Emil Abrahamsson is an elite boulderer, route setter, and YouTuber from Sweden. We talked about goal setting and projecting his first V15 as a V9 climber, the importance of psych and inspiration, experimenting with hangboarding two times per day, how to do one-arm pullups, sharing the experience of outdoor climbing through films, and making a living through his YouTube channel.
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/emil-abrahamsson
Nuggets:
3:11 – Building a van and planning a bouldering trip around Europe
6:01 – My bouldering goals, Emil’s progression, and setting goals
9:27 – Trying a V15 as a V9 climber, and how a lot of climbers stay “comfortable” at a specific level
12:53 – ‘The Big Island’
17:17 – Emil’s first day of climbing, struggling early on, and getting hooked
19:38 – Alternating difficulty and volume goals
21:32 – ‘The Queen Mother’ (Emil’s first 8B/V13 project in Stockholm), and the limiting power of expectations
29:21 – Reflecting on ‘The Queen Mother’, and prioritizing psych and motivation
32:00 – Felix
37:13 – “Swiss Recruitment”, or the Swiss style of projecting
41:00 – How Emil got into YouTubing, capturing the experience of outdoor climbing, and my impression as a viewer
44:27 – Forgetting to charge the batteries, and the stress vs. fun of filming
47:42 – Work-life balance when you love your work, and turning YouTubing into a career
49:34 – How to balance capturing footage with training or performing, and capturing the good and the bad
51:15 – Emil’s “No Hangs” hangboard video, and his caveat for training advice
56:00 – Quick overview of the “No Hang” hangboard protocol, and Emil’s theory of why his fingers got stronger
1:00:16 – We get most of our strength through climbing
1:01:41 – 4x4s and other climbing games
1:04:10 – Training your strengths, and practicing weaknesses through climbing
1:06:59 – How Emil structures his training, and embracing the stretching “pain game”
1:11:49 – Turning challenges into positives, and the benefits Emil has noticed from stretching
1:14:46 – Patron question from Florian about avoiding crimping early on in his climbing, and how Emil worked to improve his crimp strength later
1:18:34 – How Emil rewired his brain to think, “Full crimps are comfortable. I can enjoy these.”
1:19:32 – Emil’s crimp progression and current level
1:21:53 – One-arm pull-ups, 4mm crimps, front levers, and getting weaker on purpose to get better at technique
1:28:55 – Emil’s recommendations for progressing to a one-arm pullup
1:33:41 – How Emil pronounces his name, and a Patron question from Flynn about training for indoors vs. outdoors and competing in World Cups
1:41:12 – Flash training
1:43:44 – World Cup goals, and the flame of competition
1:47:34 – What is one of the weirdest/worst training experiments that you’ve tried?
1:50:24 – Favorite films, the critical eye, and the need for consistent content
1:54:48 – Recommendations for new viewers
1:56:35 – Emil’s dream collaboration
1:58:17 – Gratitude
2:01:03 – Finishing the van, and plans for Switzerland and Italy
EP 189: Lily Kral — Building a Board Climbing Gym, Exotic Dancing, and Being a Work in Progress
EP 188: Joey Jannsen & Rich Breuner — Underground Hip-Hop, Cage Fighting, and Hustling ‘Til You Make It
EP 187: Stefanie Myr — Miniature Carpentry, Becoming Polyamorous, and Finding “Church” at the Gym
Four Women Have Climbed V15
Follow-Up: Katie Lamb — Box Therapy V16, and the Willingness to Persist (Teaser)
EP 186: Q&A 7 (feat. Ethan Pringle) — Rocklands Wrap-Up, Bat Hang Shenanigans, and Challenging Your Perceived Limits
EP 185: Mattias Braach-Maksvytis — All Things Dynos, Why Boulderers Should Train Their Legs, and How to Enjoy Your Climbing
EP 184: Nic Rummel — Embracing Thickness, Lessons From 9 Years of Hangboarding, and Doing Whatever It Takes to Feel Like a Badass
EP 183: Jenn DeBellis — Chasing Dream Boulders, Turning Small Wins Into Big Wins, and Sustaining a Full-Time Job on the Road
EP 182: Carlos Tkacz & Steph Letourneau — Lessons From 7 Trips to Rocklands, Being Good at Being Consistent, and Writing Novels
EP 181: Charlie Schreiber, Adam Shahar, Noah & Benn Wheeler — Accidentally Flashing V13, Board Training, and Ultimate Dream Sends
EP 180: Troy Fauteux, Austin Hoyt, & Bryce Viola — Times We Almost Died, Toe Hook Training, and Laughs and Sends in Rocklands
EP 179: Cat Runner — Life After Winning The Climb, Embracing Trans Pride, and Sending Big at 5’0”
Follow-Up: Ollie Torr — How to Improve Your Critical Force, Training Endurance at Home, and Listener Q&A (Teaser)
EP 178: Ethan Pringle Returns — Two Things He Does Every Day, Taking Your Time, and Honoring His Dad
EP 177: Tiba Vroom — Confronting Fear of Failure, Being the 8, and Taking Responsibility for Your Life
Follow-Up: Dave MacLeod — Lessons From Recent Diet Experiments, the 9a+ Goal, and Getting Stronger After Age 40 (Teaser)
EP 176: Eric Hörst Returns — Top 7 Most Common Training Mistakes
EP 175: Ady Wright — The Pressure of Opportunity, Acts of Rebellion, and Eating Oreos for Breakfast
EP 174: Bernd Zangerl — Developing World-Class Bouldering in the Himalayas, Entering the Easiness, and the Power of the Mind
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