I consider myself intermediate at hangboarding, have been doing it for a while, and expected the the video to be a revision of everything I know and already do. Turns out it packs a wealth of great information, not only on handboarding itself but training and its mental aspect. Great material, Dave. Thank you!
"I never use weights or the lower rung" he says after I come here from one of your latest videos where you do open hand hangs with weigths from the lower rung ;)
Great video as always. I've had good results doing pull ups every time I pass my bar (mid-way down the stairs in my house) so will give this 'as and when' method a go with hangboarding as well. I've lost almost all strength in my fingers recently due to laziness when abroad and now with covid-19, so haven't done anything finger-strength related for about 2 months. As of today (19-04-20), I'll do a max-effort hang on 44mm, 19mm, and 13mm edges (in that order, 2 min rest between hangs) as and when I am in my bedroom (at least 2x a day) and will report back with my anecdotal evidence! - 19-04-20: Initial hangs. 44mm - 38.2 seconds 19mm - 5.5 seconds 13mm - 0.5 seconds - Edit: Week 1 results below. Total of 30 sets of 3 hangs across 7 days. Most in 1 day was 6, min 3. I think some of the results here are finger-strength returning rather than pure strength gains, but I think both my 19mm and 13mm hangs below are probably slightly longer than I could have held previously. I also introduced a few rules such as at least 10 mins rest between sets to increase max effort, and longer rests between individual hangs if needed. So far, I have found this to be both easier to commit to and more enjoyable than more regimented hangboarding routines. - 26-04-20: Week 1 Results. 44mm - 65.6 seconds (+27.4) 19mm - 18.0 seconds (+12.5) 13mm - 6.2 seconds (+5.7) - Edit: Week 2 results below. Total of 18 sets of 2 or 3 across 6 days with 1 rest day. Most in 1 day was 4, min 1. Mixed results this week. I focused a lot more on the 19mm and 13mm hangs, as the 44mm is basically just endurance and takes up a lot of time, making me less likely to hangboard at all. Felt a bit of stiffness/pain in my fingers throughout this week so decided to not hang if I was feeling like I couldn't give max effort. This, I think, is one of the potential benefits of having more clearly defined hangboarding sessions, that you have more time for recovery and can get back to a point of feeling 'good', instead of constantly feeling 'ok'. - 03-05-20: Week 2 Results. 44mm - 65.8 seconds (+0.2) 19mm - 21.1 seconds (+3.1) 13mm - 4.8 seconds (-1.4) - Edit: Week 3 results below. Total of 15 sets of 2 or 3 hangs across 5 days, with 2 rest days. Most in 1 day was 5, min 1. Finding it increasingly difficult to stick to this 'as and when' training style, mainly because it doesn't allow for warm up each time, which means that it feels difficult to do hangs at maximum effort - i.e. I can feel that the reason my hangs are less good quality is not because of strength per se, but because it's difficult to give maximum effort when you expect your tendons are not ready for it. That being said, slight overall improvement from last week, except for minimal losses on 19mm edge. - 10-05-20: Week 3 Results. 44mm - 68.4 seconds (+2.6) 19mm - 20.4 seconds (-0.7) 13mm - 5.1 seconds (+0.3) - - - - As of today I'm going to switch training techniques, aiming to do one longer session (4/5 hangs on the each of the smaller edges with warm up on the larger one) every weekday, with Saturday a rest day and Sunday for testing. This way I hope to increase both the number of reps and the quality of them - - - - Edit: Week 4 results below. Contrary to my experience in the first week, I now find more regimented sessions more rewarding and easier to commit to, although probably not as fun/relaxed. I think this is in part to do with the fact that when I started I needed longer rests in between hangs in order to be able to lift body-weight on the smallest edges, whereas now I can do consecutive hangs without losing the ability to lift full body-weight, and can do more max hangs in a smaller time period. The biggest difference, I think, is that with more focused sessions you have more time to adjust and improve body position and tension, whereas with sporadic single hangs this isn't an option. I think this has benefited my 13mm hang especially. Also, interesting to see that my 44mm hang-time is increasing despite the fact that I'm no longer training it directly. - 17-05-20: Week 4 Results. 44mm - 72.2 seconds (+3.8) 19mm - 19.5 seconds (-0.9) 13mm - 7.5 seconds (+2.4)
Good video. I've always been a strong believer in keeping it simple for training: warm up, avoid injury, try hard, and actually DO IT (rather than make it so complicated and convoluted that you can't be arsed with the faff), and this explains that well. It's inspired me to try more regular mini-sessions.
Great lenghty overview of hangboarding. No crazy production with titles going everywhere and background music, just a one o' one conversation with pro' climber Dave. Great. At the beginning of confinement I seeked getting the edge hangboard but I had nowhere to attach. So in case others have that same limitation, Lyon Heart makes very similar wooden hangboards which have cordelettes attached so you can move it around and hang it in various places. It's more modular.
thank you so much dave. Starting out on the fingerboard can be very overwhelming. Your evidence based approach to a pragmatic, safe and realistic every-day training really suits me and I am looking very much forward to see how this will aid my progress :) Thank you again!
I've been climbing for around 6 months and am just starting to get interested in hangboarding so this is perfect for me! Not only that, your voice is very ASMR-esque making this a relaxing video to watch as well as informative.
23:00 "I want to experiment with putting a hangboard up in my house, and rather than doing discrete sessions, just doing a hang and some pull-ups almost every time I walk by" We JUST did this at our house! The hangboard is up in a doorway in a relatively high-traffic area, and I've just been doing a couple hangs every time I get up from my desk. I am so excited to hear if you get results doing this. Totally anecdotal, but I got MUCH stronger doing this before I was a climber- I would leave a pull-up bar set up in the doorway of my room, and any time I had to walk in or out, I would just stop and do a couple pull-ups. I think I doubled the number of full-form pullups I could do in the course of 2 semesters of university, and I never once did a proper "session" or full workout. Would be interesting to find out if the same methods work when you're already pretty highly-trained. :)
I, too, have pondered this. In theory, it sounds like a good idea and for a beginner (and maybe up to an intermediate climber) could be a useful strategy. It could be a good way to "grease the groove" (as it is apparently called) for different grip types. A potential pitfall that I could see is if a beginner decides to complete hangs every time he/she walks by, the volume could add up quickly and they might be tempted to complete more hangs than they intended during each walk by. Find me someone just starting out with climbing who hasn't overcooked their training and/or climbing and ended up with some sort of injury?! Like the other commenter has said, getting a proper finger warmup could prove difficult for some. With that being said, I would be very interested in Dave's thoughts/results if he were to do this. I will say though, I highly doubt Dave repping out pullups on a 14-15mm edge is a sufficient stimulus to improve max finger strength :) Throw some extra weight on there and/or rep out some single arm hangs on that 20mm or 15mm edge and then I think you'd be on to something!
I just put a DIY hangboard up in my doorway very similar to Dave’s. The top rung is about 45 ml, and then I also have a 20, 12, and a 6 mm edge on it. I don’t have a pull up bar and find myself doing pull ups and hanging on the top rung whenever I walk through my doorway, but I find myself shying away from any of the others if I’m not doing a designated training sesh. It’s a combination of not being able to physically hang on them well without a proper warm up and knowing that injury is a real possibility. But jumping on that top rung just whenever is fun and hopefully good for strength.
@@alexgalays910 The idea is for the hangs to be low intensity, so a few pull ups to warm up, and then the thing that challenges is time rather than external load. Just for the one hang..
Used ur advice to create a really simple training routine which I've done consistently through out lockdown. First climb after lockdown yesterday and despite some quite fingery moved my fore arms didn't pump out once, and more importantly - no injuries. Thanks for your mellow and measured approach which helped me overthink less and commit to consistency. Can't wait to continue building on the foundation ive established :)
Great video. As someone who has been fingerboarding for a while now I still learned a lot about the physiological effects of fingerboarding and what’s happening inside the body!
I've just built a 'boulder wall' in my lean- to using some ply cut offs from my van build, a few holds I bought ages ago and some random bits of wood I cut up to use as foot holds. It's not pretty or massive probably 3m x 2m but it gives me so much pleasure knowing I can send a few 6-7 (12 including feet) move boulders which are infinitely changeable. This is an incredibly hard time for us climbers but we just have to get creative!
Awesome video, Dave! I'm very new at both hangboarding and climbing. One thing I've noticed that's really surprised me is how important it is for me to warm up. I've been doing an hour-ish long circuit for the past few weeks that incorporates some hangboarding, and I've noticed that I can't really hit my most intense hangs until close to the very end of the workout. It's like it takes some time for my hands to realize what's happening.
Thanks for the video Dave, very informational and well delivered. Particularly liked your explanation of slow and fast twitch muscle fibers which I thought was very clear. Please keep the videos coming during this strange period!
Dave, you are so awesome! a video with a 40min long full load of great and understandable information. And still I get the impression, you weren't even able to tell 5% of your knowledge about this topic...
Great video Dave! Would you be able to do one about board climbing for beginners? I understand that it's a useful tool to get stronger as well as just bouldering, but don't know how to structure sessions, etc.
Awesome video! Here’s a potential video idea that I know me and I’m sure other people would benefit from. How to start introducing 1 arm hangs into your training. I personally can hang on a 20mm edge with 175% of my body weight for 7-10 seconds but I can’t even hang for 2 seconds on a much bigger edge with one hand. I instantly start rotating and have to let go before it becomes painful. I imagine it’s from having weak shoulders but I don’t know the best way to get to the point of being able to do 1 handed hangs. It would be nice to be able to start doing 1 handed hangs because it’s a bit ridiculous having to add so much weight to myself to be able to effectively train my fingers
One good way to fix that is to put 1kg on a pulley and 1kg in your chalk bag, holding the pulley rope will help with the rotating without removing weight ;)
Are you trying to face the hang with one hand facing the board? I always have to hang facing to the side of it (hanging from my left hand my right cheek is next to the board if i have slightly bent arm). If i start in this position it works fine, however if i try and face the board i spin and end up loosing grip.
