How to Set & Achieve Massive Goals | Alex Honnold

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Science, Health & Fitness, Life Sciences

4.8 • 26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 1 September 2025

⏱️ 109 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

My guest is Alex Honnold, a professional rock climber considered by many to be one of the greatest athletes of all time for his historic free solo (no ropes or man-made holds) ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite. We discuss how to envision massive goals in any part of life and the process of breaking down those goals into actionable daily steps. Alex shares how embracing your uniqueness and mortality is the most powerful way to envision and live a fuller, more intentional life. We also discuss strength and endurance training, assessing risk and how Alex prepares mentally and physically for extreme challenges. We also discuss how to balance goal-seeking with family and work. Regardless of your goals, profession or age, this conversation will very likely reshape how you think about and approach your life, goals and potential. Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Joovv: https://joovv.com/huberman BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman Maui Nui: https://mauinuivenison.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00) Alex Honnold (02:17) Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation, Setting Big Goals (05:00) Preparing for Free Solo of El Capitan, Route Memorization & Conditions (10:09) Sponsors: Joovv & BetterHelp (12:35) Overthinking, Kinesthetic Flow; Climbing & Surprise (16:24) Aging & Climbing; Olympics & Broadening Climbing Culture; Parkour (23:04) Grip Strength, Aging, Climbing Technique, Yosemite National Park, Half Dome (29:00) Free Soloing & Rope Climbing, Safety & Risk; Aging & Death; Mentors (38:32) Sponsors: AG1 & Maui Nui (41:29) Climbing Lifestyle, Training, Career; Recovery (47:44) Technology, Smartphones & Distraction from Goals, Focus (51:09) Pursuing Ambitious Goals, Tool: Small Daily Challenges (55:56) Fear, Brain Scan & Public Speaking; Evaluating Risk (59:40) Doing What You Love, Life Crisis, Tool: Contemplating Death (1:03:49) Childhood, Passion & Choosing Career Path; University (1:11:46) Sponsor: Function (1:13:34) Outdoor Exploration, Yosemite, National Parks, Rucking, Trail Running (1:18:18) Girl Climber Film, Effort & Dedication (1:23:29) Strength Training, Pull-Ups, Muscle-Ups, Tool: Increase Sets & Reduce Soreness (1:31:59) Endurance & Strength Training Schedule; Posture; Running (1:38:52) Body Balance, Leanness; Muscle Cramps; Multi-Day Climbs (1:42:31) Awe in Nature, Spiritual Experiences; How Geckos Climb; Cliff-Dwelling Wildlife (1:46:46) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
0:09.0	I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.
0:15.5	My guest today is Alex Honnold.
0:17.5	Alex Honnold is a professional rock climber.
0:20.0	He's best known for successfully
0:21.4	free soloing, meaning climbing with no ropes or latching on of any kind, El Capitan, also called
0:26.9	El Cap, which is a nearly 3,000 foot climb in Yosemite National Park. It was also, of course,
0:32.2	the topic and focus of the incredible movie Free Solo, which if you haven't seen, you absolutely
0:37.2	should watch.
0:38.4	I've wanted to talk to Alex for a long time now. I'm not a rock climber. I've tried it a few
0:42.6	times, but I've been extremely curious to understand Alex's mental frame around learning and
0:47.2	training and his broader philosophy on life. My interest stems from the fact that Alex's free
0:51.8	solo of El Cap and his other climbs make him one of
0:54.6	the most accomplished and innovative athletes in all of history. And of course, the free solo of El Cap is
0:59.6	extremely high risk and high consequence. Today we discuss how to envision and make progress
1:04.2	towards your goals and how to merge the demands of daily work and family life with incremental
1:08.8	training for spectacularly big or long challenges of any kind.
1:13.5	Alex makes clear that it's essential and possible
1:15.8	to build your capacity to exert effort
1:18.1	and how to do that in a regimented way
1:20.0	so as to bring seemingly impossible goals within your reach.
1:23.3	We also discuss how coming to terms with one's own mortality
	...

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