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 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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