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 148: Alan Watts (Repost) — A Life at Smith Rock, Eating Every Other Day, and Meeting Adam Ondra
BONUS: Alita Contreras — Guerreras Film!
Announcing Merch!
EP 147: Alayna Joy — Coming out to 400k Subscribers, Queerness in Climbing, and Compulsory Heterosexuality
EP 146: Todd Perkins — The Mind-Opening Effects of Cannabis, Why Gratitude is the Key to Climbing Longevity, and Near-Death Experiences
Follow-Up: Amity Warme — Sending ‘The Honeymoon Is Over’ in a Hailstorm, and Lessons From Another Season in Yosemite (Teaser)
EP 145: Katie Lamb — Breaking Into V14, Embracing Micro Beta, and How Climbers Can Be Leaders in the Climate Movement
EP 144: Marisa Michael — Why Losing Weight Won’t Make You Climb Harder, How to Navigate Food, and Intuitive Eating
EP 143: Matt Heyliger — Tissue Capacity vs. Biomechanics, Why Mobility Comes Before Strength, and the Eyeball Story
EP 142: Aidan Roberts — Training for Alphane V17, the Power of Replicas, and Embracing Your Style
EP 141: Robbie Phillips — Exploring Scottish Sea Cliffs, Keeping Things Fun, and Capturing Memories Through Filmmaking
EP 140: Tommy Caldwell — Undone Lines on El Cap, Father-Son Relationships, and Exploring the Limits of Human Endurance
EP 139: Lynn Hill — Breaking Barriers in Climbing, How to Find Self-Belief, and Challenging Social Norms
EP 138: Q&A 6 (feat. Taylor Fragomeni) — Ways to Improve Your Climbing if Access is Limited, and More Patron Questions
Follow-Up: Ned Feehally — More Beastmaking Questions, and Longer Hangs for Long-Term Strength Gains (Teaser)
EP 137: Drew Ruana & Cameron Hörst — Lessons from Recent Sends, Training for Bouldering vs. Sport Climbing, and Leveling Up to V18 and 5.15c
EP 136: Dan Varian — High Angle Crimps, Silver Bullets in Finger Strength, and How to Activate Lazy Fingers
EP 135: Alice Hafer — How to Train Your Mind Muscle, Tips for Staying Motivated, and Box Jumps for Power
EP 134: Sam Van Boxtel — Creating Value on Social Media, Having a Strong “Why”, and the Road to 100k Followers
Follow-Up: Jonathan Siegrist — How to Climb Hard Sport Routes and Improve for Decades (Teaser)
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