EP 184: Nic Rummel — Embracing Thickness, Lessons From 9 Years of Hangboarding, and Doing Whatever It Takes to Feel Like a Badass

Nic Rummel is an applied mathematician and expert boulderer. Ethan Pringle joins as co-host for another fun episode from Rocklands. We talked about embracing his nickname “Thick Nic”, lessons from working with Matt Fultz, sending V13 crimp boulders at 185 lbs, epic math projects, taking ballet to practice movement, the keys to a good spray wall, go-to hangboard protocols for epic finger strength, how lifting weights led to his best trip ever, finding mentorship in an 80-year-old climbing legend, and much more!

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Show Notes:  

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/nic-rummel

Nuggets:

0:06:39 – Test, test, testing…

0:08:24 – How Thique Nic got his nickname, and embracing the body you’re given

0:15:02 – Viking-built, trucks vs. Mazdas

0:17:43 – Working with Matt & Hailey (Franklin) Fultz, and the confidence that comes with hitting strength benchmarks

0:20:39 – Everyone wants to be like someone else, and being proud of the climber you’ve become

0:23:29 – I’m on one, training for his local project in Fort Collins CO, and why he had such a successful trip to Rocklands

0:30:08 – Deloading, Nic’s job in missile tracking and detection, and going back to school for a graduate degree

0:35:23 – Needing more rest now that he is in school

0:36:14 – Nic’s longest boulder project vs. his math problem

0:41:29 – Applied math vs. pure math

0:46:00 – The math problem that took Nic the longest to solve

0:49:01 – Finding better beta on the JABE problem

0:54:06 – Mathing vs. bouldering, comparison, and balancing multiple passions

0:58:49 – Having a physical goal, an artistic goal, and an intellectual goal

1:00:04 – Artistic outlets, and making an art film

1:02:13 – Ballet

1:11:32 – Nic’s crimping journey

1:16:29 – Beating Matt Fultz to the 200 lb OTG, doing 58 pullups in a minute, and getting confidence from metrics

1:21:19 – Nic’s crimping journey continued, and long-term hangboard training

1:24:32 – Nic’s key takeaways from reading Ned Feehally’s book Beastmaking

1:26:07 – Doing a hangboarding workout before trying your project, and adapting over time

1:27:53 – Nic’s go-to hangboard protocols

1:32:09 – Nic’s top hangboard recommendation that he got from Will Anglin

1:34:15 – Nic’s thoughts on training micros

1:35:53 – When to do the Will Anglin workout, and doing long-duration hangs as part of his warmup

1:37:34 – Being warmup kings, and training less than usual

1:41:05 – Ethan’s feelings

1:42:41 – Nic’s secret crimp project, and doing the stand to Andramada

1:44:41 – Working on climbing movement, and how he set up his home wall to work on his weaknesses

1:47:56 – How the home wall facilitated community, and buying his house in Fort Collins

1:51:54 – The evolution of Nic’s home wall, and why he doesn’t like big holds on boards

1:56:04 – Ethan tries to convince Nic to try Scorsese 5.14c in the Poudre

1:57:45 – Setting as a creative outlet, and what he wishes he could change about his home wall

2:00:07 – Why Nic doesn’t recommend using T-nuts on a home wall

2:02:15 – Using electric scooters to get to Lincoln Lake

2:09:06 – Ethan hates on CO alpine bouldering, and the boys compare it to Eldo and the Flatirons

2:13:59 – How Nic ended up in Boulder, living on Paul’s land, and renovating his trailer

2:23:22 – Showering, splitting time between the trailer and his house, and having Paul as a mentor

2:28:54 – Wanting to feel like a badass, and finding balance

2:32:30 – Feeling content with his trip, getting sick, and sending Sky V13

2:35:59 – Lifting weights to keep up with his sister

2:38:02 – Taking measurements of his body, and how he’s changed over the years

2:39:04 – Nic’s brother, his siblings’ climbing, and a lesson from powerlifting

2:43:54 – Dream climbs, plans to try more V14s, and why he got hurt on his project

2:47:58 – Music City Hot Chicken

2:48:34 – Go-to breakfast

2:49:37 – Go-to climbing shoes

2:52:17 – Climbing in Red Feather

2:53:07 – Trap music

2:54:31 – Obtaining big goals

2:56:55 – Ethan talks about Nic’s send of Airstar V13

2:58:41 – Wrap up