Once again priceless help that goes beyond physical how-to - thanks to your insight I’m learning not just technique but a mental approach to being able to get more out of climbing and probably translate some of that discovery to other area of sport , work and life. One technical question - do you train for slopers separately at all ?
So I probably missed something, but from what Dave is saying, you should be aiming for maximal effort with every "rep"? Whether its a longer low intensity, or shorter high intensity. So if you do three reps each one should be maximal effort? Another great video Dave. Love your style of presenting whether it's on youtube or in your books.
Dave what do you think about placing your feet on the ground (e.g. for warmup and cooldown) and then instead of letting your weight do the work you try to pull the board towards yourself. this way you can actually focus a lot better on the different muscles engaging. like I can do one set where I really try to nail the mind muscle connection to my lat working. also maybe for some people coming off a finger injury, feeling good enough to hangboard but feeling that the injured finger is not really engaging - I found this method really helpful since I can really engage the previously injured finger. but PLEASE do not do this if you are still injured!
Thank you for this nice vid! Could you say some words about warming up in combination with mini-sessions (three times a day). For me, it seems that three warm-ups would be necessary!?
Great video, im just about to do a handboardsession, a thing thats keeping me thinkin, im only able to hang my board lose over a bar, so its moving. Just a little difficult to really get a steady hang ;)
Why do i get flexor unit strain so easily? I know its when my ringfinger is pulling and the little finger is in a more flexed position (no loading needed) than the ringfinger causing instantaneous sharp pain in my lumbricals and the shared tendon. Like i only have to pull a tiny bit while standing on the feet to feel the pain, if i would actually pull harder i would instantly injure myself.. can i train this sensitivity? I have previously had the tendon injuries from pockets, is it because the tendon is shared and the fingers are flexed to different degrees it cause like a diagonal tension/loading of the tendon?
Hey Dave. Awesome info as always. Do you have a source for the research into the isometric training effect of going to failure through time over load? I am very interested to learn more.
Hi Dave, thank you for your truly amazing content! I pore over your training material and many of your videos have inspired (Australian) adventures of my own. I am fascinated by your points on isometric loading and set volume in this video. I would love to be able to read these studies, but I can't find them on your website or the academic journals my university has access to. Could you (or anyone else) point me in the right direction?
You could simply google isometric muscle loading. There is plenty of interesting material to read. Most isometric training is for sports where the main body position mimics the isometric load - for example, squat against the wall with thighs at right angles to your shins, would suit a downhill skier.
@@chrisleigh-cattrall8069 I've found a number of articles discussing set volume, but force production increase associated specifically with isometric training loads I haven't had luck with.
Hi Dave - did you ever try switching to a few pullup sets a day on the hangboard rather than dedicated hangboard sessions? If so, what are your thoughts? I recall that when I was much younger and only climbing every few weeks, I started doing a few sets up pullups every few days on my hangboard on the largest rung and was amazed that within a few weeks I was doing a pullup on the smallest edge. Just an anecdote but cool to see it working in the past.
What kind of board would you recommend buying. Starting out as a beginning climber. I see ledge boards or fingerboards. What would be most usefull for me just starting out
Hi Dave, and thank you for the video. Have you tried that new approach of frequent lower loads? Does that approach pose the problem of warming up before trying to hang till failure? Thanks!
I started climbing a month ago. Should I even consider beginning a hang board routine or should I just keep climbing and increasing my overall fitness? It seems to me like I’ll either be able to climb or hang board. Or maybe it’s good to do like a couple really short and light sessions per day just to remind my connective tissue of my intentions to use my fingers like this?
Hi Dave, Regarding your explanation near the end of how to go to failure but avoid slipping off -- have you got any tips for applying this when in a 'feet up' position (to lower the load)? Hard to lower your feet to the ground in that position. I've tried lowering one foot, but that doesn't work too smoothly. Do you just have to sacrifice how close you get to failure, do you reckon? Anyway, thanks for the video! Love the research-based explanations.
Dear Dave, thanks for putting to words what others seem to just glaze over - the different grips, and how some feel impossible. For me, I only seem to manage "drag", and even in the deepest pockets I cannot for the life of me manage a half crimp. One thing I did miss, how do I train to get this realized? When I try to apply force with my two fingers slightly bent they just go down to drag by themselves. Just train with lower than bodyweight until I get used to it?
Just apply the force you can, until you get stronger. Nothing wrong with just standing on the ground and pulling as hard as you can on the fingerboard, using the grip you want to train.
Hi Dave! Have you tried hanging the hangboard in your house and doing mini-sessions already? If so, how did it work out for you? Thanks for the great video!
Hello Dave! Thank you very much for your work here on RUclips. You are a great source of inspiration and a great teacher too. I have been climbing for one year now, I am currently at a 6c level on a bouldering scala and I can do around 5 pull ups on a 20mm edge. The thing is, I can only use a full crimp. If I try using an open grip or even a half crimp I can barely hang. What would you suggest: should I try to avoid the full crimp completely (how hight is the risk of danger really?) and start again training with all the other grip types? My very best regards!
Train all the grip types (while mindful of my discussion of full crimp in the video). If you are not strong enough on some grips, take weight off by using your feet.
As I do think eventually you want to train full crimp, I think maybe 8a and above boulderers should train their full crimp but those individuals who are below such bouldering grades shouldn't really try to train their full crimp. Simply because in most circumstances individuals who don't boulder at such a grade won't have such finger strength to handle the full crimp training and end up injured. Now I can totally be wrong and you could be bouldering grades below 8a but still have such finger strength required for higher grades but still you'd probably benefit from other grip types (open, half and etc) and most importantly training technique at that point. Also I just wanna say that there is little to no research that being a 8a and above boulderer will guarantee that you have the such finger strength to sustain full crimp training it's just a figure I pulled out of my ass because you tend to be pretty developed skill wise and connective tissue wise (tendons, muscles, ligaments and etc.). If you want to get more advise on this probably ask the lattice training folk they actually have a wide spectrum of climbers they train and do implement full crimp training in their elite level climbers. Definitely this is an interesting topic, I'd love see a video on it. And yea I do I agree with @Dave Macleod progessive loading anything with patience you could safely obtain such strength to accomplish most physical feats.
It can help to just practice bouldering with a more open grip. Do some problems a few grades lower than your flash and just don’t allow yourself to use a full crimp on them. Do that for a few sessions and then comeback and try the fingerboard with an open grip and a chair for support. Good luck hope this helps!
Hi Dave. Big fan and thanks for the great video. I've made my own hangboard it's just a simple 18mm edge. However I am only strong enough to manage 5-8 second hangs at the moment as I'm just starting hangboarding. However I know hangboarding trains mainly strength but can it train endurance? Looking for a way to get that major forearm pump since my endurance is very weak and want to improve it.
Question. I have been climbing for around 2 years with progressive frequency up to 3-4 times per week now. I want to purchase a fingerboard but I'm undecided about fixed vs "portable" IE those attached to climbing rope. My thought is that there may be some benefit to having to try to steady yourself with an unstable hanging fingerboard but this may increase probability of injury. I'd love to hear the opinion of more experienced fingerboarders. I'm currently completing a PhD in physiology/medicine so would also like any academic/useful papers or research on the matter.
Hi Dave, you talked about not compromising form in this video. What about when my fingers begin to ‘open’ during a hang (eg gradually falling out of a 90deg half crimp)? Is that acceptable or should I cease the hang before this starts to happen?
Thank you so much for the interesting video and tips. I have one question, is there any crucial difference in the type of strength (or eventually endurance) we target by reaching failure within a short time (perhaps adding weights or going for small edges) or by reaching failure over a longer hanging period? For example, I could fail on a 20mm with +30kg within 7s or I could hang on it for a minute without any weight. I was convinced that in the first case I was targeting max/pure strength, while in the other more the endurance side. In both cases, I reach muscular failure. Are you suggesting that the type of gains are the same? This will be very cool, because for the short and intense type of hangs I need to be thoroughly warmed up while for the long-hang type I can go for it just after few pull-ups without feeling pain or being uncomfortable. In the latter case, I see the potential to repeat it all the time I pass by the hangboard while for the short-hang type I personally don't see it ok for me. Thanks a lot!
Reaching failure point with a longer duration single hang should improve strength. This was the point I was making in the video, using this method opens up more possibilities for arranging the sessions.
Yes I’ve also saw some articles that says there is a difference regarding if anaerobic vs aerobic is involved in one case or the other. What about it ?
Very helpful and interesting for even a non-beginner, thank you very much! Is there research on the impact of bent arm vs straight arm hanging? And what do you think about the tendency in the research literature to test and advocate hangs with a sub-maximal hanging time (ex. 7(2) = 7 secs on, while one could hang 9s max) and do multiple set?
I think there might be a slight misunderstanding about the „to failure“ part. This generally does not mean going to „real“ failure ie falling off without control. So if by sec 9 you would fall off from total muscular failure I’d understand your above quote of the „7 vs 9 secs“ as backing off a sec or two prior in order not to get hurt. This is probably common sense for most people and also what I assume Dave means when talking of hanging „to failure“. I usually take it as a cue of „failure“ when I start to shift my body around in order to hang on a sec or two longer.
