EP 77: Allison Vest — A Competitor’s Mindset, Fun Challenges, and the Secret to One-Arm Hangs

Allison Vest is a 3x Canadian National Champion in bouldering. We talked about her mindset after a recent competition, moving to SLC and training with her roommate Kyra Condie, goals and confidence, the downward spiral of failure, her training schedule, the secrets to one-arm hangs and campusing, having fun, Instagram challenges, and learning how to topout boulders.

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Show Notes:  

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/allison-vest

Nuggets:

3:24 – The climbing closet

4:55 – World cup debrief, and the post-comp headspace

11:23 – A mix of emotions

12:49 – The motivation of a competition climber

17:30 – Goals, confidence, and failure

23:48 – How Allison and Kyra debrief competitions, and opposite personalities 

24:40 – The benefit of not being teammates

28:09 – Growing up in Canada and meeting Kyra Condie

32:30 – Salt Lake City as the epicenter of training

35:58 – Playfulness and “Fail Friday”

41:47 – Instagram Challenges (backpack and shorts dynos

45:06 – The standing splits challenge

47:33 – Combining training with play

52:43 – Priorities vs. powering through, and how Allison got the nickname “Big Al” 

59:26 – Allison’s training volume, and comparing different high-level climbers

1:03:11 – Campusing 

1:05:42 – One-arm hangs

1:16:25 – Shoulder strength

1:17:41 – Christian Core’s hangboard philosophy

1:20:07 – Grip positions

1:21:52 – Allison’s hangboard schedule, and many 

different approaches that work

1:25:38 – Starting to climb outside more

1:27:36 – Topouts

1:38:09 – How outdoor climbing compliments competition training

1:45:20 – Patron Question from Jimmy: Most memorable competition moment?

1:47:01 – Patron Question (anonymous): What does she miss the most about Vancouver/Squamish? And the least? 

1:50:47 – Patron Question from Jordan: Can you introduce me to KJ Apa?

1:52:31 – Jonas Brothers, Jumanji, and Robin Williams

1:54:09 – Best decisions

1:55:10 – Competition self-talk

1:57:07 – Advice for young competitors

1:58:06 – “More doesn’t always mean better.”

1:58:45 – What is standing between Allison and the 2024 Olympics?

2:00:01 – Grateful for community