This week, Kyra and Allison get real about the struggle to balance their climbing obsession with the reality of needing rest days. The talk about the challenges of having a never-ending season both in competitions and with outdoor climbing (something is always "in-season") and how hard it can be to time things correctly between varying schedules and time windows. They chat about trying to stay in peak shape through that never-ending season and share some of their own experiments with training schedules to figure out what works for them and their goals. Finally, they take a fun trip down memory lane, back to the PanAmerican Youth Championships where Kyra and Allison first met, and Allison got to compete as a Canadian citizen for the first time.
In this episode, Kyra recounts her past two trips to Rocklands, South Africa for climbing trips and how she approached her third one differently than the first two. She remembers some lessons learned from her first trip in 2016, what she did wrong (like switching birth control right before leaving), what she would have done differently, and how that changed her whole approach to climbing outside in general. Sometimes, finding what motivates you is the most important.
In this episode of the Beta & Banter series Kyra and Allison chat about how to deal with a self deprecating climbing partner, when (and how) to avoid an ex at the climbing gym, and how does all that advice carry over to climbing with your romantic partner. other questions included what their opinions are of the recent age limit change in IFSC and how an unfunded athlete does the World Cup series. Tune in to hear all of their advice, beta, and banter!
In this episode, Allison and Kyra dive into the tricky world of climbing etiquette and ethics—both indoors and outdoors. From navigating social situations, like approaching someone with headphones in at the gym or downgrading someones "first of the grade", to managing the vibe at the crag when loud music takes over; they break down common dilemmas. Tune in as they explore how to balance personal preferences with respect for the climbing community, offering insights and practical tips for climbers of all levels.
In this episode Kyra and Allison dive into the exciting world of paraclimbing and its growth into becoming a Paralympic sport. Special guest Mo Beck, a 2X World Champion Paraclimber and 10 time AU2 Paraclimbing National Champion, shares her experiences and insights on the growth of adaptive climbing, the challenges and triumphs of competing at the highest level, and her professional climbing career. Mo discusses her journey, the incredible athletes in the sport, and how the paraclimbing community continues to grow.
In this episode, Kyra is joined once again by her good friend and fellow pro climber, now an Olympian, Campbell Harrison. Together, they dive into Campbell's unforgettable experience at the Paris 2024 Olympics. They discuss everything from what Australia did best in the Olympic Village to Campbell's reflections on his performance on the world’s biggest stage. Looking ahead, they explore what the future holds and how training might evolve as the countdown to the 2028 Games begins.
Allison and Kyra give their unfiltered thoughts and feelings about the Men's and Women's Combined Finals at the Olympics in Paris. From whether their predictions were corrects, to heartbreaking moments and dealing with performance pressure, hear their recap and insights into what the athletes might have been feeling on the biggest sports stage in the world!
Allison and Kyra give their thoughts on the first 4 days of the Paris 2024 Olympic Sport Climbing events. From heartbreaks to broken world records, there was so much excitement in the first 4 days that everyone is excited to see what the next two days has in store. From their own predictions of who will be on the podium to Kyra's insights on the emotional toll of the olympics; here are their unfiltered thoughts!
In this first episode of “Beta & Banter” Kyra and Allison answer questions from the listeners! This will likely become a regular segment or work in as stand alone episodes of the podcast. From how to avoid burnout as a youth climber to how to deal with being the “worst” climber of your group of friends, we try our best to answer your climbing queries with practical and personal advice.
This week’s episode is Kyra and Allison’s first attempt at recording with each other online instead of in person, so sorry for any audio quality differences! Allison and Kyra start by chatting about the impact route setting has on injuries we see at competitions and the challenging job of route setters, specifically in relation to recent World Cups and Olympic Qualifying Series. They talk about dangerous moves, resent fails and wins, and who clinched their Olympic berth in Budapest! Let us know what you think!
In this week's episode, Kyra and her mom, Cathy, talk about Cathy's career as an electrical engineer in the biomedical space. Cathy shares some personal stories from when she was in school, the challenges of raising two kids while getting her Master's Degree from the University of Minnesota, and some words of wisdom from her years in a male-dominated industry (much like the climbing world is, or has been). Kyra speaks on some of her experiences and ways she tries to fight the patriarchy with "micro-feminisms".
Welcome to our first episode of Hot Takes! Wondering about socks in your climbing shoes? If climbing a harder grade makes you immune to being a "gumby"? Or have you ever wondered if climbing v15 or getting a sub 5 second time on the speed wall is more impressive? Kyra and Allison share all their personal opinions on lister requested topics!
In this episode Campbell Harrison, future Olympian and World Cup climber from Australia, takes Allison's place alongside Kyra. They talk about competition stresses, imposter syndrome, mental health, training far from home, the trials and tribulations of addressing RED-s in climbing, and their time spent together on the IFSC Athlete commission. They banter about ways they hope to make change as well as their want to be a role model for the future generation. *TW*: mental health and eating disorders (second half of the episode).
Allison and Kyra tackle the subject of mental and physical plateaus in this week's episode. From how to turn mentally "weak" days into successful sessions and tricks to switch up your training (or when to back off) when you're in a rut.
In this episode Allison takes on an interviewer role and talks to Kyra about her "back story". They cover how Kyra originally found out she had scoliosis, the surgery, the Olympics, and learning to cope with having a form of a disability. Should be interesting for those with and without scoliosis!
Allison and Kyra recap the recent start to the world cup season both with Kyra's attendance at the events and general thoughts about how competitions are run and what could be done better/different in the future. They talk about weather-related delays, the new trends in route-setting, Kyra's attitude at the first competitions of the season, and more!
Kyra and Allison catch up about what they've been doing during their podcasting break. They give insight into some of their life updates and how they use body cues to know when they should back off training or increase training load. They also talk about the pros and cons of using a training journal, what they do instead currently, and the attitude in climbing/sport of glorifying "the grind". They finish up with a fun Q&A with both climbing related and non-climbing related topics.
Kyra and Allison break down everything you need, and didn't need, to know about what has happened thus far on the Road to Paris 2024. Starting with a recap of the excitement and World Championships, they go into a play by play of what happened and who qualified at every Olympic Qualifying Event so far for Sport Climbing.
Kyra and Allison use this episode to talk about the importance of rest days, not only making them ACTUALLY restful, but learning to be ok with taking rest days and knowing that a good rest day is part of a good training plan. They use some of their own experiences with the feelings of overtraining to explain what it feels like and what to look out for. They also talk about how to approach pro climbers at the gym and share some fun anecdotes about the first time they met pro climbers.
Kyra and Allison do a deep dive in this episode into their own emotions and experiences. They both reflect on what has helped them the most during a negative spiral, whatever it was caused by. Many of us tend to be very emotionally invested in our sports performances, so whether it's yourself or your climbing partner, let's figure out how to deal with those intense emotions.
Sophie R
Kyra you're great but I just want to call you out on something, in kindness. if you'd spent a month climbing in Japan would you be talking about it constantly as your trip to 'Asia'? Africa is a vast and varied continent. It's a really common thing for people to talk about it as if it is a country, so I call it out when I hear it.
Amy Swann
I'm a little late to the game, but am listening now! Great podcast!