@@climbermacleod I don't think that those are superior also, but some researchers like Eva Lopez advocate that sub maximal hang do the similar as "to muscle failure" hangs, and reduce risk of "overuse and injury", my guess is due to potentially poor form at the end of "to muscle failure" period. Specifically Eva Lopez on her blog says: "It has been shown that leaving a margin yields similar result than reaching failure as far as these methods are concerned, with the bonus of reduced risk of overuse and injury, and faster recovery between sessions (Davies et al., 2017; Moran-Navarro et al. 2017; Sampson &Groeller, 2016)." Also, says that "controlling the intensity of each set via the margin ensures we achieve the desired result int contrast to reaching failure in each set (Sanchez-Medina, 2010)". To me it makes some sense, especially the part with avoiding injury. What do you think?
@@prileee I have two separate thoughts on this. First, what the beginner (the context of the video above) considers failure is likely a different thing to a seasoned athlete. There is research showing even a bit of verbal encouragement can get 20% more force out of a recreational athlete. For this reason, in my own previous research we had to take care to standardise the verbal encouragement given to every participant in maximal strength testing. It was amazing to see the force trace jump up in beginners just by shouting "come on!". So I think the problem for some beginner athletes is often being too far away from failure point, not too close to it, generally speaking. Second, the cited research papers are consistent with what I am saying in the video above, essentially referring to the ability to play with several training variables to get where you want to be. The Sampson paper used lower training volume in the groups that stopped before failure. It would have been interesting to have a fourth arm to that study that used reps to failure, but also with the lower training volume! That is the benefit of continuing the effort to failure - high quality effort means less training is needed and so less risk of injury and more time for recovery. As I was saying in the video, a 'less is more approach'. The idea I presented as an option: lower load, longer duration, continued to failure is yet another way to play with the variables, and allowed you to reach the failure point without the risk (which may or may not be significant) of high loads. There are a few ways to skin a cat, basically. There is maybe also an issue of semantics. If you spend time in the weights gym and watch people going to failure, you do indeed see lots of very poor form and obviously dangerous things going on. I think so long as 'failure' means failure with strict form maintained always, then surely a good bit of risk is reduced. How much depends on exactly the exercise discussed, but going back to the video, in fingerboarding, we are talking about an isometric exercise where nothing moves. Its very different from campus boarding or even bouldering. Consider when you observe climbers of different levels reaching failure point in real climbing. With beginners its not too uncommon to see some worrying things such as feet slipping, jarring onto the straight arm with no control, individual fingers slipping off holds etc. In contrast, as a general rule high level climbers display good technique to the last second. Even during the swing out just as they begin to fall off, you can see the decision point to let go at the very last fraction of a second.
@@climbermacleod Thanks for the answer Dave! Interesting example with verbal encouragement, I believe it 100%, and think that capability of making yourself to "psyche is high" mode also helps but beginners are not aware or capable of switching to that (try-hard) mode like pro athletes are. I think this sentence of yours makes a good summary "I think so long as 'failure' means failure with strict form maintained always".
Dave, what study are you referring to at 19:45 when you talk about a review discussing high vs. low load training stimulus? I'm interested in doing some further reading
www.davemacleod.com/blog/hangboardforbeginners I post links to studies I reference on my blog. I've been busy with exams so took me a while to get round to this for this episode!
Is doing max hangs twice a week enough to maintain finger/forearm strength while not climbing. During my climbing sessions I would often have completely pumped forearms, but that never happens if im only hanging for 90secs twice a week. Any advice? Thanks
the middle two fingers are allowed to be bent. If your fingers are different lengths you wont be able to get them all fully open, the point is keep them as open as possible without any of them coming off
Great Video, I like how you go into deph without drifting into geektopia! What is a good indicator in your experience, that one can switch to smaller holds in his/her hangboard training? I have difficulty determining the right amount of strain on my fingers - if I go with what feels good, i don't feel like I trained to my capacity afterwards. If I go with what feels hard, my pulleys start to hurt.
If you haven't already seen Eric Hörst's videos I highly recommend them. Here's a video of his that helped me building pinch strength. ruclips.net/video/Oc4E02AfQP8/видео.html
Dave, do you know if the "shoulders engaged" position during hang has any merit? Everywhere on the internet people claim that relaxing the shoulders will lead to soft tissue injury, however the only research I was able to find on this indicated that deadhanging was, if anything, beneficial for back and shoulder pain.
I think it was on a lattice video, but another rationale for engaged shoulders is that it's very beneficial to build strength in that position. When climbing, you're much more often in positions with engaged shoulders than totally deadhanging. As for shoulder health, my guess is that it varies from person to person depending on morphology and injuries and whatnot.
Hi Dave, what's your opinion on doing one-armed hangs with feet still on the ground? as in taking a fairly small edge (one you can't hold bodyweight with on one hand) and with elbow bent pulling down as hard as you can. Cheers, love the vids!
Is it normal to be able to bend your pinky finger separate from the other fingers (as in a three-finger drag)? I cannot do this and it's really frustrating me right now!
Hey Paul! I'm not sure if it matters, or perhaps starting from a straight arm and pulling up is good. That's what I do a lot of the time. But my arms are quite weak.
Woah woah woah, this is weird. With all this coronavirus stuff i decided to start hangboarding. I was literally just watching the old Hangboarding video like a couple hours ago, and now this is out!
thanks for the video Dave. What are your thoughts on the effectiveness of hanging fingerboards? i know many people are in the same position as me and we can only hang via cord for one reason or another. i'm using a pair of crusher orbs. thanks
That are fine, just stay on point with the form (not too much swinging around while holding small edges, especially if you are not already at quite a robust level of finger strength. I actually meant to put a shot of me using my own rope mounted hangboard in the video.
i know this is a stupid question, but when you say „do one set“, does that mean, doing „one repetition“(hanging for a few seconds), or does it mean that you hang for a few seconds and repeat that a few times which than equals a set..?
By 1 set it is meant 1 hang. So if you said 2 set of say 10s hangs it means hang 2 times for 10s per hang with chosen rest between sets/hangs. You can chose to hang multiple times per set. Like 7/3 repeaters. Which is often hang for 7s then rest for 3s and do that 6 times. Which means you would hang for a total of 1min per set. Ive probably made it more comfusing haha my bad. But in this im sure he meant 1 set is 1 hang... hope that helps
Not at all! The latter is most correct. A rep is your first pull on plus rest. So if you were doing 7 seconds on and 3 seconds rest that's 1 rep, if you do this 6 times (or however many times you like depending on what you are aiming for) it equates to 1 minute or 1 set. I normally do this for 3-5 sets if training FB on it's own. Theres many alternative timing depending what you are training 7 on 53 off for 5 for max weight hangs for instance. Train on my friend
@@timignatov7394 6x 7 second reps is not 1 minute 🙈 the total set (7 hang+ 3 rest)x 6 times is 1 minute that's 1 set 👌🏻 its infinitely variable obviously
Ye i may have screwd that up haha. Look what im trying to say is this. Ive tried 7/3 repeaters from the crimped app. Ive tried max hangs for 7s with weight and then rest for 4 mins and ive tried Daves method of hang until failier and (for me rest for 2 mins then repeat 3 times). And after a month of each i noticed the biggeat difference fron Daves excersises. His way is much more variable in the moment. No matter if you feel heavy or super strong that day you just hang until failier and you are garanteed a good workout! Ps this isnt my first hangboard work out i really have tried a few and have been doing it for more than a year, the pay off is crazy good! All you need to do is stick to it
Good question! Seems some people use the word differently. When I say 1 set I mean 1 hang. There are no reps really, since we are not lifting a weight repeatedly for example.
Great video from Dave as usual, I'm still struggling with one aspect of hangboarding and form . I hear a lot about engaging the shoulders and not hanging purely off your shoulder joints . If I do what I consider to be engaging my shoulders (very slight pull up, slight angle at the elbow) it makes each hang twice as hard, I shake and actually feel slight discomfort in my shoulders . Using that 'form' I can barely complete the Beastmaker 5A routine . Using straight arms I complete the routine with ease . Am I doing something wrong ? (I predominantly climb in the gym, projecting 7a on lead, bouldering up to V5)
its important to not let your shoulders just be loose. its bad for your shoulders. this has to be trained aswell with "scapula pullups" just search it on youtube and you'll find some tutorials on what and why. its harders because you have to engage more muscles wich in your case are not strong enough to handle the load that your fingers can handle. (not english sry if i grammared wrong :) )
I have noticed in my hangboarding a while ago that I was jamming my fingers into the hangboard holds (instead of on the finger tips), to make crimping easier. I dont know if I am holding on the holds/pockets correctly
That was one reason I designed the Edge Hangboard with open rungs rather than pockets. But other than this, take the rung in a way that feels comfortable.
Hi Dave, Do you supplement your fingerboarding with any pinch grip training? I've just made a pinch block to work on what I reckon is a big weakness of mine. Would you follow a similar protocol for max hangs/ repeaters? And would you add the training into a board session or try and separate it? Cheers!
The chalking up of the skin and/or brushing is stressed as important to not slip off from the rungs - but I experience almost the opposite. That is, the indoor dryness makes my wooden hangboard, a beastmaker, feel very slippery and I have actually tried out spraying some water on it to increase friction on for example a 20mm edge. Some days it feels too risky to hang there and I rather move on to a larger edge and add on some weight to approach the right intensity. Is this me being too weak by relying on better friction to be able to hang? Do I just need to get stronger or are there any other tricks to overcome this?
Haha sounds like we are at opposite ends of the spectrum of finger sweatiness. For sure some people with pretty dry skin have issues with 'dry firing'. Sticking to a larger edge is probably a good solution.
Hello Dave, would you every chose a home training session over climbing in a gym or at a crag? Is having sore forearms the day after train/climb good or bad?
All 'it depends' questions. If a relative beginner then movement on rock is always a huge priority. But why not just hang board on days you can't get to the crag? Soreness is neither good or bad. If you deviate rapidly from homeostasis it's inevitable after training. Mostly that's good but being permanently sore might indicate too fast a progression or issues with adequate recovery strategy.
