastery. SHOW NOTES: The Dark Side Instagram Post Valley Uprising Yabo Roof Sup...
Jan 15, 2024•2 hr 16 min•Ep. 81
Happy New Year, my dude. Tim and Josh get meta about how to have the best 2024 possible by asking the question — why can’t all sessions be good ones? SHOW NOTES: Mastery by Robert Greene Atomic Habits by James Clear Support the show Support us on Patreon: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE Sign-up with one of our coaches: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE...
Jan 08, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 80
Jeremy Meigs and Joel Ruscher are West Coast bouldering OG’s. They started climbing 3 decades ago and were part of the birth of modern HARD bouldering. Tune in to hear about the early days of bouldering and how it set the tone for what’s going on today. There’s tons of can’t miss stories about young Chris Sharma and what Hueco, Bishop, and Font were like in the 90’s. We are so grateful to get to share their stories and not have them lost to history! SHOW NOTES: West Coast Pimp by Steve Montesant...
Jan 01, 2024•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 79
F*CK! Tim busted his knee. Not the best way to spend the holidays... The main topic for this episode is what Kids do better than Adults, and what Adults do better than Kids. Tim and Josh also talk about the latest ascents of two previous Testpiece Guests -- Defying Gravity by Nathaniel Coleman , and Sleepwalker by Zach Galla . This leads into a discussion about the demonstration of strength while climbing and how it has or hasn't evolved over the years. SHOW NOTES: Nathaniel Coleman, Defying Gra...
Dec 25, 2023•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 78
Zach Galla has been ticking off some of the hardest boulders in America while simultaneously competing at the highest level. He’s always vying for the podium in any US competition and has spent time on the World Cup circuit as well. Zach goes deep on this podcast about what it’s really like to compete at these high level comps. What the setting is like, how the scoring works, and why it can be frustrating but rewarding too. We also talk about his love of outdoor climbing and how he balances this...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 77
Why do we call board climbing “not technical”? What does this really mean? Board climbing wasn’t the planned topic of the day, but once Tim and Josh get talking about boards they have a hard time stopping! Then Tim and Josh talk about being the Conductor of your climbing, and how/when to employ two major mindsets during your sessions. SHOW NOTES: Steve Rader doing AR Moonboard Masters 2019 The Conductor by The Faint Nilo Batle’s Coaching Support the show Support us on Patreon: HERE Visit our pod...
Dec 11, 2023•2 hr 13 min•Ep. 76
Jesse Grupper recently punched his ticket to Paris 2024 as part of the men’s USA Olympic team! This is on top of his already incredible last few years with multiple gold medal wins at the WC, an incredible flash of Livin’ Astro (14c), AND his flash of Pure Imagination (14c) just the day before recording! Jesse is on a tear at comps, outdoors, on lead, on boulders… on everything! Jesse’s path to securing his spot in the Olympics was anything but straight forward and he shares how a painful failur...
Dec 04, 2023•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 75
Which board is best?! Tim and Josh disagree... but not for the reason you might expect. Spray Wall or Standardized Wall? Wood holds or plastic? What angle? Tim and Josh love board climbing and we know you do too. They dive into the nuances of what makes a board great, and maybe more importantly, who that board is great for. SHOW NOTES: Spraywall vs Standardized Wall Podcast with Will Anglin and Michael Rosato Flo does Floatin (V16) Stokt App Support the show Support us on Patreon: HERE Visit our...
Nov 27, 2023•2 hr 24 min•Ep. 74
“Motherf*cking Squamish beta, don’t try hard!” — Nalle Hukkataival Squamish is having a renaissance and Ethan Salvo is part of the team of young guns making it happen. Him and his crew are repeating the hardest boulders Squamish has, and adding their new ones to the list. And that’s special, because these boulders just don’t get done very often. Not by locals. Not by pro’s. Not be anyone other than absolute technical masters. That’s because Squamish is different. The technical ability to climb h...
Nov 20, 2023•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 73
