Q&A with Daniel Woods: How Nutrition Played a Role in Sending V17

It’s no secret that D-Woods up-leveled the global bouldering field by developing the hardest boulder problem in North America - Return of the Sleepwalker (V17). But it didn’t just happen.

Woods ultimately restructured his life and dedicated all of his energy toward this remarkable first ascent. For specific details on the process and send, visit this link: Daniel Woods Established America’s First V17 Boulder, Return of the Sleepwalker. 

In this Q&A, Woods reveals the lifestyle changes he made to chase this lofty goal, how his nutritional approach evolved, and why his mental game played such a crucial role in the process.

Going into your journey with ROTSW, did you ever expect to make such drastic changes in your life?

Honestly no. My previous lifestyle still worked for me, so I did not see a reason to change. For the first month in Vegas, I was still raging (drinking, smoking, partying) and then going about my sessions. Towards the end of January, I was feeling worked and not recovering how I needed to be. My breath was off, my muscles were sore all the time, and my flow was chopped n’ screwed. I knew why as well.

I told myself if I really wanted to become a beast and level up for this line, I had to change my lifestyle. At the start, it was a weird transition but after about a month of feeling clear-headed and stronger, I did not even think about my previous ways. I was now addicted to feeling good and sharp!

Climbing became fun because I felt so good. In all, I believe you need a good balance in life. I’m not going to stop partying, because it is also good for the soul. But doing it all the time and expecting to push yourself mentally/physically is hard. When it is time to turn into a machine, then you’ve got to be nutritionally disciplined. When it is time to let loose and celebrate, then you can rage a bit.

At what point did you realize that you needed to switch up your nutritional approach?

Over the last couple of years, I have been pretty good with nutrition. Eating whole foods and taking supplements. When I tried PhysiVāntage for the first time I was into the taste and how it made me feel, so I was stoked to join the team. The last month of my trip, I switched to an 80% vegan diet and 20% fish (mostly Alaskan sockeye salmon). My digestion became better having eliminated red meat and chicken. I am lactose intolerant as well, so eliminating dairy was beneficial.

How did your diet evolve throughout the projecting journey?

I take PhysiVāntage Supercharged Collagen twice a day (once in the morning and at night), Weapons-Grade Whey twice a day, fish oil supplement, turmeric supplement, vitamin D supplement, Lion’s Mane shroom supp, Reishi supp, vitamin b12 with methyl supp, BCAA supp...and I drink a lot of water now. Also, I'd drink Endure X during my climbing warm-up and sip while bouldering. All of this has been huge for recovery and brain function.

Throughout the process, what was your biggest mental barrier and how did you tackle it?

I would say staying positive--that I was making progression--was the hardest part. Weeks would go by and I would only see small increments of progress being made. The thing that kept me going though was the fitness that I was gaining by climbing on this line a lot. In the end, I knew I was leveling up and that was a win in itself, send or no send. 

Why did you decide to partner with PhysiVāntage?

I love the taste of the products and how they make me feel. After a week of taking the Supercharged Collagen and Weapons-Grade Whey I started to see bodily gains. Fingers were feeling great and muscles were recovering fast. PhysiVāntage has helped me tremendously!