THE hangboard routine you should know!
Today i’m going to show you a really Basic finger strength workout that any Climber can do but i’m also going to Teach you how to avoid many of the Mistakes climbers seem to make when Trying to gain finger strength This session is going to include eight Sets of hangs in a half print position The intensity is going to build up Really slowly and then i’m going to do Two working sets i’m going to follow That with three longer duration hangs at An easy intensity using a different grip Position which will be explained later In the video so firstly you’re going to Need the setup you’re using i’ve just Got a basic fingerboard some harness and A load of weights ready i’ve got a timer On my phone that’s ready and i’m going To record the loads that i’m using on The phone and like i said this is really Basic so i’ve got nothing planned out Yet i have no idea what loads i’m going To use i’m going to show you how to Figure it out throughout the session Before you do any of the lifts or hangs In this session i would recommend doing A general warm-up and i’m still going to Do a warm-up as part of this session but Just some general pull-ups or climbing Around on the wall or even just climbing Around on the fingerboard it’s a really Good way to get your fingers ready However
One of the key things that everyone gets Wrong is how to build up in a session Correctly so we’re going to start with That now so as i said earlier i’m going To be using additional weights i think During this session however the first Two sets are going to be nice and easy And because they’re going to be easy i’m Only going to rest around one minute Between each set Each set lasts 10 seconds and has only one rep involved So it’s going to be a 10 second hang i’m Going to keep my feet on the ground Really easy and just try and get myself Nice and ready for the specific hang or Exercise i’m gonna do now So time is on and we’re gonna go for the Hang [Music] Nice So that was really really easy for me to Be able to do i kept my feet on the Ground and If i was giving it a number out of 10 in Terms of effort i’d probably say that’s A three out of ten so Fingers that feel a little bit creaky to Be honest i climbed yesterday And they feel a little bit creaky in the Joints and stuff but that’s absolutely Fine because the intensity is so low i’m Gonna have one minute rest and then Repeat the same thing again
[Music] Cool So Same thing again that was probably like A three out of ten effort it actually Felt a little bit better than the one Before even though the intensity was Exactly the same If you’re doing any lifts or one arm Hangs the same principle applies so go Really really easy for the first two Sets now i’m going to start building up A little bit more so for me i’m going to Take my feet off the ground and do a Body weight hang for the next two sets If that’s quite challenging for you and A little bit too difficult at this stage You can keep your feet on the ground and Increase the intensity more slowly if You do need lifts or one arm hangs the Same principle applies just make sure It’s an incremental step of difficulty So next 10 seconds set three and feet Off the ground for me [Music] Cool so Same thing again actually my fingers Today are feeling um a little bit Cold so then taking a while to warm up But that’s totally fine the intensity Still means that it’s nice and safe for Me to do this at this stage i’m going to Do one more set of bodyweight hangs And i’m going to rest for two minutes
Now before that set now the next set Should feel a bit easier if it doesn’t Then i’m going to think about what to do In the rest of the session but if it Does feel easier then i’m going to Progress the weight again Cool so that actually felt quite good That guy so It means i can increment the intensity For the next set Before i go on to uh number five the Hangs and my fingers are starting to Feel a bit warmer So i’m moving on to weighted hangs now Now my maximum intensity my max testing Score I haven’t done it in a little while so I’m not actually sure what my maximum 100 effort load is Also i’m not trying to reach that today I’m just trying to reach a challenging Load a really key element and mistake That people make is they stick with a Structure even when they don’t quite Feel right throughout the session itself So it’s worth being flexible and being Able to adapt so for the next two sets Of hangs i’m going to use an additional Five kilos of load this feels like a Nice incremental gain it doesn’t feel Like too much but i’m also going to just See how i feel if i want more time to Warm up and do even more hangs totally Fine but the idea is that i’m still just