Hi Dave, thank you! Unfortunately I bought a board two weeks ago and may have already broken rule #1. Soreness in the MP joint of both index fingers after 12 second hangs on 25mm edge, not very painful and can bend fine but feels a bit off. I wasn't climbing much in the gym before all this, mostly slab. Is soreness something to be worried about? What do you recommend for people who do experience such minor (hopefully) injuries? Should we lay off the hangboard completely or could we still do low intensity hangs? Thank you again for all your advice.
Philip Acuna Hi Philipp, you might want to check out Tyler Nelson‘s (C4HP) stuff. He‘s a doctor specializing in climbing rehab & training. I had great results recovering from several tweaks / injuries with his methods. Mainly doing longer hangs (around 30-45 seconds) to failure. (Failure meaning that you go to the limit of how long you can hold on but still let go under control! Grit your teeth and try hard but don‘t slip off!) These give you a good training effect (Dave mentions the same approach in the video) but also allow your tendons to realign and grow stronger. (google Tyler‘s articles for the real explanations ;-)
Not a straightforward question to answer and since it depends on so many factors, I'm reluctant to offer general thoughts in a comment. But yes of course its worth being concerned about even minor injuries, because they can become serious ones, and can be a signal of something needing to be changed in your routine. They can also be just minor and go away. The point is, you monitor and always use the signal to question what you are doing. If you went from slabs to hangboards, maybe it was just too abrupt. A bit of rest to let an aggravated joint settle, followed by a more gentle and steady progression might be the way forward. But only you know the severity of the injury.
@@climbermacleod Hi Dave, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I've erred on the side of caution, basic mobility exercises (tendon glides, rice buckets, etc.) have helped immensely and the fingers no longer feel tweaky. Will start hanging on the jugs for the next few weeks to build up strength more slowly. Overall resuming basic movements asap following injuries has changed my recovery times significantly, along with rest, good sleep, diet etc All the best.
@@BrunoAxhausen Hi Bruno, thank you for the recommendation. The longer hang protocol seems like a good way forward at the moment, especially considering I'll be hanging off larger holds for a while. Cheers!
Hi Dave, thanks for the great video! I've been hangboarding on and off for about a year but now consistently for about a month and my smallest hold (the small width of a hockey stick, since that's what i made my hangboard with) is too easy for 2 hands (ive been doing 12sec on/2min off x5, x5 with 4min rest, and I never feel even remotely close to failure) so i guess I'll move on to 1 hand on my larger hold (large width of a hockey stick). How would I incorporate separate hangs for my individual arms? Do I do one and then the other right after or do I need to rest in between hangs with the different arms? Thanks!
I think as long as you can maintain the mental focus to try equally hard, you can just do them mediately one after the other. Might want to start with the weaker hand each time.
Thank you for the information! One question : what is your opinion on hanging with straight arms ? Are your arms "locked" or do you keep a very slight bend? Different people on the internet advocate either completely straight arms, others say it will injure the elbow structure in the long run, so a slight bend is necessary to avoid injury. Where do you stand on the issue? Many thanks.
I did discuss this in the video, and in my how to hangboard video. I like to use a bent arm so you can drop slowly down as you approach failure point. But I think straight is probably okay as well. I have not seen any hard data to suggest that it is critical either way.
Thanks, I had noticed that you tackled the issue in the video, I should have mentioned that I was talking about it more so in the context of "real climbing", does it change anything?
@@MrAfricaturtle Oh right. I have not seen any evidence that hanging with a relaxed arm during climbing is more or less risky that doing something else. I am perfectly happy to hang on a relaxed arm when climbing efficiency demands this.
@@MrAfricaturtle I'd always tuck the shoulder in (caught some problems from not doing it). And actively bend the ellbow a bit on nasty dynamic moves, to have some room to actively catch the acceleration.
I really struggle with warming up. It normally takes me only 30mins to warm up on a climbing wall by doing a series of easy and moderate boulders but on a fingerboard I don't seem to ever reach the point where I can comfortably use the small edges without fear of injury. I try to warm up by doing a lot of pull ups on jugs but as soon as I touch the smaller edges I feel like I can't pull at all. Any ideas what I could be doing wrong?
Ok, I've been playing around on my beastmaker 1000 and I think I realised the issue. When I hang on the 20mm edges (lowest ones) with 4 fingers my index fingers are bent while my little finger is barely on and I get pain in my left wrist I think due to a minor TFCC tear. I guess that means I have shorter pinky fingers than Dave? When I change my grip to a 3 finger drag I can hang much more comfortably (though for less time). I guess because hangboards have a very flat profile whereas climbing holds tend to be rounded I have not noticed this issue until now...
It may be the pull ups. While they do a good job of warming up your upper body, your fingers are still hanging on jugs. So when you go on to deadhangs / pullups on smaller holds that step up in intensity may be too big. Maybe do a couple pullups on jugs first. Then some repeaters on smaller holds but with your feet on a chair. (This can feel really easy, it‘s just a warm up!!) Then maybe keep the feet on the chair, but shift a little more weight onto your hands. Then maybe some easy hangs on the bigger slots of the beastmaker. And so on... Keep increasing the load for a few rounds. Then rest a few minutes and see how it feels. (Personally, I don‘t even like to start with pullups, I start even easier with foot on deadhangs and do pull ups later in the warm up) Hope this helps, cheers, Bruno
How about endurance? Is there any effect in gaining or loosing endurance in case of fingerboarding? While Corona i tend to use the board very often. But its only strength, getting no bump into the arms. So i am afraid in loosing endurance. Any trick to keep the endurance lvl, over 1-2 Month not climbing?
Feet-on fingerboard hand play. While it sounds risque, it is quite boring but a good way to build pump. Set a timer for 3-5 minutes or whatever you prefer, with feet on, work around the fingerboard on different size edges, shake out on a bigger edge when you need to, then continue "climbing". If possible, set up a couple of chairs or table or something to move your feet around to. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Kole Hicks I will address this in another vid. Short answer, I’m not a fan but maybe better than doing nothing if there is truly absolutely no way to climb anything.
The next day, or even a few hours after a session i don't feel fatigued anymore and I'm not sure if I'm training wrong or if it doesn't matter. I thought that I have to feel the muscle soreness the next day in order to get stronger.
Definitely not. This is a completely different ballgame from working out a muscle and feeling sore. If you're feeling acutely sore, you've way overdone it.
Muscle soreness generally happens if you do an exercise you are not used to. Alternatively, it might happen if you don't recover properly. For example, if you train and then stay up late eating bad food and then train again the next day after a poor sleep. With that said, a little muscle soreness from time to time is to be expected when training. It's really the changes in it over time that are the thing to watch.
Do you think training drag holds increases crimp strength? Or are the two mostly unrelated. Do you ever train fingers in isolation? I feel like my pinky is a slacker
Eric McElyea I‘d say it‘s probably more the other way round. It‘s certainly good to get used to both, but if you can half crimp, the drag should probably feel a bit easier (since a bit more of your weight is hanging on the skin of your fingers...) Also depends on your favourite style of climbing. If you climb a lot on pockets where crimping is not possible it may be better to train the drag more often... Regarding the isolation: Training the front three and back three fingers seperately is definitely worth doing, since depending on your finger length these two positions might perform very differently!
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
How can it be that good people like him actually do exist
naruto uzumaki beats me
believe it
I consider myself intermediate at hangboarding, have been doing it for a while, and expected the the video to be a revision of everything I know and already do. Turns out it packs a wealth of great information, not only on handboarding itself but training and its mental aspect. Great material, Dave. Thank you!
Yet again, when your looking for a video to nail a subject along comes Dave. Thanks, Hangboard is going up for 1st time today,
"I never use weights or the lower rung" he says after I come here from one of your latest videos where you do open hand hangs with weigths from the lower rung ;)
That video is for you, not for me.
Great video as always. I've had good results doing pull ups every time I pass my bar (mid-way down the stairs in my house) so will give this 'as and when' method a go with hangboarding as well. I've lost almost all strength in my fingers recently due to laziness when abroad and now with covid-19, so haven't done anything finger-strength related for about 2 months. As of today (19-04-20), I'll do a max-effort hang on 44mm, 19mm, and 13mm edges (in that order, 2 min rest between hangs) as and when I am in my bedroom (at least 2x a day) and will report back with my anecdotal evidence!
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19-04-20: Initial hangs.
44mm - 38.2 seconds
19mm - 5.5 seconds
13mm - 0.5 seconds
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Edit: Week 1 results below. Total of 30 sets of 3 hangs across 7 days. Most in 1 day was 6, min 3. I think some of the results here are finger-strength returning rather than pure strength gains, but I think both my 19mm and 13mm hangs below are probably slightly longer than I could have held previously. I also introduced a few rules such as at least 10 mins rest between sets to increase max effort, and longer rests between individual hangs if needed. So far, I have found this to be both easier to commit to and more enjoyable than more regimented hangboarding routines.
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26-04-20: Week 1 Results.
44mm - 65.6 seconds (+27.4)
19mm - 18.0 seconds (+12.5)
13mm - 6.2 seconds (+5.7)
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Edit: Week 2 results below. Total of 18 sets of 2 or 3 across 6 days with 1 rest day. Most in 1 day was 4, min 1. Mixed results this week. I focused a lot more on the 19mm and 13mm hangs, as the 44mm is basically just endurance and takes up a lot of time, making me less likely to hangboard at all. Felt a bit of stiffness/pain in my fingers throughout this week so decided to not hang if I was feeling like I couldn't give max effort. This, I think, is one of the potential benefits of having more clearly defined hangboarding sessions, that you have more time for recovery and can get back to a point of feeling 'good', instead of constantly feeling 'ok'.
