Rock climbing performance and sport longevity are ultimately the product of consistent training and recovery. However due to the weight sensitivity of the sport, eating habits and attitudes towards food are often influenced by the desire to stay as lean as possible, generally at the expense of progressive development.
Climbers are often surprised how powerful, recovered and pain-free they feel when they eat appropriately for their output, not spending the majority of their time avoiding certain foods (e.g., carbohydrates) and chronically chasing weight-loss. Fat-loss and performance are not mutually exclusive goals and can be achieved with the right nutrition strategies. Periodised context specific nutrition is effective, and enables you to lower body fat, train harder, recover better, and perform at your very peak.
Why work with Tom?
Tom has been supporting sport and boulder climbers with nutrition coaching, mindset strategies, and nervous system facilitation since 2016. Championing high energy availability and strategic carbohydrate intake, he encourages climbers to reevaluate their understanding of nutrition and body-composition for climbing performance. Tom continues to produce online content, interviews, and Q&A sessions on the topics of performance nutrition, body-composition change, mental health, and the embodied self.
Tom has worked with a number of professional IFSC ranked competition climbers and paraclimbers representing the UK, USA, Ukraine, and Saudi Arabia national teams. Outside of the competition circuit, he continues to support climbers pushing the boundaries of their sport.
- Paloma Slowik - USA Climbing Youth team selection. July 21, 2023.
- Hazel Findlay - “Esclatamasters” (9a / 5.14d) at Perles, Spain. 9 March, 2022.
- Robbie Phillips - “Longhope Direct” (E10 / 7a) at St John Head, Scotland; and E11 project. 26 May, 2022.
- Aiden Roberts - “Burden of Dreams” (9a / V17) at Lappnor, Finland. Catalyst Climber Diaries.
- Anoushe Husain - Guiness World Record climbing attempt. 6 April, 2022.
Tom’s coaching style is conversation-led, with clients provided unlimited messaging access and video coaching calls. With a genuine interest in people and their stories, his sensitive, empathetic, and patient approach to coaching facilitates the support of neurodiverse individuals, and those from disordered eating backgrounds.
Please be aware that coaching is not suitable for those who have existing eating disorders. This specific counsolling and theraputic work requires a specialist, and is outside of Tom Herbert’s scope of practice.
If you would like to contact Tom directly to ask if coaching is right for you: contact@useful.coach
Coaching Packages
All coaching documentation and support is provided entirely online, with unlimited messaging and video calls. There are no service difference between packages, just duration.
6 Weeks
£400 £350 September discount!
Payment in full
Entry coaching duration for climbers looking to optimise there training and recovery, and completely change their view of nutrition and supplementation for climbing. Provides enough time to learn the key strategies to support body composition change going forward. Coaching time can be extended via the monthly Coaching Subscription thereafter.
3 Months ★
£650 £600 September discount!
Optional payment plan: 2 x £300
Most popular coaching duration for climbers who want to prepare for an upcoming project or competition, matching training and tapering cycles, and who want support and accountabilty for significant body composition change. Recommended package for those who want support and guidance in recovering from previous restricted eating behaviour. Coaching time can be extended via the monthly Coaching Subscription thereafter.
Single Consultation
£150 / 1.5 hours
Payment in full
- If you are not a coaching client, and would like a single consulation call
- £100 discount on 6 week or 3 month coaching packages thereafter
Coaching Package Extention
All three coaching packages can be extended on the Coaching Subscription.
- Coaching Subscription: £150 per month
- Full coaching services with unlimited messaging and video calls
- Coaching Subscription (Limited): £100 per month
- Full coaching services with unlimited messaging, and one hour video call
- Coaching Subscription (Text): £50 per month
- Full coaching services with unlimited text messaging, but no video calls
Previous clients wanting to return for more coaching later, do so on the Coaching Subscription pricing.
Coaching Service
- Performance, recovery, fat loss, and maintenance nutrition strategies
- Supplementation guidance to support performance, recovery and sleep
- Programmed coaching phases and cycles relative to your goals and event calendar
- Online access to over 25,000 words of documentation
- Direct messaging account for daily correspondence
- Unlimited video or voice calls
- Professional grade nutrition tracking software
- Spreadsheet for strategy planning, event scheduling, and body composition tracking
- Discounted coaching packages if returning in the future
- Discounted future useful. publications, and video courses (available upon release)
Additional Discounted Services
- DEXA body composition scans (London, UK only)
- 3D Body Scans (London, UK only)
- Resting Metabolic Rate [RMR] testing (London, UK only)
- VO2 Max testing (London, UK only)
- Blood testing and health biomarker profiling (UK, only)
- Continuous Glucose Monitoring [CGM] (Europe only)
Coaching FAQ
Do you only work with professionals?
I am happy to work with climbers of all experience levels.
However I require clients to fulfil the following criteria:
- You must have a regular climbing / training schedule, and are logging / tracking your progress, or…
- You are about to start a scheduled climbing / training program
- You have a clear goal (or goals) behind asking for coaching, and know what you want help achieving
If you have any questions about whether the coaching is right for you: contact@useful.coach
£150 deposit if booking more than 1 month in advance.
Remaining monies paid before starting. Prices are fixed to the website listed price at the time of your deposit being paid. Deposits are non-refundable if your circumstances change and you are unable start. Deposits will be refunded if in the unlikely event I am unable to honour your booking start date.
How does your coaching work?
Coaching is a bespoke process built upon communication, where we work together to explore and apply strategies that will work best for you in relation to your goals and upcoming events.
Nutrition targets are built on the foundation of Energy Availability and are adjusted based on compliance and outcomes. I do not adhere to any fixed diet framework, but help you refine and optimise your existing choices. I am happy to work with people of any diet background, and will adjust programming if you are vegan, vegetarian, low-FODMAP, paleo, etc. If you prefer eating a low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diet, I am happy to work with you to optimise this for your goals. However I may encourage you to experiment with more strategic carbohydrate intake.
The coaching process is about exploring and applying the right approach at the right time, and what will work for one client may not work for you. Calorie and carbohydrate cycling, time-restricted feeding and fasting, specific supplementation, and even mindfulness may be explored if applicable. I am passionate about understanding what is going on behind food fears, long-term restrictive dieting, and concerns about body-image.
I have helped clients eat an additional 400-600kcal more per day without gaining significant weight, a male client climb his highest grade ~2kg heavier than his normal projecting weight, an underweight female client gain ~4kg in 4 months, and a male client lose ~5% of his body-fat in 5 months.
What I believe sets me apart, is that communication and support is limited only by the duration of the package and my coaching hours. I do not simply provide you meal plans and schedule a follow-up call. In fact I provide no meal plans whatsoever, but rather help you refine your existing habits and guide you in optimising and organising your meals to meet the specific demands of your goals.
You are paying for a coach, you are not paying for a program.
Apply for coaching
Please complete the form below to apply for coaching.