In 2018 we have teamed up with Spit Magazine to bring you training beta to motivate and educate climbers about training tools, methods and offer some training inspiration for your own sessions.
In this one, Volume 4, published in Spit Magazine n.7 June/July 2018 we highlight the hangboard, nigh ubiquitous in all gyms and many climbers’ home.
The Hangboard
The concept of hanging from small edges, pockets and pinches is as old as training for elite rock climbing itself. Although the precise inventor of the modern hangboard as we know it is unknown, as early as the ‘80s legendary pioneers of hard climbing, the likes of John Bachar in America and Jerry Moffat and Wolfgang Güllich in Europe were screwing small pieces of wood onto beams to be able to strengthen their grip strength when the weather was too cold or wet to climb. At the time those climbers pushed our sport from near 8b to 9a so one may say that they were onto something with respect to training for climbing.
From the old days of underground training, nowadays hangboards are in every climbing gym and many climber’s home as an essential piece of training equipment. You’ll even find them at the crag for warming up. Indeed, grip strength, also called finger strength, is at the foundation of a comprehensive training program; it is an essential precursor to power training, specifically on the campus board. Simply imagine that every hold you grab would feel easier and therefore you will expend less energy to climb.
The hangboard is an extremely versatile tool for the home, at the climbing gym and even on the road or at the crag. Happy training.
Caution: Training on the hangboard can be hard on the elbow and shoulder joints without proper posture and without performing an adequate warm up beforehand. Make sure your arms, shoulders, and stabilizers are well warmed up before beginning your session.
Deadhang Exercises
The Deadhang
The main exercise performed on the hangboard is the deadhang – a static hang with both hands gripping the same size hold, arms straight. Basically all of the main training protocol for the hangboard is rooted in the deadhang so ensuring that you perform this exercise with proper posture is essential to training sustainably. It is important to always keep your elbows and shoulders engaged (not slack) not only to protect the joints but also to gain the most benefit from your training. Hanging completely slack is very stressful on the joints over time.
As we have seen in the XC Training Lab Series Vol. 2 on the Pan Güllich, grip is also key. A half crimp is the recommended method.
Repeaters
Hang, rest, hang, rest, repeat…From a 10 second on, 10 second off protocol, to one of 7 seconds on, 3 seconds off, repeaters are essentially mimicking the act of climbing itself. In conjunction with added weight, this workout is effective for building specific grip strength and resistance. Using weight assistance, you can also begin to train new grip types for which you may not initially be able to hang with your entire bodyweight.
A basic repeaters hangboard workout may look like something this:
Choose 5 different grip types and perform three rounds of 6x 7 seconds on, 3 seconds off with 3 minutes rest between rounds. Between each grip take 5 minute rest
If a certain grip is too easy, add increasing weight to your rounds or, conversely, if it is too hard, use a larger grip. If that is not possible, install a pulley beneath your board so that you can assist yourself to strengthen grips that are initially too difficult to perform at 100% bodyweight.
Offset Hangs and Pull Ups
With a staggered grip, one hand on a good hold, one on a bad hold or sling, you can train specific weakness on one side and also build up to hang on one arm.
For example, if you would like to be stronger in two finger pockets but are unable to hang for long or perform a pull up using just two finger pockets for each hand, you can grab the two finger pocket with one hand and a jug with another and perform your hang or pull up, emphasizing the hang on the two finger side. Alternatively, doing this with a pull up protocol will help build one arm pull up strength as the worse hold acts only as an assist to the other on the good hold.
As you progress try to use a hung sling on the side as an assist. The next step is one arm hangs.
Make sure to perform this exercise on both sides!
Max Hangs
Maximum hangs are a pure strength workout – grab your desired grip (both hands or single arm if you’re a beast) for training and hang for 10-15 seconds maximum. The hold should be so difficult to hang from that by 15s you are done. For elite climbers this means adding weight to reach the appropriate difficulty. Emphasize quality over quantity for this type of strength training and build in plentiful rest. For example, perform 3 rounds of single max hangs with 3-5 minutes rest in between each hang.
“If you have a hangboard at home (or plan to have a hangboard at home) we strongly recommend that you put it somewhere visible and, even better, where you like to hang out. Literally! ”
Core Exercises
If you have a hangboard at home you can use it as a tool to strengthen your core, too.
Leg Lifts: From a hanging position raise your legs to perform an L-shape with your body and repeat ten times. For a full leg raise, try to tap your toes to the underside of the board!
Knee Raises: From a hanging position, raise your knees up to your chest, squeezing your abdominal muscles at the top to eek out an extra big of height.
If you have a training partner, have them raise their hand to be tapped in various positions to mix up the labour between your abdominal and oblique muscles.
Try performing these exercises also with a bent-arm hang, at 90º.
