EP 94: Nathaniel Coleman — Preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, Climbing in a Sauna, and Kendama Training

Nathaniel Coleman is the men’s silver medalist of the Tokyo Olympics. We talked about his preparation for the games, training in a climbing sauna, the Olympic experience and winning silver, favorite root beer, Kendama as focus training, chess, why Nathaniel still practices the basics of climbing, doing the FA of ‘The Grand Illusion’ V16, and sport climbing plans.Support the Podcast:thenuggetclimbing.com/supportWe are supported by these amazing BIG GIVERS:Bryan FastBecome a Patron:patreon.com/thenuggetclimbingShow Notes:  thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/nathaniel-colemanNuggets:4:30 – Garbage trucks, and a Tuesday morning in the life of Nathaniel Coleman6:04 – What the two months following the Olympics have looked like for Nathaniel8:20 – Finding out that climbing would be in the Olympics and having qualifying as a goal10:44 – How Nathaniel’s goals evolved throughout the process11:45 – Nathaniel’s mantra for combined nationals 2019, and the journey to qualifying15:25 – How Nathaniel used his mantra, and self-belief vs. letting go of expectations17:25 – Confidence, upbringing, and competing for himself20:27 – The dice roll of competition22:10 – Climbing with Kyle O’Meara, Nathaniel’s relaxed approach to training as a teenager, comparing himself to Sean Bailey, and thriving on a plan with “adequate rest”25:50 – Balancing listening to motivation and pushing through it26:46 – Typical training volumes for World Cup climbers30:39 – How Nathaniel’s training to qualify for the Olympics vs. how he trained for Tokyo34:25 – Balancing World Cups with prep for Tokyo36:01 – Building a climbing “sauna” at the USA training center36:15 – Getting used to climbing in the heat and humidity40:41 – How Tokyo compared to the training sauna43:19 – What it was like to get on the plane and fly to Tokyo46:28 – The qualifying round in Tokyo, and realizing he made finals52:16 – Recalibrating goals after making finals53:48 – Finals1:03:18 – Watching Jacob top the lead route1:05:55 – Patron Question from Tyler: When it was all said and done, what did you think about the Olympic format?1:08:19 – More context about the Olympic format, and  Nathaniel’s thoughts on continuing to speed climb after Tokyo1:10:35 – Great Aunt Armida1:13:04 – Nathaniel’s Instagram posts after winning silver in Tokyo1:14:54 – What Nathaniel’s accomplishment meant for US climbing 1:17:59 – The first and second perspective-changing events in Nathaniel’s climbing career1:19:55 – Thoughts about hard outdoor rock climbing vs. competitions moving forward1:21:54 – How Nathaniel balances training for outdoor routes vs. competitions, and preparing for a trip to the Red1:24:25 – Context about ‘The Grand Illusion’1:25:02 – Patron Question from Nick: Do you have any plans to come back to work on the ‘Lee Majors’ extension?1:27:34 –  Patron Question from Timothy: Does Nathaniel ever see himself getting into highball bouldering or trad/big wall climbing?1:28:54 – Thoughts on retiring from competitions (when and why)1:30:40 – Rootbeer1:32:58 – Kendama1:35:55 – How Nathaniel still practicing the basics in climbing1:38:56 – Bonz Atron (the Chris Sharma of Kendama)1:40:18 – Chess1:41:28 – What Nathaniel does to relax and recharge1:42:52 – Special thanks to Josh, Zach, and Meg1:44:44 – Excited for the Red1:45:58 – Gratitude