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03-05-20: Week 2 Results.
44mm - 65.8 seconds (+0.2)
19mm - 21.1 seconds (+3.1)
13mm - 4.8 seconds (-1.4)
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Edit: Week 3 results below. Total of 15 sets of 2 or 3 hangs across 5 days, with 2 rest days. Most in 1 day was 5, min 1. Finding it increasingly difficult to stick to this 'as and when' training style, mainly because it doesn't allow for warm up each time, which means that it feels difficult to do hangs at maximum effort - i.e. I can feel that the reason my hangs are less good quality is not because of strength per se, but because it's difficult to give maximum effort when you expect your tendons are not ready for it. That being said, slight overall improvement from last week, except for minimal losses on 19mm edge.
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10-05-20: Week 3 Results.
44mm - 68.4 seconds (+2.6)
19mm - 20.4 seconds (-0.7)
13mm - 5.1 seconds (+0.3)
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- - - As of today I'm going to switch training techniques, aiming to do one longer session (4/5 hangs on the each of the smaller edges with warm up on the larger one) every weekday, with Saturday a rest day and Sunday for testing. This way I hope to increase both the number of reps and the quality of them - - -
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Edit: Week 4 results below. Contrary to my experience in the first week, I now find more regimented sessions more rewarding and easier to commit to, although probably not as fun/relaxed. I think this is in part to do with the fact that when I started I needed longer rests in between hangs in order to be able to lift body-weight on the smallest edges, whereas now I can do consecutive hangs without losing the ability to lift full body-weight, and can do more max hangs in a smaller time period. The biggest difference, I think, is that with more focused sessions you have more time to adjust and improve body position and tension, whereas with sporadic single hangs this isn't an option. I think this has benefited my 13mm hang especially. Also, interesting to see that my 44mm hang-time is increasing despite the fact that I'm no longer training it directly.
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17-05-20: Week 4 Results.
44mm - 72.2 seconds (+3.8)
19mm - 19.5 seconds (-0.9)
13mm - 7.5 seconds (+2.4)
Good video. I've always been a strong believer in keeping it simple for training: warm up, avoid injury, try hard, and actually DO IT (rather than make it so complicated and convoluted that you can't be arsed with the faff), and this explains that well. It's inspired me to try more regular mini-sessions.
Great lenghty overview of hangboarding. No crazy production with titles going everywhere and background music, just a one o' one conversation with pro' climber Dave. Great.
At the beginning of confinement I seeked getting the edge hangboard but I had nowhere to attach. So in case others have that same limitation, Lyon Heart makes very similar wooden hangboards which have cordelettes attached so you can move it around and hang it in various places. It's more modular.
thank you so much dave. Starting out on the fingerboard can be very overwhelming. Your evidence based approach to a pragmatic, safe and realistic every-day training really suits me and I am looking very much forward to see how this will aid my progress :) Thank you again!
SHIT YEAH~!!!!!!!! Thank you SO much for doing this man. Couldn't have seized a more opportune time in our lives to bring this up.
Thanks for elaborating the connection between "try hard"+full focus and fast twitch fiber recuitment, very enlighting for any athletical endeavor!
Wonderful explanation sir
So calm and patient, makes it look really easy.
Dave, you’re a legend
I could listen to Uncle Dave talk all day. Thanks for the tips. Excited to try my best to get better
I've been climbing for around 6 months and am just starting to get interested in hangboarding so this is perfect for me! Not only that, your voice is very ASMR-esque making this a relaxing video to watch as well as informative.
You share so much great information. Thank you, Dave!
23:00 "I want to experiment with putting a hangboard up in my house, and rather than doing discrete sessions, just doing a hang and some pull-ups almost every time I walk by"
We JUST did this at our house! The hangboard is up in a doorway in a relatively high-traffic area, and I've just been doing a couple hangs every time I get up from my desk. I am so excited to hear if you get results doing this.
Totally anecdotal, but I got MUCH stronger doing this before I was a climber- I would leave a pull-up bar set up in the doorway of my room, and any time I had to walk in or out, I would just stop and do a couple pull-ups. I think I doubled the number of full-form pullups I could do in the course of 2 semesters of university, and I never once did a proper "session" or full workout.
Would be interesting to find out if the same methods work when you're already pretty highly-trained. :)
It's called greasing the groove. m.ruclips.net/user/results?search_query=greasing+the+groove
I like the idea, but I need SO much warm up to get started with anything finger related without the risk of injury :/
I, too, have pondered this. In theory, it sounds like a good idea and for a beginner (and maybe up to an intermediate climber) could be a useful strategy. It could be a good way to "grease the groove" (as it is apparently called) for different grip types. A potential pitfall that I could see is if a beginner decides to complete hangs every time he/she walks by, the volume could add up quickly and they might be tempted to complete more hangs than they intended during each walk by. Find me someone just starting out with climbing who hasn't overcooked their training and/or climbing and ended up with some sort of injury?! Like the other commenter has said, getting a proper finger warmup could prove difficult for some.
With that being said, I would be very interested in Dave's thoughts/results if he were to do this. I will say though, I highly doubt Dave repping out pullups on a 14-15mm edge is a sufficient stimulus to improve max finger strength :) Throw some extra weight on there and/or rep out some single arm hangs on that 20mm or 15mm edge and then I think you'd be on to something!
I just put a DIY hangboard up in my doorway very similar to Dave’s. The top rung is about 45 ml, and then I also have a 20, 12, and a 6 mm edge on it. I don’t have a pull up bar and find myself doing pull ups and hanging on the top rung whenever I walk through my doorway, but I find myself shying away from any of the others if I’m not doing a designated training sesh. It’s a combination of not being able to physically hang on them well without a proper warm up and knowing that injury is a real possibility. But jumping on that top rung just whenever is fun and hopefully good for strength.
@@alexgalays910 The idea is for the hangs to be low intensity, so a few pull ups to warm up, and then the thing that challenges is time rather than external load. Just for the one hang..
The advice that starts at 31:00 is just perfect.
Used ur advice to create a really simple training routine which I've done consistently through out lockdown. First climb after lockdown yesterday and despite some quite fingery moved my fore arms didn't pump out once, and more importantly - no injuries. Thanks for your mellow and measured approach which helped me overthink less and commit to consistency. Can't wait to continue building on the foundation ive established :)
Always a pleasure to hear you Dave. And many thanks for putting up all these videos
Great video. As someone who has been fingerboarding for a while now I still learned a lot about the physiological effects of fingerboarding and what’s happening inside the body!
I've just built a 'boulder wall' in my lean- to using some ply cut offs from my van build, a few holds I bought ages ago and some random bits of wood I cut up to use as foot holds. It's not pretty or massive probably 3m x 2m but it gives me so much pleasure knowing I can send a few 6-7 (12 including feet) move boulders which are infinitely changeable. This is an incredibly hard time for us climbers but we just have to get creative!
Excellent explanations as always.
Love your videos and your books!
Awesome video, Dave! I'm very new at both hangboarding and climbing. One thing I've noticed that's really surprised me is how important it is for me to warm up. I've been doing an hour-ish long circuit for the past few weeks that incorporates some hangboarding, and I've noticed that I can't really hit my most intense hangs until close to the very end of the workout. It's like it takes some time for my hands to realize what's happening.
Thanks for the video Dave, very informational and well delivered. Particularly liked your explanation of slow and fast twitch muscle fibers which I thought was very clear. Please keep the videos coming during this strange period!
Dave, you are so awesome!
a video with a 40min long full load of great and understandable information. And still I get the impression, you weren't even able to tell 5% of your knowledge about this topic...
i just build my own fingerboard based on your design, great timing!
As an FYI for everyone looking for a great fingerboard and cannot get Dave’s, Beastmaker is still selling them directly worldwide.
Great and simple way of explaning complex stuff, thank’s Dave!!
Great video Dave! Would you be able to do one about board climbing for beginners? I understand that it's a useful tool to get stronger as well as just bouldering, but don't know how to structure sessions, etc.
great video, really useful to me having been climbing for 10 years without ever fingerboarding. Thanks!
I love this channel it's like having a free coach lol
Dave this was great. You are great! Thankyou!
Awesome video! Here’s a potential video idea that I know me and I’m sure other people would benefit from. How to start introducing 1 arm hangs into your training. I personally can hang on a 20mm edge with 175% of my body weight for 7-10 seconds but I can’t even hang for 2 seconds on a much bigger edge with one hand. I instantly start rotating and have to let go before it becomes painful. I imagine it’s from having weak shoulders but I don’t know the best way to get to the point of being able to do 1 handed hangs. It would be nice to be able to start doing 1 handed hangs because it’s a bit ridiculous having to add so much weight to myself to be able to effectively train my fingers
One good way to fix that is to put 1kg on a pulley and 1kg in your chalk bag, holding the pulley rope will help with the rotating without removing weight ;)
Are you trying to face the hang with one hand facing the board? I always have to hang facing to the side of it (hanging from my left hand my right cheek is next to the board if i have slightly bent arm). If i start in this position it works fine, however if i try and face the board i spin and end up loosing grip.
Robert Lawson I struggle with it side wise and front facing.
In his other hangboard video he suggests removing fingers on one hand from memory
wow very help full sir
Solid video. Thanks Dave
Another great video. Thanks.
Once again priceless help that goes beyond physical how-to - thanks to your insight I’m learning not just technique but a mental approach to being able to get more out of climbing and probably translate some of that discovery to other area of sport , work and life. One technical question - do you train for slopers separately at all ?
So I probably missed something, but from what Dave is saying, you should be aiming for maximal effort with every "rep"? Whether its a longer low intensity, or shorter high intensity. So if you do three reps each one should be maximal effort? Another great video Dave. Love your style of presenting whether it's on youtube or in your books.
