Jenn DeBellis is an elite-level boulderer and software engineer. We sat down in Rocklands and talked about her biggest lessons from childhood gymnastics and collegiate athletics, trying V13s in Magic Wood and Rocklands, getting comfortable with failure, learning to embrace her style, her elaborate warmup routine, how she plans her 6-week training cycles, her role with KAYA, tips for sustaining a full-time job on the road, and much more!
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/jenn-debellis
Nuggets:
0:04:57 – Bugs and SAT words
0:06:39 – Jenn’s gymnastics background, and pole vaulting in college
0:11:12 – Paying attention to the best qualities in our friends
0:13:15 – Tough coaches, and learning to be tough on herself
0:15:00 – Being comfortable with failure, and Jenn’s Olympic aspirations in gymnastics
0:19:26 – Setting the scene
0:20:09 – Getting inspired by Ray of Light V13, and Jenn’s initial goals for her trip to Rocklands
0:22:24 – The breakdown of Ray of Light, and the standards in Rocklands
0:24:10 – V10 and 8A, and the decision to try really hard and inspiring things
0:26:30 – The 8a leaderboard, and shift her philosophy to chase dream boulders
0:30:50 – My new shoe mod for Black Shadow
0:34:08 – Getting excited about “sending” crux moves, and turning small wins into big wins
0:35:59 – Trying beyond limit boulders, and making tradeoffs
0:40:21 – Jenn and I compare our experiences with Black Shadow and Ray of Light, and share takeaways
0:48:00 – The climbers we’ve learned from, and the truth about people who climb hard
0:51:04 – Owning your style, not falling into the pitfall of trying to copy your peers, and trying Full Throttle V13 in Hueco
0:57:23 – How living on the road has changed my perception of climbing, and different ways you can express difficulty in climbing
0:59:06 – Working on her strengths and supplementing her weaknesses
1:01:20 – Thinking about her training in checkboxes
1:03:14 – Not knowing where home is, and having many homes on the road
1:08:28 – Jenn’s lifestyle, leaving her PhD program to live in a van
1:15:05 – How Jenn balances indoor training and outdoor performance
1:17:49 – How she plans her training cycles, and using autoregulation to ramp up after a trip
1:21:29 – “Injury is the enemy.”
1:22:12 – How Jenn balances her climbing life with a full-time remote job
1:23:46 – Life is 30% less efficient on the road
1:25:49 – Tips for finding cheap rent in cities
1:26:54 – The dirtbag mindset, how to make working on the road sustainable
1:31:13 – How Jenn structures a 6-week training block, and the key ingredients in her training
1:33:07 – Weight lifting, and cutting out accessory exercises
1:35:07 – Board climbing, and how to train for something like Full Throttle
1:36:46 – Jenn’s long-ass climbing warmup
1:40:21 – The different stages of Jenn’s warmup
1:41:28 – Keeping training and outdoor trips separate
1:43:45 – Improving year on year
1:44:54 – Upcoming trips and goals, and training 4x4s on her home wall
1:47:53 – KAYA, Jenn’s role on the engineering team, and her passion for her work
1:54:44 – Favorite rock type, and thinking better on granite
1:57:08 – Ultimate dream climbs, and meaningful first female ascents
1:59:34 – Joe’s Valley doughnuts
2:01:11 – Kodiak Cakes
2:02:06 – Go-to climbing shoes
2:02:17 – Jenn’s connection to Joe’s Valley, and how she became a software engineer
2:05:02 – Desert Island DVDs
2:06:31 – Hype music
2:08:27 – Best decision she’s ever made, and how long she sees herself living this lifestyle
2:11:42 – Thoughts about having a family and drawing inspiration from strong moms
2:12:42 – What Jenn wishes people spent less time thinking about
2:14:25 – Building out her van
2:17:36 – Toying with the idea of bringing back blogs
2:19:45 – Wrapping up in the dark
Follow-Up: Mercedes Pollmeier — Your Flexibility Questions Answered (Teaser)
EP 66: Mercedes Pollmeier — How to Improve Flexibility in 6 Minutes Per Day, and Cycling Your Training
BONUS: Matt Sparks — Earth Day, and the Impacts of Chalk
EP 65: Natalie Duran — Ninja Antics, Fear Conditioning, and Living Like a Superhero
Follow-Up: Jon Glassberg — Sending ‘The Nest’, and Representing for the Big Guys (Teaser)
EP 64: Christophe Bichet — Climbing As a Metaphor for Life, Finding ‘Why’, and the Awe of Being Alive
EP 63: Megan Mascarenas — Solving Puzzles, Pole Dancing, and Discovering a New Identity
Follow-Up: Natasha Barnes — Listener Q&A, and Training “The Position” (Teaser)
EP 62: Q&A 1 — How We Get Strong, Dealing with Injuries, and Patterns Among High Performers
EP 61: Chelsea Murn — How to Rewire Your Brain, Take Courageous Leaps, and Manifest Your Dream Life
Follow-Up: Ben Herrington — A Guide to Developing New Boulders (Teaser)
EP 60: Leif Gasch — Becoming a Trainer, Mini-Goals, and Tackling Listener Questions
EP 59: My Eating Disorder — Starving Myself to Climb Harder, and Lessons Learned
EP 58: Carlos Tkacz — Lessons from Teaching, a Free Training Book, and Self-Publishing Sci-Fi
Follow-Up: Emily Harrington — Sending 'Golden Gate', Shoe Tricks, and Pancakes (Teaser)
EP 57: Dave MacLeod (Part 2) — Highlights From ‘9 Out of 10’, Flexible Programming, and Listener Questions
EP 56: Dave MacLeod (Part 1) — Jumping Up 4 Grades in 18 Months, Fingerboard Rituals, and Nutrient Density
BONUS: Blake Cason — Upcoming Retreats
Follow-Up: Blake Cason — Dancing with ‘Joe SixPack’ (Teaser)
EP 55: Kai Lightner — Disordered Eating, Flexibility for Tall Climbers, and Climbing for Change
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