Karly Rager is a structural engineer turned climbing coach, and the founder of Project Direct Coaching. We talked about Karly’s background and what led her to start her own coaching business, being a female in two male-dominated industries, mental strategies for developing focus and overcoming fear, transitioning between climbing disciplines, using injuries as opportunities, cultivating longevity in our climbing, valuing coaches more highly, and much more.
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/karly-rager
Nuggets:
0:06:11 – Literature, poetry, and public speaking
0:10:07 – Engineering school, and rediscovering art
0:11:37 – Karly’s background, studying engineering and working as a structural engineer, and discovering climbing
0:15:48 – How climbing connects with the engineering and the artistic parts of the brain
0:19:11 – Mentoring friends, and becoming a climbing coach
0:21:52 – Mental strategies for developing focus, and being an observer of your own mind
0:25:53 – Making mental training measurable, and mindfulness practice
0:28:31 – Starting her coaching business (Project Direct), and figuring out which lever to pull
0:31:58 – Developing skills, emersion, and learning vs. performing
0:36:41 – The “Trenches of Transition”, and my (Steven’s) transition from Smith Rock to steep cave climbing
0:39:26 – Having different grade pyramids for different styles of climbing
0:43:51 – Karly’s 4 Pillars, and questions to ask yourself if you are considering getting a coach
0:48:24 – How to get initial coaching experience, Karly’s leap from engineering to coaching, and recommended certifications for climbing coaches
0:53:43 – Stacking her resume, and being female in a male-dominated engineering world
0:58:23 – Being scrutinized as a female climbing coach, standing up for herself, and letting her guard down
1:01:49 – Using respectful language, and Karly’s tip of pretending your email is addressed to a male recipient
1:07:18 – Setbacks in climbing, breaking her leg, and the finite number of tears we have to cry
1:14:30 – My (Steven’s) first finger injury, and the wisdom I got from my roommate
1:17:45 – Using injuries as an opportunity
1:22:47 – My (Steven’s) favorite climbing areas right now, and favorite crags in St. George, UT
1:26:45 – New rock types take time
1:33:01 – Trying to onsight ‘The Rainbow Wall’
1:40:41 – Placing more value on ourselves as climbers and coaches, and being paid based on the scarcity of our skills
1:48:12 – How we value overworking in western society, and why we should be encouraged (and paid well) to do work we enjoy
1:52:56 – Karly’s “zone of genius”
1:54:51 – Cultivating longevity
1:59:36 – The eye contact drill
2:01:50 – Give each skill 8-10 weeks of focus
2:02:35 – Our body’s ability to remember skills and movements
2:04:51 – Different learning styles, using imagery, and using video as a tool
2:12:22 – Karly’s strategies for keeping her coaching businesses sustainable, having set days for specific tasks, and taking time off
2:20:13 – Making coaching more accessible while paying coaches well, and other ways to pay it forward
2:28:00 – Being a mentor and a mentee
2:30:33 – How Karly is currently being a mentee
2:33:46 – Karly’s hope for the climbing industry
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
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
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