Circle Up!

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.

Kyra and Allison use this episode to first answer some fun, non-climbing questions about "who is more likely to"--hopefully giving the listeners a chance to get to know the two of them better. Then, at 10:40, they start answering some of the burning climbing-related questions they've received since the beginning of this podcast.

In this episode, Kyra and Allison talk lightly about a serious topic: the macho culture of climbing, both indoor and out. They share their experiences growing up in male dominated training spaces and how that shaped them to be the climbers and people they are.

Kyra and Allison are both back from their climbing-packed summers and are excited to share with everyone what they've been up to during their recent podcasting hiatus. First they talk about how they make their livings from being a pro climber and then they recap about their respective trips. Allison spent 5 weeks climbing outside in South Africa and Kyra went to the last World Cups and watched the first few athletes punch their tickets to Paris 2024 at World Champs!

In this episode, Kyra and Allison tackle the tricky and taboo topic of eating disorders in climbing and sports in general. They talk from their personal experiences from being in the sport and from each of their unique experiences of struggling or not struggling with their relationship with food. **Trigger Warning: Eating Disorders**

In this episode, Allison and Kyra share their own thoughts and struggles with fear, both mentally and physically. Starting with the fear of failure in competition then into how to overcome (or not) fear while outdoor bouldering and lead climbing. Hopefully this conversation helps show that fear is a major factor of even a professional climber's struggle with any climb.

Kyra and Allison recap the recent big competition for US competitors: National Team Trials. Allison was a commentator for the livestream of this event while Kyra competed to clinch a spot on the World Cup team this year. After a trying couple years after the Olympics, Kyra was able to implement some big mindset changes and found that curiosity was key for her success at this competition.

Kyra and Allison use this episode to talk about a topic that comes up every month... every month. Periods. As something that 50% of the population deals with on a monthly basis, they try to have an open dialogue about their own trials and troubles that go along with being a professional athlete and the menstrual cycle. Some bonus embarrassing stories are shared by both. Even if you don't get a period yourself--this is a great listen to try and educate yourself on something your loved one/friends/coworkers/training partners go through!

Allison and Kyra talk about their personal experiences with comparing themselves to others in the gym and in competition. Most of the time unavoidable, comparison can lead you down a spiraling mental pathway, but there are techniques you can use to turn those negative emotions into at least neutral learning experiences, if not positive motivation.

In this episode Kyra and Allison do their best to explain how the olympic qualification pathways work for Paris 2024! They also go on many tangents including some thoughts about the future of routesetting and the pros and cons of the new Boulder + Lead format.

Allison and Kyra talk the delicate balance of school and climbing and what they did to strike the right balance. This also relates to work, social life, and any other major life activities that you're trying to juggle all at once. Take a listen to hear about their past, present, and future balancing acts and hopefully get some good advice on how to find whats right for you.

Kyra brings in two very special guests for this episode while Allison is away on vacation--her parents! This episode is a little different, but full of interesting insights into Kyra's childhood, lessons learned from her parents that she's taken into adulthood, and what it was like being a parent of an elite athlete.

In this episode, Kyra and Allison talk about drug testing and what it's like being an athlete that's in the testing pool of USADA/WADA. They work to clear up some common misconceptions they've heard about drug testing and how the process works. In the second half of the episode, listen to them share some never-before-heard stories about their climbing related tattoos.

Kyra and Allison talk about their new years resolutions and how to set reasonable goals for yourself to stay motivated. They also share some stories about diet culture and their views on what healthy food goals should be. Then they go into how to make the most of any gym, whether its a "good gym" or not.

In this episode Kyra interviews Allison about her experiences since taking a step back from competing and instead focusing on outdoor climbing. Listen to Allison talk about her experience with projecting a v14 (8B+) and how she's worked on her mental space to be able to project at her limit. Allison was the first Canadian woman to successfully complete a v13 (8B) then later a v14 (8B+). She is one of the few female climbers in the world to complete a climb of that difficulty.

In this episode, the cohosts Allison Vest and Kyra Condie switch roles and have Allison interview Kyra about her time at leading up to the Olympics and competing there. The unique perspective that Allison brings as Kyra's friend while interviewing means the questions are insightful and unlike anything Kyra has talked about in previous interviews.