March 25, 2026

Bill Ramsey: 5.14 at 65, Peaking in His 40's, BIG Training Days, and Giving No F's

Bill Ramsey: 5.14 at 65, Peaking in His 40's, BIG Training Days, and Giving No F's
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Bill Ramsey: 5.14 at 65, Peaking in His 40's, BIG Training Days, and Giving No F's
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Elite Climber, weekend warrior, and Philosophy Professor, Bill Ramsey, explores:
  • His early days with Alan Watts 
  • Moving to Vegas for year-round climbing 
  • Climbing 30 5.14s after age 40
  • Climbing three 5.14s (so far) in his 60s
  • Customizing training for specific projects
  • Developing the try hard part of the brain
  • The benefit of doing a very big training day 
  • How to train on a Treadwall 
  • Most common mistakes he sees climbers make
  • Having no F’s to give 
  • The Pain Box
Here's Bill's article on the Pain Box: https://www.trainingbeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/pain-box1.pdfHere's Bill's article on how to set up a Treadwall:  https://www.trainingbeta.com/bill-ramsey-treadwall-training/

 

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BIG THANKS TO THE AMAZING SPONSORS OF THE STRUGGLE WHO LOVE ROCK CLIMBING AS MUCH AS YOU DO:

  • PhysiVantage: the official climbing-nutrition sponsor of The Struggle. Train harder, recover faster, and feel better than ever. I love all their stuff! Use code STRUGGLE15 at checkout for 15% off your full-priced nutrition order.
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Shoutout to Aiden Schlatter and Michael Martin for supporting at the Hero level on Patreon. So mega! 

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Here are some AI generated show notes (hopefully the robots got it right)

00:00 Am I Too Old
00:47 Meet Bill Ramsey
03:54 Early Days With Watts
05:28 Eugene Training Era
07:27 Smith Rock Revolution
08:51 Red River Return
10:50 Move To Vegas
12:04 Decades Of 514
16:19 Two Very Different 14a
18:20 What Struggle Means
21:12 Sponsor Break Collagen
23:28 Back To Training Talk
26:49 Try Hard Over Minutiae
31:25 Training On Climbing Days
36:35 Big Days More Rest
37:55 Injury Risk Overtraining Myth
40:35 Treadwall Setup Linkups
43:50 Protocols for Red River
46:22 Training Rests Recovery
48:50 Dark Side Stories
50:23 Sponsor Break Ads
53:10 Nutrition Recovery Basics
57:55 Project Tactics Staging
01:02:40 Micro Beta Puzzle Mindset
01:06:04 Warm Up on Project
01:07:54 Rope Solo Projecting
01:08:14 Garage Crux Replicas
01:11:03 DIY Holds And Measurements
01:11:40 Warmup And Rewarmup Plan
01:14:31 Attempts And Rest Timing
01:15:57 Cold Hands Pain Tactics
01:18:10 Aging And Mental Freedom
01:21:24 Arrival Fallacy And Next Goals
01:24:39 Process Over Metrics
01:28:14 Pain Box Explained
01:35:04 Risk And Modern Comfort
01:36:20 Wrap Up And Bonus Tease
01:40:07 Host Training Update
01:42:37 YouTube And Farewell

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Follow along on Instagram @thestruggleclimbingshow and YouTube /@thestruggleclimbingshow

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The Struggle is carbon-neutral in partnership with The Honnold Foundation, whose mission is to promote solar energy for a more equitable world.

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This show is produced and hosted by Ryan Devlin, and edited by Glen Walker. The Struggle is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a diverse group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry.

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The struggle makes us stronger! I hope your training and climbing are going great. 

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And now here are some buzzwords to help the almighty algorithm get this show in front of people who love to climb: rock climbing, rock climber, climbing, climber, bouldering, sport climbing, gym climbing, how to rock climb, donuts are amazing. Okay, whew, that’s done. But hey, if you’re a human that’s actually reading this, and if you love this show (and love to climb) would you think about sharing this episode with a climber friend of yours? And shout it out on your socials? I’ll send you a sticker for doing it. Just shoot me a message on IG – thanks so much! 

00:00 - Bill Ramsey: 5.14 at 65, Peaking in His 40's, BIG Training Days, and Giving No F's

18:20 - STRUGGLE

24:24 - TRAINING

53:10 - NUTRITION

57:52 - TACTICS

01:18:07 - MENTAL GAME