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: Tom Randall — How to Program Your Training Like a Pro (Teaser)
EP 106: Hans Florine — Speed Climbing on ‘The Nose’, Big Wall Tips, and the Evolution of Speed Climbing Competitions
EP 105: Brent Barghahn — How to Retire Before Age 30, Extreme Unicycling, and How to Free Climb Big Walls By Yourself
EP 104: Amity Warme — Crushing in Yosemite, Growing up in Gymnastics, and Eating More to Do More
Follow-Up: Tyler Nelson — How to Train Based on Your Finger Anatomy (Teaser)
EP 103: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk — Chasing Flow State, The Role of Cleverness in Climbing, and Becoming a Mom
EP 102: Matty Hong — The History of ‘Flex Luthor’, Climbing Waterfalls in Japan, and the Camera as a Gift
EP 101: Nina Caprez — Being a Swiss Machine, Leaning into Womanness, and a Beautiful Story of Failing on ‘The Nose’
Follow-Up: Steve Maisch — My Training Plan for Hueco Round 2 (Teaser)
EP 100: Ben Moon — How Ben Moon Uses the MoonBoard, and the Evolution of Sport Climbing
Follow-Up: Paige Claassen — Dreamcatching, and Learning to Celebrate (Teaser)
EP 99: Q&A 4 — Goals for 2022, Dating on the Road, and What I’ve Learned from Nearly 100 Episodes
Follow-Up: Tyson Schoene — Building Champions, and Keeping Things Simple (Teaser)
EP 98: Kyra Condie — The Olympic Experience, Training With a Fused Spine, and Thriving in Organized Chaos
EP 97: Austin Hoyt — Favorite Zones in the Northeast, Rediscovering Old Projects, and Being a GUNKaholic
EP 96: Joe Kinder — The Love of Projecting, Leaving a Legacy, and the Other Side of Cancellation
EP 95: Tyler Algeo — Starting a Climbing Gym in Africa, Climb Malawi, and Raising Black Sons as a White Dad
Follow-Up: Steve Bechtel — When to Stick With It, and Climbing His First 5.14 at Age 47 (Teaser)
EP 94: Nathaniel Coleman — Preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, Climbing in a Sauna, and Kendama Training
EP 93: Tom Herbert (Part 2) —How to Relax to Improve your Passat Reserves, and Tom’s Life Story
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