If you're doing a repeater workout (7sec on 3 off, or 10 on 5 off or whatever, several times) then maximal effort wouldn't occur until the last rep
Thank you so much! Very informational for everyone
1:27 "Getting to grips with using them..." 😂
Thank you, really helpful
Any follow up on the experiment with the hangboard in your house and increased frequency/decreased intensity
Dave what do you think about placing your feet on the ground (e.g. for warmup and cooldown) and then instead of letting your weight do the work you try to pull the board towards yourself. this way you can actually focus a lot better on the different muscles engaging. like I can do one set where I really try to nail the mind muscle connection to my lat working.
also maybe for some people coming off a finger injury, feeling good enough to hangboard but feeling that the injured finger is not really engaging - I found this method really helpful since I can really engage the previously injured finger. but PLEASE do not do this if you are still injured!
Great video! Thanks a lot. Have you done that experiment with the continuous sets throughout the day yet? I’m interested in the results
Thank you for this nice vid! Could you say some words about warming up in combination with mini-sessions (three times a day). For me, it seems that three warm-ups would be necessary!?
Great video, im just about to do a handboardsession, a thing thats keeping me thinkin, im only able to hang my board lose over a bar, so its moving. Just a little difficult to really get a steady hang ;)
Thanks for the advice😊
Why do i get flexor unit strain so easily? I know its when my ringfinger is pulling and the little finger is in a more flexed position (no loading needed) than the ringfinger causing instantaneous sharp pain in my lumbricals and the shared tendon. Like i only have to pull a tiny bit while standing on the feet to feel the pain, if i would actually pull harder i would instantly injure myself.. can i train this sensitivity? I have previously had the tendon injuries from pockets, is it because the tendon is shared and the fingers are flexed to different degrees it cause like a diagonal tension/loading of the tendon?
Hey Dave. Awesome info as always. Do you have a source for the research into the isometric training effect of going to failure through time over load? I am very interested to learn more.
Hi Dave, thank you for your truly amazing content! I pore over your training material and many of your videos have inspired (Australian) adventures of my own. I am fascinated by your points on isometric loading and set volume in this video. I would love to be able to read these studies, but I can't find them on your website or the academic journals my university has access to. Could you (or anyone else) point me in the right direction?
You could simply google isometric muscle loading. There is plenty of interesting material to read. Most isometric training is for sports where the main body position mimics the isometric load - for example, squat against the wall with thighs at right angles to your shins, would suit a downhill skier.
@@chrisleigh-cattrall8069 I've found a number of articles discussing set volume, but force production increase associated specifically with isometric training loads I haven't had luck with.
@@andrabispeimle671 Hi.. search for articles by Bemben & Massey.. good luck!
Hi Dave - did you ever try switching to a few pullup sets a day on the hangboard rather than dedicated hangboard sessions? If so, what are your thoughts?
I recall that when I was much younger and only climbing every few weeks, I started doing a few sets up pullups every few days on my hangboard on the largest rung and was amazed that within a few weeks I was doing a pullup on the smallest edge. Just an anecdote but cool to see it working in the past.
What kind of board would you recommend buying. Starting out as a beginning climber. I see ledge boards or fingerboards. What would be most usefull for me just starting out
Hi Dave, and thank you for the video.
Have you tried that new approach of frequent lower loads? Does that approach pose the problem of warming up before trying to hang till failure?
Thanks!
I started climbing a month ago. Should I even consider beginning a hang board routine or should I just keep climbing and increasing my overall fitness? It seems to me like I’ll either be able to climb or hang board. Or maybe it’s good to do like a couple really short and light sessions per day just to remind my connective tissue of my intentions to use my fingers like this?
Hi Dave,
Regarding your explanation near the end of how to go to failure but avoid slipping off -- have you got any tips for applying this when in a 'feet up' position (to lower the load)? Hard to lower your feet to the ground in that position. I've tried lowering one foot, but that doesn't work too smoothly. Do you just have to sacrifice how close you get to failure, do you reckon?
Anyway, thanks for the video! Love the research-based explanations.
Dear Dave, thanks for putting to words what others seem to just glaze over - the different grips, and how some feel impossible. For me, I only seem to manage "drag", and even in the deepest pockets I cannot for the life of me manage a half crimp. One thing I did miss, how do I train to get this realized? When I try to apply force with my two fingers slightly bent they just go down to drag by themselves. Just train with lower than bodyweight until I get used to it?
Just apply the force you can, until you get stronger. Nothing wrong with just standing on the ground and pulling as hard as you can on the fingerboard, using the grip you want to train.
cheeky smile after 18:35 :^)
Kai-Rey Lee and 3.22
I really want to get hold -- ;) -- of an Edge Hangboard. Are they not being made / sold anymore?
18:35
That fan does more than just keep your fingers dry!
(Sorry Dave. I'm just a big kid)
Hi Dave! Have you tried hanging the hangboard in your house and doing mini-sessions already? If so, how did it work out for you? Thanks for the great video!
Hello Dave! Thank you very much for your work here on RUclips. You are a great source of inspiration and a great teacher too.
I have been climbing for one year now, I am currently at a 6c level on a bouldering scala and I can do around 5 pull ups on a 20mm edge. The thing is, I can only use a full crimp. If I try using an open grip or even a half crimp I can barely hang.
What would you suggest: should I try to avoid the full crimp completely (how hight is the risk of danger really?) and start again training with all the other grip types?
My very best regards!
Train all the grip types (while mindful of my discussion of full crimp in the video). If you are not strong enough on some grips, take weight off by using your feet.
As I do think eventually you want to train full crimp, I think maybe 8a and above boulderers should train their full crimp but those individuals who are below such bouldering grades shouldn't really try to train their full crimp. Simply because in most circumstances individuals who don't boulder at such a grade won't have such finger strength to handle the full crimp training and end up injured. Now I can totally be wrong and you could be bouldering grades below 8a but still have such finger strength required for higher grades but still you'd probably benefit from other grip types (open, half and etc) and most importantly training technique at that point. Also I just wanna say that there is little to no research that being a 8a and above boulderer will guarantee that you have the such finger strength to sustain full crimp training it's just a figure I pulled out of my ass because you tend to be pretty developed skill wise and connective tissue wise (tendons, muscles, ligaments and etc.). If you want to get more advise on this probably ask the lattice training folk they actually have a wide spectrum of climbers they train and do implement full crimp training in their elite level climbers. Definitely this is an interesting topic, I'd love see a video on it. And yea I do I agree with @Dave Macleod progessive loading anything with patience you could safely obtain such strength to accomplish most physical feats.
It can help to just practice bouldering with a more open grip. Do some problems a few grades lower than your flash and just don’t allow yourself to use a full crimp on them. Do that for a few sessions and then comeback and try the fingerboard with an open grip and a chair for support. Good luck hope this helps!
Hi Dave. Big fan and thanks for the great video. I've made my own hangboard it's just a simple 18mm edge. However I am only strong enough to manage 5-8 second hangs at the moment as I'm just starting hangboarding.
However I know hangboarding trains mainly strength but can it train endurance?
Looking for a way to get that major forearm pump since my endurance is very weak and want to improve it.
Any verdict yet on the lower load higher frequency hangs? Very in vogue right now
Question. I have been climbing for around 2 years with progressive frequency up to 3-4 times per week now. I want to purchase a fingerboard but I'm undecided about fixed vs "portable" IE those attached to climbing rope. My thought is that there may be some benefit to having to try to steady yourself with an unstable hanging fingerboard but this may increase probability of injury. I'd love to hear the opinion of more experienced fingerboarders. I'm currently completing a PhD in physiology/medicine so would also like any academic/useful papers or research on the matter.
Hi Dave, you talked about not compromising form in this video. What about when my fingers begin to ‘open’ during a hang (eg gradually falling out of a 90deg half crimp)? Is that acceptable or should I cease the hang before this starts to happen?
does it make sense to train every finger individually with a crimp board and weights?
Thank you so much for the interesting video and tips. I have one question, is there any crucial difference in the type of strength (or eventually endurance) we target by reaching failure within a short time (perhaps adding weights or going for small edges) or by reaching failure over a longer hanging period?
For example, I could fail on a 20mm with +30kg within 7s or I could hang on it for a minute without any weight. I was convinced that in the first case I was targeting max/pure strength, while in the other more the endurance side. In both cases, I reach muscular failure.
Are you suggesting that the type of gains are the same? This will be very cool, because for the short and intense type of hangs I need to be thoroughly warmed up while for the long-hang type I can go for it just after few pull-ups without feeling pain or being uncomfortable. In the latter case, I see the potential to repeat it all the time I pass by the hangboard while for the short-hang type I personally don't see it ok for me. Thanks a lot!
Reaching failure point with a longer duration single hang should improve strength. This was the point I was making in the video, using this method opens up more possibilities for arranging the sessions.
Yes I’ve also saw some articles that says there is a difference regarding if anaerobic vs aerobic is involved in one case or the other. What about it ?
Very helpful and interesting for even a non-beginner, thank you very much! Is there research on the impact of bent arm vs straight arm hanging? And what do you think about the tendency in the research literature to test and advocate hangs with a sub-maximal hanging time (ex. 7(2) = 7 secs on, while one could hang 9s max) and do multiple set?
George Davinci I have not seen any research that shows sub maximal hangs are superior.
I think there might be a slight misunderstanding about the „to failure“ part. This generally does not mean going to „real“ failure ie falling off without control. So if by sec 9 you would fall off from total muscular failure I’d understand your above quote of the „7 vs 9 secs“ as backing off a sec or two prior in order not to get hurt. This is probably common sense for most people and also what I assume Dave means when talking of hanging „to failure“. I usually take it as a cue of „failure“ when I start to shift my body around in order to hang on a sec or two longer.
