The Curious Climber Podcast: Chatting with Hazel and Mina

Latest Episodes:

Stacy Sims: Women are not small men. May 04, 2020

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This episode is a conversation between Mina and Dr Stacy Sims. Stacy is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Waikato in New Zealand where she specialises in exercise physiology and human performance, specifically looking at sex differences in training and nutrition. Stacy really stands behind a motto of #womenarenotsmallmen and she is actively pushing to understand and do further research into female physiology so that we can really begin to better understand the differences that women may need to consider in sport. After all, we have this thing called the menstrual cycle for a big period (pun intended) of our lives, a completely different (and more complex) hormonal environment to men and our bodies will react differently to some stimuli because of this. In this chat we cover a lot! We discuss the current state of research, why there isn’t much research done in women, conflicting opinions within the current evidence, why young girls drop out of sport, the menstrual cycle, it’s phases and how we can optimise our experience through training and nutrition, PMS symptoms including increased fear, the pill, future research and much more.

Sky Yardeni - Let's Talk About Grief Apr 23, 2020

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In this episode Hazel speaks with Sky Yardeni about grief. Sky is a therapist and social change maker, originally from Israel but is based in Santa Fe, NM. He is currently the Therapeutic Director of the Climbing Grief Fund with the American Alpine Club. https://americanalpineclub.org/grieffund

They talk about his work with the Grief Fund, his own personal experience of grief, the need for better communication and support around grief, taking risks in the mountains, dialogue facilitation between Israelis and Palestinians, climbing as a means to deal with trauma.

Charlotte Gibbs: Running into trouble. Apr 13, 2020

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In this episode Mina talks to Charlotte Gibbs who is a runner and ultra endurance athlete. She was the winner and course record holder at the Beacons 50 mile race in 2018, and has taken part in Skyrunning races in the UK and Europe. After suffering with stress fractures and amenorrhea, she was diagnosed with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport at the beginning of 2019 and has been working on recovery ever since. She hosts the RED-S recovery Podcast and has written articles on RED-S for Ultra Magazine and spoken about the topic on Real Health Radio and in various talks and seminars.

There are a few links below to things we have mentioned during our conversation that might be of interest:

My UKC article about Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport.

Charlotte's own podcast, RED-S Recovery Podcast.

The Seven Health Podcast with Charlotte.

Within Day Energy Deficiency and Reproductive Function in Female Endurance Athletes (we refer to it in conversation as the Swedish study).

RED-S recovery Facebook group run by Charlotte,

Nasim Eshqi - Defying Convention Apr 06, 2020

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Hazel speaks with Iranian climber Nasim Eshqi. If you’re a climber in the West you may have imagined that your experiences and opportunities might be different if you’d grown up, and become a climber, in Iran. Especially if you’re a woman. Or you may not have thought about it at all. Whatever your preconceptions about Iran, Iranian culture, gender politics under a theocratic government, being an independent woman in a male dominated country, you’re likely to learn a lot from Nasim.

Oh and Nasim is no ordinary climber. She’s opened close to 80 routes (sport and trad) in 6 different countries, (despite the fact it’s very difficult to travel as an Iranian). She was Iranian kickboxing champion 10 times in a row before she started climbing She’s bolted and sent up to 8b. She works with women and youth groups in Iran with the aim of sharing her knowledge. She was awarded the King Albert memorial award for sustainable and exceptional services in connection to the mountains. Just all-round one of the most impressive people I’ve had the pleasure to speak with and therefore this definitely has to be one of my favourite podcasts.

https://dmmclimbing.com/Climbers/Nasim-Eshqi

https://rab.equipment/uk/basecamp/news/nasim-eshqi-albert-memorial-awards/

Prerna Dangi: Moving Mountains Mar 26, 2020

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In this episode Mina talks to Prerna Dangi, a Dehli based climber. Prerna mixes her climbing time between bouldering, trad climbing, ice climbing and alpinism - she has a taste for everything about the mountains. We talk about her experiences getting into climbing, how it is to be a female climber in India, doing a world cup event, body image in her cultural sphere, role models and the importance of representation that is specific to social/cultural/economic spaces. We also talk about a social enterprise (EcoFemme) she is involved in as well as discussing the recent changes in the town and bouldering area of Hampi.

Links:

EcoFemme

Short video about EcoFemme with Prerna

Outdoor Journal Article: Battling Social Stereotypes

Outdoor Article: India's Climbing Scene, why aren't more women climbing?

What does Covid - 19 mean for climbers with Levi Yant (Virologist) Mar 22, 2020

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In this episode virologist Levi Yant walks us through the science of Covid - 19. We discuss what a virus is, what makes Covid 19 different, why we're in a global pandemic and what we can do about it. If you're feeling confused by all the information out there and you're unsure of what is right and wrong in this mad new world we live in, take a listen. Our behaviour has never been so important.

Levi Yant has a postgraduate degree in Virology in HIV vaccine development. After forming a research group in evolutionary biology at Harvard, he moved to the University of Nottingham and is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Cameron Norsworthy - The Path to Flow Mar 21, 2020

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This conversation is all about flow state. Also known as 'being in the zone'. This psychological state could be responsible for our best climbing performances but also our most enjoyable moments. Mild flow can feel like a heightened focus or presence and deep flow states are more immersive and unique in character. Cameron has a phD in flow and has coached world champion athletes, CEOs and climbers like myself with the aim of finding more flow in whatever their discipline.

Read about him here

Madeleine Crane: The Mind Detective Mar 12, 2020

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In this episode Mina talks to Madeleine Crane who is a Sports Psychologist and Systemic Coach based near Magic Wood in Switzerland. As a strong climber herself, Madeleine takes a special interest in working with rock climbers from all disciplines. In this podcast we talk about her background, confidence in performance, comparison in sport, body image, vulnerability, the role of a coach and emotional regulation.

Some of the tools we discuss in this conversation can be found here.

Hazel talks to Mina about the divergence of health and performance Mar 04, 2020

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This episode is the first of a few that we plan to do together. Each one will have a focus and in this episode Hazel talks to Mina about health and performance, where they intersect and how in her experience they have also diverged. We talk about Mina's climbing history, her journey with Rainshadow (9a), the lead up to her RED-S diagnosis as well as what RED-S is and what the causes are. We talk about how it gets diagnosed, red flags to look out for, why climbers might be particularly susceptible and why aren't we talking about it more. We cover the feeling that menstruation is a taboo subject and how it's a crucial parameter of health that gets masked by contraceptives. We also discuss symptoms of RED-S in men, climbing's obsession with weight and how we ought to manipulate the other side of the equation (strength) finishing with a piece on how RED-S intersects with body image problems in climbing.

*Correction Hazel makes a mistake in the intro - Mina has climbed 4 8cs not 2 - what a beast she is!

Links:

Mina's article about RED-S

IOC Consensus Statement on RED-S

Health and Performance website with information about RED-S aimed at athletes, coaches and health professionals

Gilly McArthur: Cold water swimming, don't say the C word Feb 08, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Mina talks to Gilly McArthur, a life long climber, who has in recent years found a love for cold-water swimming. Gilly swam every day in January in the lakes and tarns of the UK to raise money for Mind Charity. In this episode we talk about the physiological and psychological experiences and benefits of cold-water swimming, parallels to climbing, mental health and mindfulness, performance vs. non-striving, body image and much more. Links: RED January giving page Gilly's Instagram Floe State film

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The Curious Climber Podcast: Chatting with Hazel and Mina

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