Emil Abrahamsson is an elite boulderer, route setter, and YouTuber from Sweden. We talked about goal setting and projecting his first V15 as a V9 climber, the importance of psych and inspiration, experimenting with hangboarding two times per day, how to do one-arm pullups, sharing the experience of outdoor climbing through films, and making a living through his YouTube channel.
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thenuggetclimbing.com/support
Become a Patron:
patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing
Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/emil-abrahamsson
Nuggets:
3:11 – Building a van and planning a bouldering trip around Europe
6:01 – My bouldering goals, Emil’s progression, and setting goals
9:27 – Trying a V15 as a V9 climber, and how a lot of climbers stay “comfortable” at a specific level
12:53 – ‘The Big Island’
17:17 – Emil’s first day of climbing, struggling early on, and getting hooked
19:38 – Alternating difficulty and volume goals
21:32 – ‘The Queen Mother’ (Emil’s first 8B/V13 project in Stockholm), and the limiting power of expectations
29:21 – Reflecting on ‘The Queen Mother’, and prioritizing psych and motivation
32:00 – Felix
37:13 – “Swiss Recruitment”, or the Swiss style of projecting
41:00 – How Emil got into YouTubing, capturing the experience of outdoor climbing, and my impression as a viewer
44:27 – Forgetting to charge the batteries, and the stress vs. fun of filming
47:42 – Work-life balance when you love your work, and turning YouTubing into a career
49:34 – How to balance capturing footage with training or performing, and capturing the good and the bad
51:15 – Emil’s “No Hangs” hangboard video, and his caveat for training advice
56:00 – Quick overview of the “No Hang” hangboard protocol, and Emil’s theory of why his fingers got stronger
1:00:16 – We get most of our strength through climbing
1:01:41 – 4x4s and other climbing games
1:04:10 – Training your strengths, and practicing weaknesses through climbing
1:06:59 – How Emil structures his training, and embracing the stretching “pain game”
1:11:49 – Turning challenges into positives, and the benefits Emil has noticed from stretching
1:14:46 – Patron question from Florian about avoiding crimping early on in his climbing, and how Emil worked to improve his crimp strength later
1:18:34 – How Emil rewired his brain to think, “Full crimps are comfortable. I can enjoy these.”
1:19:32 – Emil’s crimp progression and current level
1:21:53 – One-arm pull-ups, 4mm crimps, front levers, and getting weaker on purpose to get better at technique
1:28:55 – Emil’s recommendations for progressing to a one-arm pullup
1:33:41 – How Emil pronounces his name, and a Patron question from Flynn about training for indoors vs. outdoors and competing in World Cups
1:41:12 – Flash training
1:43:44 – World Cup goals, and the flame of competition
1:47:34 – What is one of the weirdest/worst training experiments that you’ve tried?
1:50:24 – Favorite films, the critical eye, and the need for consistent content
1:54:48 – Recommendations for new viewers
1:56:35 – Emil’s dream collaboration
1:58:17 – Gratitude
2:01:03 – Finishing the van, and plans for Switzerland and Italy
Follow-Up: Mike Doyle — How to Maintain Finger Strength While Sport Climbing (Teaser)
EP 53: Jon Glassberg (Part 2) — MoonBoarding, an Example Training Day, and Foreign Haircuts
EP 52: Jon Glassberg (Part 1) — Filming Emily Harrington on ‘Golden Gate’, and Pursuing V15
Follow-Up: Steve Bechtel — Goal Setting and the "Three Good Tries" Rule (Teaser)
EP 51: Chris and Heather Weidner — Kneebar Wizardry, Projecting Tips, and Supporting Each Other’s Goals
EP 50: Jon Cardwell — Projecting 5.15, Pre-Training Modes, and Bouldering for Sport Climbing
Follow-Up: Lizzy VanPatten — 'Make Me Sanguine' (Teaser)
Darek Krol Memorial Clip
EP 49: Remembering Darek Krol
Merry Christmas!
EP 48: Alex Johnson (Part 2) — Isometric Training, Getting Strong, and the Lock-Off Challenge
Follow-Up: Jasna Hodžić — Projecting 101 (...More like 401) (Teaser)
EP 47: Alex Johnson (Part 1) — An Olympic Dream, the Art of Failure, and Thriving in Your Own Skin
T-Shirt Giveaway!
EP 46: Chris Kalous — Untold Stories, the Mythical Grade of A6+, and the Gift of Podcasting
Follow-Up: Brittany Goris — The Wild World of Offwidths (Teaser)
EP 45: Dru Mack (feat. Nat Gustafson) — How to Stay Strong While Projecting, and Battling ‘The Crew’
EP 44: Steven Dimmitt (feat. Ethan Pringle) — The Guy Behind The Nugget Climbing Podcast
Follow-Up: Jonathan Siegrist — ‘Nu World’ and the ‘Event Horizon’ Project (Teaser)
EP 43: Emily Harrington — Projecting ‘Golden Gate’ in a Day, Embracing Fear, and Cupcake Batter Ice Cream
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