Adam Ondra may not have won a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but he showed his potential to the entire world. A specialized ‘Lead climber’ and ‘Boulderer’, Ondra also developed his ‘Speed Climbing’ skills before the Olympics, as he once revealed to Alex Honnold. In a 2020 YouTube interview from Ondra’s own channel, he blew Honnold’s mind with an anecdote about his recovery session. Let’s find out more.

The Czech climber talked about the necessary preparations he took to improve his Speed Climbing. But his training routine, especially the effectiveness of intermittent breaks in between, immensely impressed Alex Honnold. Here’s how.

Alex Honnold was surprised on learning about Adam Ondra’s training

Honnold asked, “How many sessions of speed can you train for a week?” to which Ondra responded, “Maybe up to 5”. This was enough for a surprising expression on Honnold’s face, who simply said, “Oh! Wow”. He was already impressed with Ondra’s rigorous training every week, for speed climbing alone. Ondra said, “On certain days, I would do speed in the morning, maybe 3 hours break, and then another session”. However, what followed this claim, was what shocked Honnold the most.

Ondra continued, “And maybe the second session can be even better”. For Honnold, this begs the question, “What the f**k do you do in 3 hours of rest that you feel even stronger for the next session?”. Honnold’s shocking-yet-curious expression on his face was akin to an inquisitive child who just found out something revelatory.

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Ondra, seemingly understanding the praise in that question, smiled before revealing his secret. He simply eats his lunch and follows it up with Yoga Nidra in those 3 hours. He keeps it simple and doesn’t train obsessively for long hours. Ondra said, “My philosophy, also with Patxi, we have… Instead of training 4 hours in one session, it’s better to train 4 sessions one day, one hour each”. Patxi Usobiaga Lakunza is a Spanish rock climber who often trains with Ondra.

How Adam Ondra beats the tiresome nature of speed climbing to rise above

The conversation around Speed Climbing started with Honnold asking Ondra if he finds it tiring. Ondra agreed to the notion but also stated certain reasons which make it more cumbersome. He said, “It’s tiring in a very different way. Especially if you don’t know how to do it, it’s very tiring”. This is due to the inability of maintaining a balance between the speed and the physical act of climbing atop. It also causes the skin and nails to tear off, mainly because of the aggressive grasping and climbing technique involved.

Since, all three were a necessity (speed, lead, and bouldering together combined into one Sport Climbing category) at the Olympics, Ondra had to devote his time equally. But given that Ondra already specialized in two out of the three disciplines, Speed Climbing demanded more attention and training from him.

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Even though unfortunately Ondra didn’t fulfill his dream of achieving the coveted prize at Tokyo, he looks determined for the future. And with Paris 2024 a year away, and with two different categories in Sports climbing this time (one for lead and bouldering together, and one for speed climbing alone), Ondra definitely stands a greater chance of grabbing a medal.