Dylan Barks is an elite-level boulder and sport climber, and a dark horse in the climbing scene. He sent ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’, his first V16, just two weeks after this interview. We talked about how Dylan uses a spray wall for 95% of his training, how he prepares for both bouldering and sport climbing trips, and about recovering from an eating disorder to climb his hardest ever.
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/dylan-barks
Nuggets:
4:00 – Vanlife pipedreams, Dylan’s work and school, and finding his groove climbing outside
7:05 – Being in both the competition and outdoor worlds
8:30 – Bad haircut timing, and the alpine as a harsh and special place
11:32 – How Dylan prepared for his trip to RMNP, and spray wall training for both bouldering and sport climbing
14:11 – Dylan’s training philosophy, and why he uses the spray wall
16:24 – The value of benchmarks, and mixing limit bouldering with perfect repeats
17:58 – ‘A Day in Boone’, how Dylan has trained his capacity, and session format
21:40 – The line between capacity training vs. junk mileage
23:45 – Deep dive: spray wall session format
26:32 – 60 move circuits, running, and pushing through vs. resting
31:23 – Watching Dylan on ‘Wild Cat’, and his story about competing against Daniel Woods
37:00 – Internalizing the feeling of a move, and bringing intention to all of your climbing
39:17 – Sending ‘White Noise’, and finding another gear on this trip
40:20 – Taking the lower grade, and being his own harshest critic
41:32 – Where Dylan sees a lot of climbers going wrong in their training and improvement
43:44 – Coaching Jon, and coaching the team in MI
45:43 – Starting climbing at summer camp
46:33 – ‘Southern Smoke Direct’, taking a hiatus due to an eating disorder, and the light at the end of a dark tunnel
48:52 – Sharing about an eating disorder, and how Dylan’s struggle started
51:51 – Dysmorphia, and “Your body’s got it.”
56:00 – A couple of paragraphs from ‘Weighing In’
1:01:13 – Trusting the process, seeing things working, and the tricks our mind can play on us
1:04:57 – Looking at old pictures
1:06:04 – What 18-year-old Dylan needed to hear
1:08:28 – Going to the hospital, rebuilding relationships, and turning things around
1:10:48 – Mike, and “feed the beast”
1:12:14 – Untapped potential for strength, and thoughts vs. actions
1:15:08 – Navigating negative thoughts
1:17:00 – Using your climbing and training as the main driver for body composition
1:20:19 – Climbing ‘Arrested Development’ second try
1:24:15 – Mindful climbing, and being in the present moment
1:25:52 – Practicing mindfulness
1:26:52 – If you could only do one more hard rock climb…
1:28:35 – That “click”
1:30:14 – Southern sandstone
1:31:21 – Go-to climbing shoes
1:33:02 – Warming up your technique
1:34:35 – Trying ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’
1:36:04 – School, and getting out his “ya yas”
1:37:25 – Aspirations to be a pro-climber?
1:39:01 – Vulnerability and the gift of sharing
1:40:10 – Gratitude, and meaningful connections
Follow-Up: Natasha Barnes — Climbing Harder in a Stronger Body (Teaser)
EP 92: Tom Herbert (Part 1) — Eating More to Train Harder, Protein Synthesis, and Carbohydrate Timing
EP 91: Craig DeMartino — Amputating His Leg to Climb Again, El Cap Stories, and Embracing a New Normal
EP 90: Josh Wharton — Onsight Tips and Tricks, Training to Flash El Capitan, and Risk Assessment as a Parent
EP 89: Q&A 3 — How My Training Has Evolved, How to Stay Strong on a Road Trip, and Life Mottos
Follow-Up: Allison Vest — ‘Throwin’ the Houlian’, Mono Training, and the Periodic Table of Elements (Teaser)
EP 88: Ben Ditto — Early Climbing and Photography, Dynafit Dangling, and Adventures With the ‘Wild Bunch’
EP 87: Alita Contreras — Learning Languages, Coaching Women to Climb Powerfully, and Translating Training Books
Follow-Up: Steve Maisch — My Summer Training Plan, Listener Q&A, and Steve’s Go-To Training Exercises (Teaser)
EP 85: Emil Abrahamsson — Trying Hard Projects, Hangboarding Two Times Per Day, and a Career on YouTube
EP 84: Boone Speed — Training in the Hell Cave, the Grasshopper Board, and the Future of Artificial Climbing
Follow-Up: Nathan Hadley — Two Routes on The Diamond (Teaser)
EP 83: Neely Quinn — Lessons from the TrainingBeta Podcast, Nutrition Advice for Climbers, and Kids vs. Houses
EP 82: Christine Deyo — Learning Creativity, Fontainebleau Circuits, and the Role of Diversity in Route Setting
Follow-Up: Dru Mack — Play Hard. Rest Hard. (Teaser)
EP 81: Hazel Findlay — The Ego, Fear of Falling, and Mental Training for ‘Magic Line’
EP 80: Robb Wolf — Prioritizing Protein, the Importance of Sleep, and a Case for a Meat Inclusive Diet
Follow-Up: Ron Kauk — Listener Q&A, Who Punched John Bachar, and a Plane Full of Weed (Teaser)
EP 79: Tyler Nelson — A Deep Dive Into Blood Flow Restriction (BFR), Finger Training, and Doughnut Eating
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