@@climbermacleod I don't think that those are superior also, but some researchers like Eva Lopez advocate that sub maximal hang do the similar as "to muscle failure" hangs, and reduce risk of "overuse and injury", my guess is due to potentially poor form at the end of "to muscle failure" period.
Specifically Eva Lopez on her blog says:
"It has been shown that leaving a margin yields similar result than reaching failure as far as these methods are concerned, with the bonus of reduced risk of overuse and injury, and faster recovery between sessions (Davies et al., 2017; Moran-Navarro et al. 2017; Sampson &Groeller, 2016)."
Also, says that "controlling the intensity of each set via the margin ensures we achieve the desired result int contrast to reaching failure in each set (Sanchez-Medina, 2010)".
To me it makes some sense, especially the part with avoiding injury. What do you think?
@@prileee I have two separate thoughts on this. First, what the beginner (the context of the video above) considers failure is likely a different thing to a seasoned athlete. There is research showing even a bit of verbal encouragement can get 20% more force out of a recreational athlete. For this reason, in my own previous research we had to take care to standardise the verbal encouragement given to every participant in maximal strength testing. It was amazing to see the force trace jump up in beginners just by shouting "come on!". So I think the problem for some beginner athletes is often being too far away from failure point, not too close to it, generally speaking. Second, the cited research papers are consistent with what I am saying in the video above, essentially referring to the ability to play with several training variables to get where you want to be. The Sampson paper used lower training volume in the groups that stopped before failure. It would have been interesting to have a fourth arm to that study that used reps to failure, but also with the lower training volume! That is the benefit of continuing the effort to failure - high quality effort means less training is needed and so less risk of injury and more time for recovery. As I was saying in the video, a 'less is more approach'.
The idea I presented as an option: lower load, longer duration, continued to failure is yet another way to play with the variables, and allowed you to reach the failure point without the risk (which may or may not be significant) of high loads. There are a few ways to skin a cat, basically.
There is maybe also an issue of semantics. If you spend time in the weights gym and watch people going to failure, you do indeed see lots of very poor form and obviously dangerous things going on. I think so long as 'failure' means failure with strict form maintained always, then surely a good bit of risk is reduced. How much depends on exactly the exercise discussed, but going back to the video, in fingerboarding, we are talking about an isometric exercise where nothing moves. Its very different from campus boarding or even bouldering. Consider when you observe climbers of different levels reaching failure point in real climbing. With beginners its not too uncommon to see some worrying things such as feet slipping, jarring onto the straight arm with no control, individual fingers slipping off holds etc. In contrast, as a general rule high level climbers display good technique to the last second. Even during the swing out just as they begin to fall off, you can see the decision point to let go at the very last fraction of a second.
@@climbermacleod Thanks for the answer Dave! Interesting example with verbal encouragement, I believe it 100%, and think that capability of making yourself to "psyche is high" mode also helps but beginners are not aware or capable of switching to that (try-hard) mode like pro athletes are.
I think this sentence of yours makes a good summary "I think so long as 'failure' means failure with strict form maintained always".
Broo please reply, i have some questions about your injury.
Dave, what study are you referring to at 19:45 when you talk about a review discussing high vs. low load training stimulus? I'm interested in doing some further reading
www.davemacleod.com/blog/hangboardforbeginners I post links to studies I reference on my blog. I've been busy with exams so took me a while to get round to this for this episode!
Is doing max hangs twice a week enough to maintain finger/forearm strength while not climbing. During my climbing sessions I would often have completely pumped forearms, but that never happens if im only hanging for 90secs twice a week. Any advice? Thanks
I can't understand how to do a 4-finger drag. I can do 3 fingers but i feel like my hands just don't work for 4 fingers. Maybe I'm just too weak
the middle two fingers are allowed to be bent. If your fingers are different lengths you wont be able to get them all fully open, the point is keep them as open as possible without any of them coming off
Same. My pinky is significantly shorter, it feels super weird to do 4 finger drag. I can do 3 finger no problem.
Great Video, I like how you go into deph without drifting into geektopia! What is a good indicator in your experience, that one can switch to smaller holds in his/her hangboard training? I have difficulty determining the right amount of strain on my fingers - if I go with what feels good, i don't feel like I trained to my capacity afterwards. If I go with what feels hard, my pulleys start to hurt.
I lack pinch strength, what do you do for thumbs to get better at pinching?
If you haven't already seen Eric Hörst's videos I highly recommend them. Here's a video of his that helped me building pinch strength.
ruclips.net/video/Oc4E02AfQP8/видео.html
Dave, do you know if the "shoulders engaged" position during hang has any merit? Everywhere on the internet people claim that relaxing the shoulders will lead to soft tissue injury, however the only research I was able to find on this indicated that deadhanging was, if anything, beneficial for back and shoulder pain.
I think it was on a lattice video, but another rationale for engaged shoulders is that it's very beneficial to build strength in that position. When climbing, you're much more often in positions with engaged shoulders than totally deadhanging. As for shoulder health, my guess is that it varies from person to person depending on morphology and injuries and whatnot.
Hi Dave,
what's your opinion on doing one-armed hangs with feet still on the ground? as in taking a fairly small edge (one you can't hold bodyweight with on one hand) and with elbow bent pulling down as hard as you can.
Cheers, love the vids!
Oh yeah this is fine!
Is it normal to be able to bend your pinky finger separate from the other fingers (as in a three-finger drag)? I cannot do this and it's really frustrating me right now!
Hi Dave it’s been a long time Question from Paul Niland so many Show bent arm and others are straight arm. Your thoughts
Hey Paul! I'm not sure if it matters, or perhaps starting from a straight arm and pulling up is good. That's what I do a lot of the time. But my arms are quite weak.
Woah woah woah, this is weird.
With all this coronavirus stuff i decided to start hangboarding.
I was literally just watching the old Hangboarding video like a couple hours ago, and now this is out!
thanks for the video Dave. What are your thoughts on the effectiveness of hanging fingerboards? i know many people are in the same position as me and we can only hang via cord for one reason or another. i'm using a pair of crusher orbs. thanks
That are fine, just stay on point with the form (not too much swinging around while holding small edges, especially if you are not already at quite a robust level of finger strength. I actually meant to put a shot of me using my own rope mounted hangboard in the video.
i know this is a stupid question, but when you say „do one set“, does that mean, doing „one repetition“(hanging for a few seconds), or does it mean that you hang for a few seconds and repeat that a few times which than equals a set..?
By 1 set it is meant 1 hang. So if you said 2 set of say 10s hangs it means hang 2 times for 10s per hang with chosen rest between sets/hangs.
You can chose to hang multiple times per set. Like 7/3 repeaters. Which is often hang for 7s then rest for 3s and do that 6 times. Which means you would hang for a total of 1min per set.
Ive probably made it more comfusing haha my bad. But in this im sure he meant 1 set is 1 hang... hope that helps
Not at all! The latter is most correct. A rep is your first pull on plus rest. So if you were doing 7 seconds on and 3 seconds rest that's 1 rep, if you do this 6 times (or however many times you like depending on what you are aiming for) it equates to 1 minute or 1 set. I normally do this for 3-5 sets if training FB on it's own. Theres many alternative timing depending what you are training 7 on 53 off for 5 for max weight hangs for instance. Train on my friend
@@timignatov7394 6x 7 second reps is not 1 minute 🙈 the total set (7 hang+ 3 rest)x 6 times is 1 minute that's 1 set 👌🏻 its infinitely variable obviously
Ye i may have screwd that up haha. Look what im trying to say is this. Ive tried 7/3 repeaters from the crimped app. Ive tried max hangs for 7s with weight and then rest for 4 mins and ive tried Daves method of hang until failier and (for me rest for 2 mins then repeat 3 times). And after a month of each i noticed the biggeat difference fron Daves excersises.
His way is much more variable in the moment. No matter if you feel heavy or super strong that day you just hang until failier and you are garanteed a good workout!
Ps this isnt my first hangboard work out i really have tried a few and have been doing it for more than a year, the pay off is crazy good! All you need to do is stick to it
Good question! Seems some people use the word differently. When I say 1 set I mean 1 hang. There are no reps really, since we are not lifting a weight repeatedly for example.
Great video from Dave as usual, I'm still struggling with one aspect of hangboarding and form . I hear a lot about engaging the shoulders and not hanging purely off your shoulder joints . If I do what I consider to be engaging my shoulders (very slight pull up, slight angle at the elbow) it makes each hang twice as hard, I shake and actually feel slight discomfort in my shoulders . Using that 'form' I can barely complete the Beastmaker 5A routine . Using straight arms I complete the routine with ease .
Am I doing something wrong ?
(I predominantly climb in the gym, projecting 7a on lead, bouldering up to V5)
its important to not let your shoulders just be loose. its bad for your shoulders. this has to be trained aswell with "scapula pullups" just search it on youtube and you'll find some tutorials on what and why.
its harders because you have to engage more muscles wich in your case are not strong enough to handle the load that your fingers can handle.
(not english sry if i grammared wrong :) )
The beastmaker app benchmarks + grip types seem to be wayyyy off, from everybody I talked about it.
Can you do a max strength fingerboard training and a climbing session in one day?
I don't think he said the edge sizes, but it seems they are 45mm, 21mm and 15mm
I have noticed in my hangboarding a while ago that I was jamming my fingers into the hangboard holds (instead of on the finger tips), to make crimping easier. I dont know if I am holding on the holds/pockets correctly
That was one reason I designed the Edge Hangboard with open rungs rather than pockets. But other than this, take the rung in a way that feels comfortable.
