Ease into Hangboard Training
It has been two weeks since we closed our gym as our part to slow the spread of COVID -19. Since then I have seen hundreds of people training at home on their hangboards. It is amazing to see everyone keeping their energy and spirits up, especially during this tough time. Our goal is to stay healthy, and we hope that this article will help you train at home safely.
There have been many coaches throughout my life that have stressed the concept of building a foundation. Be it fundamental skills of catching a ground ball for baseball, or building up endurance in a swimming pool, the coaches have been consistent in their agreement on this fact: a strong foundation is the key to success in any sport. I want to now pose the following question:
How can I apply the concept of building a foundation to training indoors for climbing?
The answer is to ease into the training cycle with two goals in mind. The first goal is to perfect your technique; the second is to build up your base strength.
When I say technique, I am referring to establishing the proper grip positions for half crimps and open hand crimps. It’s important to ensure that you maintain the proper hand positioning for the duration of your hang. Also, it’s imperative that you keep your shoulders engaged. This means that you should feel your shoulder blades pull back and down, like they’re trying to touch each other, and your shoulders are down and away from your ears. If you don’t engage your shoulders, you risk straining them. Since the intensity of just hanging on a fingerboard is lower than the intensity your fingers experience while climbing, it allows you to perfect your form so that you can train your body to move correctly when you’re actually climbing.
Most of us have not been training on a hangboard for the past couple of years, so our base strength won't be as high as a pro like Sean McColl. In this case we need to build up the base strength by starting with easier exercises. This means not doing maximal, weighted hangs right off the get go. Start with exercises that are submaximal like repeaters, to help build your base strength. Repeaters focus on building endurance and will build strength more gradually, but they help your fingers learn to hold weight without overloading them. Tendons take much longer to strengthen than muscle, so do not expect to see results right away. Training programs for your fingers should stay consistent for 6 - 8 weeks before increasing the difficulty. Finger strength gains are a long term goal and it takes months to see the big gains from them.
Research has shown that the starting weeks of a new training program have some of the highest injury rates for athletes. If you start training at a level that your body is unprepared for, you risk injuring yourself. A progressional style of training allows our bodies to adapt over time, so as the training intensifies we are able to push ourselves a little further. Listen to your body during your training and make sure to take rest days when needed.
Check out our previous article, How Pro Climbers can Inhibit a New Climber’s Development. Pro climbers have extremely intense workouts that can be very dangerous to average climbers. Let the posts from pro climbers inspire you to work hard at your own level, and give you a goal to shoot for. But be honest with your own level of training and plan to start off at a much lower intensity!
Happy Climbing!
Kevin