Jenn DeBellis is an elite-level boulderer and software engineer. We sat down in Rocklands and talked about her biggest lessons from childhood gymnastics and collegiate athletics, trying V13s in Magic Wood and Rocklands, getting comfortable with failure, learning to embrace her style, her elaborate warmup routine, how she plans her 6-week training cycles, her role with KAYA, tips for sustaining a full-time job on the road, and much more!
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/jenn-debellis
Nuggets:
0:04:57 – Bugs and SAT words
0:06:39 – Jenn’s gymnastics background, and pole vaulting in college
0:11:12 – Paying attention to the best qualities in our friends
0:13:15 – Tough coaches, and learning to be tough on herself
0:15:00 – Being comfortable with failure, and Jenn’s Olympic aspirations in gymnastics
0:19:26 – Setting the scene
0:20:09 – Getting inspired by Ray of Light V13, and Jenn’s initial goals for her trip to Rocklands
0:22:24 – The breakdown of Ray of Light, and the standards in Rocklands
0:24:10 – V10 and 8A, and the decision to try really hard and inspiring things
0:26:30 – The 8a leaderboard, and shift her philosophy to chase dream boulders
0:30:50 – My new shoe mod for Black Shadow
0:34:08 – Getting excited about “sending” crux moves, and turning small wins into big wins
0:35:59 – Trying beyond limit boulders, and making tradeoffs
0:40:21 – Jenn and I compare our experiences with Black Shadow and Ray of Light, and share takeaways
0:48:00 – The climbers we’ve learned from, and the truth about people who climb hard
0:51:04 – Owning your style, not falling into the pitfall of trying to copy your peers, and trying Full Throttle V13 in Hueco
0:57:23 – How living on the road has changed my perception of climbing, and different ways you can express difficulty in climbing
0:59:06 – Working on her strengths and supplementing her weaknesses
1:01:20 – Thinking about her training in checkboxes
1:03:14 – Not knowing where home is, and having many homes on the road
1:08:28 – Jenn’s lifestyle, leaving her PhD program to live in a van
1:15:05 – How Jenn balances indoor training and outdoor performance
1:17:49 – How she plans her training cycles, and using autoregulation to ramp up after a trip
1:21:29 – “Injury is the enemy.”
1:22:12 – How Jenn balances her climbing life with a full-time remote job
1:23:46 – Life is 30% less efficient on the road
1:25:49 – Tips for finding cheap rent in cities
1:26:54 – The dirtbag mindset, how to make working on the road sustainable
1:31:13 – How Jenn structures a 6-week training block, and the key ingredients in her training
1:33:07 – Weight lifting, and cutting out accessory exercises
1:35:07 – Board climbing, and how to train for something like Full Throttle
1:36:46 – Jenn’s long-ass climbing warmup
1:40:21 – The different stages of Jenn’s warmup
1:41:28 – Keeping training and outdoor trips separate
1:43:45 – Improving year on year
1:44:54 – Upcoming trips and goals, and training 4x4s on her home wall
1:47:53 – KAYA, Jenn’s role on the engineering team, and her passion for her work
1:54:44 – Favorite rock type, and thinking better on granite
1:57:08 – Ultimate dream climbs, and meaningful first female ascents
1:59:34 – Joe’s Valley doughnuts
2:01:11 – Kodiak Cakes
2:02:06 – Go-to climbing shoes
2:02:17 – Jenn’s connection to Joe’s Valley, and how she became a software engineer
2:05:02 – Desert Island DVDs
2:06:31 – Hype music
2:08:27 – Best decision she’s ever made, and how long she sees herself living this lifestyle
2:11:42 – Thoughts about having a family and drawing inspiration from strong moms
2:12:42 – What Jenn wishes people spent less time thinking about
2:14:25 – Building out her van
2:17:36 – Toying with the idea of bringing back blogs
2:19:45 – Wrapping up in the dark
EP 220: Alannah Yip (Olympian) — Alopecia, Finding Power Beyond Hair Loss, and Her Fight Against Disordered Eating
EP 219: Fitz Cahall (The Dirtbag Diaries, Climbing Gold) — A Lifetime of Storytelling, Taking Authorship of Your Time, and Being Pro But Not Fancy
EP 218: Mat Wright — Sending One of the World's Hardest Trad Climbs, 'Rhapsody' E11
EP 217: A Masterclass in Relieving Stress, Sleeping Better, & Improving Focus Using Self-Hypnosis — Dr. David Spiegel (Stanford Psychiatrist)
EXTRA: Maddy Cope — A Masterclass in Endurance Training
EP 216: Maddy Cope — Erase Your Bucket List, Embrace Discomfort, and Discover the Joy of Missing Out
EP 215: Nathan Williams — Lessons From 100+ Days on a V17, the Simplest Way to Get Strong Fingers, and Static Shenanigans
EP 214: How to Find Contentment in Your Climbing, Banish Shame, and Send Harder Than Ever — Neely Quinn (TrainingBeta, Life Coach)
EP 213: Simon Lorenzi — Three V17s, the Fascinating Story Behind ‘Soudain Seul’, and Dream V18 Projects
EP 212: Filmmaker Carlos Mason on Creating SENDING — A Look Behind the Scenes at One of My Favorite Climbing Films
EP 211: Davis Ngo (dr.climb) — Blowing Up on Instagram, Why Pro Climbers Deserve to Get Paid, and Overcoming Fear After Injury
EP 210: Stefano Ghisolfi — Chasing the Impossible, Using Humor to Send, and Two Drills for Legendary Endurance
EP 209: Graham Zimmerman — Going to the Mountains to Learn, the 100-Year Plan, and Imperfect Advocacy
EP 208: Jesse Grupper — Optimistic Training, Last Place to Olympian, and Leveling Up His Bouldering
SEND ALERT: Will Bosi — ‘Return of the Sleepwalker’ V17, and What He Plans to Try Next!
EP 207: How to Rehab Finger Injuries, Build Bulletproof Wrists & Elbows, and Never Get Injured Again — Paul Houghoughi (The Climbing Physio)
EP 206: Building a Perfect Replica of ‘The Big Island’ V15, Training on Your Projects, and the Ideal Circuit — Charlie Schreiber Returns
SEND ALERT: Kai Lightner — ‘Life of Villains’ 9a, Not Rushing the Process, and Building Jamaica’s First Climbing Wall
EP 205: Adrian Vanoni — Finger Crack Wizardry, Blue Collar Sending, and Lucid Dreams About Beta
EP 204: Anak Verhoeven — How to Build 9a Endurance, Why Motivation Trumps Fancy Facilities, and Being Public About Her Faith
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