Our Founder

eric horst climbing

Eric Hörst is an international best-selling author, published researcher, renowned climbing coach, and accomplished climber of 48 years. He is the author of Training for Climbing which, along with his seven other books, has sold nearly 500,000 copies worldwide, including translations to Spanish, French, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Persian, and Korean.

Hörst has written hundreds of magazine articles and appeared on numerous TV broadcasts; his training philosophy, techniques and photos have been featured in countless publications around the world. He has co-authored one research paper: “Behavior Analysis and Sport Climbing”, Journal of Behavioral Health and Medicine, 2010, with Dr. Richard Fleming. Hörst maintains the popular Training4Climbing.com site and he broadcasts a monthly climbing science and training podcast available on iTunes, Spotify, and elsewhere (search for Eric Hörst’s Training for Climbing podcast).

A self-professed “climber for life”, Eric (age 60) remains active in both training at the gym and climbing hard at the crags. In addition to his duties as founder and CEO of PhysiVāntage, Eric continues to travel and speak on the topic of climbing performance, as well as coach a handful of elite climbers, including his professional climber adult sons, Cameron and Jonathan. Read more >>

Keynote Talks and Research Presentations


  • Youth Training for Climbing and the Importance of Sports Diversification
    USA Climbing Coaches Conference at CWA 2016 (Loveland, CO)
  • Bringing Climbing Science to Coach and Athlete
    International Rock Climbing Researchers Association Congress 2016 (Telluride, CO)
  • Training For Climbing: Then, Now, and the Future…
    Climbing Medicine 2017 (Toronto, Canada)
  • Qualitative Analysis of 2017’s Greatest Ascents and a Proposed Conceptual Model for Maximum Difficulty Sport Climbing and Energy System Requirements
    International Rock Climbing Researchers Association Congress 2018 (Chamonix, France)
  • Keynote Presentation & Age-Appropriate Youth Training of Climbing
    Canada Strong Climbing 2019 (Toronto, Canada)
  • A Comprehensive, "Smart-Training" Approach to Improving Climbing Performance
    Climbing Medicine Canada 2019 (Squamish, Canada)
  • Training and Nutritional Interventions to Improve Tendon Health and Function
    Climbing Medicine Canada 2019 (Squamish, Canada)
  • SINEW TRAINING FOR CLIMBERS - Training and Nutritional Interventions to Improve Connective Tissue Health, Support Rehabilitation, and Increase Performance
    International Climber Health Symposium 2022 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - virtually)
  • Energy System Training and Performance Nutrition for Climbers
    Climbing Medicine Canada 2023 (Squamish, Canada)

Recent Interviews & Media