Hi Dave,
Do you supplement your fingerboarding with any pinch grip training? I've just made a pinch block to work on what I reckon is a big weakness of mine. Would you follow a similar protocol for max hangs/ repeaters? And would you add the training into a board session or try and separate it?
Cheers!
Ed Thomsett interested in this as well.
The chalking up of the skin and/or brushing is stressed as important to not slip off from the rungs - but I experience almost the opposite. That is, the indoor dryness makes my wooden hangboard, a beastmaker, feel very slippery and I have actually tried out spraying some water on it to increase friction on for example a 20mm edge. Some days it feels too risky to hang there and I rather move on to a larger edge and add on some weight to approach the right intensity. Is this me being too weak by relying on better friction to be able to hang? Do I just need to get stronger or are there any other tricks to overcome this?
Haha sounds like we are at opposite ends of the spectrum of finger sweatiness. For sure some people with pretty dry skin have issues with 'dry firing'. Sticking to a larger edge is probably a good solution.
Hello Dave, would you every chose a home training session over climbing in a gym or at a crag?
Is having sore forearms the day after train/climb good or bad?
All 'it depends' questions. If a relative beginner then movement on rock is always a huge priority. But why not just hang board on days you can't get to the crag? Soreness is neither good or bad. If you deviate rapidly from homeostasis it's inevitable after training. Mostly that's good but being permanently sore might indicate too fast a progression or issues with adequate recovery strategy.
Hi Dave, thank you! Unfortunately I bought a board two weeks ago and may have already broken rule #1. Soreness in the MP joint of both index fingers after 12 second hangs on 25mm edge, not very painful and can bend fine but feels a bit off. I wasn't climbing much in the gym before all this, mostly slab.
Is soreness something to be worried about? What do you recommend for people who do experience such minor (hopefully) injuries? Should we lay off the hangboard completely or could we still do low intensity hangs? Thank you again for all your advice.
Philip Acuna Hi Philipp, you might want to check out Tyler Nelson‘s (C4HP) stuff. He‘s a doctor specializing in climbing rehab & training. I had great results recovering from several tweaks / injuries with his methods. Mainly doing longer hangs (around 30-45 seconds) to failure. (Failure meaning that you go to the limit of how long you can hold on but still let go under control! Grit your teeth and try hard but don‘t slip off!) These give you a good training effect (Dave mentions the same approach in the video) but also allow your tendons to realign and grow stronger. (google Tyler‘s articles for the real explanations ;-)
Not a straightforward question to answer and since it depends on so many factors, I'm reluctant to offer general thoughts in a comment. But yes of course its worth being concerned about even minor injuries, because they can become serious ones, and can be a signal of something needing to be changed in your routine. They can also be just minor and go away. The point is, you monitor and always use the signal to question what you are doing. If you went from slabs to hangboards, maybe it was just too abrupt. A bit of rest to let an aggravated joint settle, followed by a more gentle and steady progression might be the way forward. But only you know the severity of the injury.
@@climbermacleod Hi Dave, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I've erred on the side of caution, basic mobility exercises (tendon glides, rice buckets, etc.) have helped immensely and the fingers no longer feel tweaky. Will start hanging on the jugs for the next few weeks to build up strength more slowly. Overall resuming basic movements asap following injuries has changed my recovery times significantly, along with rest, good sleep, diet etc All the best.
@@BrunoAxhausen Hi Bruno, thank you for the recommendation. The longer hang protocol seems like a good way forward at the moment, especially considering I'll be hanging off larger holds for a while. Cheers!
What do you think about finger/wrist exercises using rice as a resistance aka. rice bucket training?
Oskarosaurus my opinion would be stick to bouldering, fingerboard, rings, campus board.
Hi Dave, thanks for the great video! I've been hangboarding on and off for about a year but now consistently for about a month and my smallest hold (the small width of a hockey stick, since that's what i made my hangboard with) is too easy for 2 hands (ive been doing 12sec on/2min off x5, x5 with 4min rest, and I never feel even remotely close to failure) so i guess I'll move on to 1 hand on my larger hold (large width of a hockey stick). How would I incorporate separate hangs for my individual arms? Do I do one and then the other right after or do I need to rest in between hangs with the different arms?
Thanks!
I think as long as you can maintain the mental focus to try equally hard, you can just do them mediately one after the other. Might want to start with the weaker hand each time.
💪🏼Awesome 💪🏼
Thank you for the information! One question : what is your opinion on hanging with straight arms ? Are your arms "locked" or do you keep a very slight bend? Different people on the internet advocate either completely straight arms, others say it will injure the elbow structure in the long run, so a slight bend is necessary to avoid injury. Where do you stand on the issue? Many thanks.
I did discuss this in the video, and in my how to hangboard video. I like to use a bent arm so you can drop slowly down as you approach failure point. But I think straight is probably okay as well. I have not seen any hard data to suggest that it is critical either way.
Thanks, I had noticed that you tackled the issue in the video, I should have mentioned that I was talking about it more so in the context of "real climbing", does it change anything?
@@MrAfricaturtle Oh right. I have not seen any evidence that hanging with a relaxed arm during climbing is more or less risky that doing something else. I am perfectly happy to hang on a relaxed arm when climbing efficiency demands this.
@@MrAfricaturtle I'd always tuck the shoulder in (caught some problems from not doing it). And actively bend the ellbow a bit on nasty dynamic moves, to have some room to actively catch the acceleration.
I really struggle with warming up. It normally takes me only 30mins to warm up on a climbing wall by doing a series of easy and moderate boulders but on a fingerboard I don't seem to ever reach the point where I can comfortably use the small edges without fear of injury. I try to warm up by doing a lot of pull ups on jugs but as soon as I touch the smaller edges I feel like I can't pull at all. Any ideas what I could be doing wrong?
Ok, I've been playing around on my beastmaker 1000 and I think I realised the issue. When I hang on the 20mm edges (lowest ones) with 4 fingers my index fingers are bent while my little finger is barely on and I get pain in my left wrist I think due to a minor TFCC tear. I guess that means I have shorter pinky fingers than Dave? When I change my grip to a 3 finger drag I can hang much more comfortably (though for less time). I guess because hangboards have a very flat profile whereas climbing holds tend to be rounded I have not noticed this issue until now...
It may be the pull ups. While they do a good job of warming up your upper body, your fingers are still hanging on jugs. So when you go on to deadhangs / pullups on smaller holds that step up in intensity may be too big. Maybe do a couple pullups on jugs first. Then some repeaters on smaller holds but with your feet on a chair. (This can feel really easy, it‘s just a warm up!!) Then maybe keep the feet on the chair, but shift a little more weight onto your hands. Then maybe some easy hangs on the bigger slots of the beastmaker. And so on... Keep increasing the load for a few rounds. Then rest a few minutes and see how it feels. (Personally, I don‘t even like to start with pullups, I start even easier with foot on deadhangs and do pull ups later in the warm up) Hope this helps, cheers, Bruno
Work on those grip types under less load until you get comfortable using them.
How about endurance? Is there any effect in gaining or loosing endurance in case of fingerboarding? While Corona i tend to use the board very often. But its only strength, getting no bump into the arms. So i am afraid in loosing endurance. Any trick to keep the endurance lvl, over 1-2 Month not climbing?
Check out this video from Climb Strong:
ruclips.net/video/2-aD_5brixE/видео.html
Michael Gollner can’t you build a board? It can be free standing and doesn’t need to be big.
Feet-on fingerboard hand play. While it sounds risque, it is quite boring but a good way to build pump. Set a timer for 3-5 minutes or whatever you prefer, with feet on, work around the fingerboard on different size edges, shake out on a bigger edge when you need to, then continue "climbing". If possible, set up a couple of chairs or table or something to move your feet around to. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
what is your opinion on training endurance with a fingerboard
Kole Hicks I will address this in another vid. Short answer, I’m not a fan but maybe better than doing nothing if there is truly absolutely no way to climb anything.
The next day, or even a few hours after a session i don't feel fatigued anymore and I'm not sure if I'm training wrong or if it doesn't matter. I thought that I have to feel the muscle soreness the next day in order to get stronger.
Definitely not. This is a completely different ballgame from working out a muscle and feeling sore. If you're feeling acutely sore, you've way overdone it.
@@gmpilot Ok. Thank you.
Muscle soreness generally happens if you do an exercise you are not used to. Alternatively, it might happen if you don't recover properly. For example, if you train and then stay up late eating bad food and then train again the next day after a poor sleep. With that said, a little muscle soreness from time to time is to be expected when training. It's really the changes in it over time that are the thing to watch.
Do you think training drag holds increases crimp strength? Or are the two mostly unrelated. Do you ever train fingers in isolation? I feel like my pinky is a slacker
Eric McElyea I‘d say it‘s probably more the other way round. It‘s certainly good to get used to both, but if you can half crimp, the drag should probably feel a bit easier (since a bit more of your weight is hanging on the skin of your fingers...) Also depends on your favourite style of climbing. If you climb a lot on pockets where crimping is not possible it may be better to train the drag more often... Regarding the isolation: Training the front three and back three fingers seperately is definitely worth doing, since depending on your finger length these two positions might perform very differently!
The overlap in training effective is likely not zero. But you certainly will miss out on gains by not covering them and prioritising weak areas.
Dave, what's your opinion on pinch training? Is it something you work on? Or do your projects not involve pinches so you neglect it?
Yes of course I work on pinches! On my board. If you really cannot build a board, then a pinch block is an alternative.
@@climbermacleod Thanks for replying and putting out so much great content! Which board? The one in the video?
Your board refers to your climbing wall, doesn't it? Can't do that in current circumstances :(
@@lukeelliott5921 Yes. Bummer - so a pinch block is the way forward. Any suitably sized cube of wood with a weight attached is fine.