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
EP 190: Josh Champion — Quitting After Sending V13, and Reengaging With Climbing in a Healthier Way
Follow-Up: Martin Keller — Sending V16 at Age 45, Getting More Out of Less, and the Skill of Delayed Gratification (Teaser)
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
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