No.1 Training Method of Pro Climbers

No.1 Training Method of Pro Climbers

Training Boards seem to continually be gaining popularity among the masses. Helped along by the catalyst of modern commercial boards like Kilter, Moon and Tension. And of course the #instagram phenomenon of posting your hard board climbs, #beta #flex. However board climbing has a longer history and has been used as the go-to training method for developing superhuman strength. Jerry Moffatt and Ben Moon, a pair of the strongest climbers of their time, can be seen training on the original moonboard in one of the first ever bouldering movies (The Real Thing). And to this day the strongest climbers in the world use board climbing to reach the upper echelons of climbing performance. Board climbing might just be the best form of strength training for climbing? However, board climbing is intense and not something you can just add to your training from day one. It requires care and consideration to get the most out of this method and avoid injury. So in today’s episode of Fundamentals we cover some basic principles you need to know for board climbing. We also give you two training sessions that are excellent for developing your strength and power; project session and tension session.


Board climbing is widely used by a lot Of pro athletes because it is known as One of the best ways to develop pure Strength and power we’re back to the Fundamental series and today we’re Covering board climbing [Music] My name is josh hadley and i’m here with Jen wood jen is an excellent board Climber much better than myself so i’ve Got her in today to talk us through the Fundamentals of ward climbing we’re at The defoe sheffield today because They’ve got an excellent variety of Training boards from 30 degrees all the Way up to 50 degrees so before we get to Some specific sessions you can do on a Board i’ll talk you through some of the Key things to remember so board climbing Is normally a really intense session so It’s really important that you’re really Warmed up so we’re recommending five to Eight board climbs to start your session These should also be really well known Climbs as this will help you gauge how You’re feeling that day and whether you Might need to adjust the intensity of The session however if you’re new to Board climbing or you’re on a Particularly challenging board it might Be that the easier climbs are already a High intensity In this case we’d recommend warming up On other climbs around the centre okay

So point number two is to have a Stopwatch handy because you don’t have To move around the wall between attempts It’s really easy to rush your rest time Because of the high intensity of these Climbs it’s super important to get Enough rest between attempts specific Rest times will vary depending on the Session so watch till the end to find Out don’t focus on grades on a board Board climb is a great example why the Grades are really subjective While grades are great for measuring Progress every board will be slightly Different and don’t be afraid to drop The grade in order to work on problems That you find hard board climbing is Very intense if you’re new to board Climbing you won’t need to do very much At all to yield really good results so It’s really important to build up the Volume slowly it’s all about quality not Quantity with board climbing even Experienced climbers may only use a Board twice a week so try and gauge what Volume yields the best results for you We can’t recommend climbing with other People on a board enough it really helps You try hard and push you out of your Comfort zone with new moves and new hole Types it can also make the session much More enjoyable But remember not to get carried away if They’re much more experienced on the

Board than you remember to finish before You get too fatigued the first session We’re going to focus on is projecting This is a form of limit bouldering and It is excellent for working your top end Maximum strength and power development We’re going to manipulate the number of Moves and the style of holds in this Session to either focus on weaknesses or Work towards a specific project a Projecting session is very focused and We’re going to be working on two to Three problems in the session maximum And in each of those we’re going to Spend roughly 20 minutes working those This session is gonna need a lot of Resting for really high quality attempts Resting somewhere between three to five Minutes within a projecting session we Can have three different levels or three Different intentions First we’re thinking about working limit Moves Then we’re working limit sequences and Finally limit boulder problems within a Project in session it’s important to Include some variety although you’re Going to limit the number of boulder Problems you have try to vary the climb Say for example doing something that Focus on pinches then maybe crimps or Dynamic moves versus small static moves Lastly don’t get frustrated if you can’t Climb moves or you don’t achieve certain

Sequences the aim of this session is to Be very high intensity and you’re likely To carry through these boulder problems Or even single moves into multiple Sessions our body tension session is a Great way to focus on footwork and Specific tension moves while climbing Hard many climbers often choose to jump Between holds and this can be a very Efficient movement pattern however it Often leads climbers to biasing this Style of movement and actually lacking The ability to hold really hard tension Moves when the holes get smaller Inevitably you’re going to need to Require lots of tension to do hard moves This session is all about your ability To hold tension through your core and Legs for this session you’re going to Choose well-known projects you’ve Already completed however the aim here Is to repeat these projects without Cutting loose at all maintaining tension Throughout the whole boulder problem if You do cut loose this doesn’t count as a Completed attempt to make this Challenging you’re looking to doing big Moves and getting into extended Positions remember holding tension Through these moves and not cutting Loose unlike the projecting session in This session you’re looking at much Higher completion rate of boulder Problems so you’re looking to send most

Of your climbs without cutting loose by The end of this session this has been The fundamentals of board climbing if You enjoyed the session please don’t Forget to like and subscribe and we’ll See you next time [Music] You

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