Building up nice and slowly until i feel Ready to do a heavier load Cool salesman that wasn’t too bad Um It still feels quite challenging like i Said And for me today i’m actually feeling Like i don’t want to go too high and the Idea is i was planning on reaching 8 out Of 10 of effort That for me probably feels around 5 to 6 out of 10 of effort because i’m Starting to recruit my fingers so it Feels like that first set of the body Weight hangs and generally your sort of Perception of intensity will spike up For the first of a new load and then Drop back down a little bit as you start Recruiting And this kind of zigzag happens more and More as you get higher and higher Towards your maximum load and the Maximum training load for that session What i’m going to do and the mistake That i’m going to avoid Is trying to push my body too much when I’m not feeling it today What i’m going to do instead is rather Than increase the load for the sixth set I’m going to keep the same load again See how my body feels and then increase The load for the last two sets depending On how i feel Cool
So As i guessed That still felt relatively challenging For me the intensity didn’t drop down i Didn’t feel make it didn’t feel easier By doing it twice So it means i’m going to increment Increment the load a little bit but not As much as perhaps i would have done if I was feeling really good today If that felt really easy i would have Ramped up the load quite a bit more so What i’m going to do is add another 10 Kilos on which is still very manageable Load for me from my past experience But i think i’m only going to go to that Intensity today because that’s what’s Right for me the last mistake that is Worth discussing and this is the one That everyone seems to make whether You’re a v5 climber or a v15 climber Is it’s really really easy to try and Test yourself to your maximum load every Session I know that sounds really stupid but it Happens so much i’ve done it in the past And it’s something which at the time Doesn’t seem like such a big deal Because you’re hanging on a fingerboard Relatively slowly the likelihood of Injury in the session is relatively low And i really do believe that Fingerboarding is a pretty safe exercise To do
However If you push yourself to maximum all the Time testing out the system seeing how Good you feel That training load does start to add up Week in week out it adds on to all the Climbing you’re doing it starts to add Up to your body’s Ability to recover between sessions and Even though you feel like you might be Progressing It usually leads to over training and Injury further down the line so if you Can learn one thing from this Is make sure that you don’t test the Maximum every time [Music] [Music] So that was actually pretty manageable i Don’t want to push it any further today I still feel like i’m trying quite hard So i’m gonna do another hang of this If i felt like i was hanging it sort of Nine out of ten effort or there was Creeping into being a bit maximal you Know when you get a bit shaky I’d just put my feet down Finish the set there Carried on the same rest period of three Minutes and then reduced the weight Slightly back down to probably 10 kilos And trying to make sure that i’ve got That really good quality full 10 seconds Of hanging because that was a plan for
Today Cool So once again This load is generally quite light for Me based on previous fingerboard Experience however today that was Absolutely perfect I’ve done eight hangs in total two of Them were pretty tricky the other six Were a nice slow build up and i could Have changed it up a little bit to make It like a more linear build up so Changing load every set but i personally Like doing two sets on each the next Thing that i’m going to add in is how to Increase your performance on other grip Types and maximize your training session So Using this half crimp in this positive Grip position Will get you really good at that Positive grip position however to keep a Little bit of extra health in a more Open position i’m going to do just a Couple of overcoming isometrics with Feet on the ground so 20 to 30 seconds Of front three drag just going to hang In that position with around two minutes Rest between each the intensity is going To be pretty low but what it’s going to Do is after doing all of those half four Finger crimp hangs i’m going to just Open up my hands a little bit and just Make sure that i’m not becoming really
Detrained in this position so it keeps Your body used to it and it also Feels quite nice in the forearms and Stretches your hands out a little bit so The reason we’re going to go for 20 to 30 seconds Is it just gives you uh your body time Just get used to that position and i Find it really really good in terms of Training an open grip position at a Really light load having already been Fully recruited in that more positive Position You can do this either way round but i Do find a positive grip position at the Start of the session In the higher loads followed by an open Grip position a lighter load is really Really beneficial for your climbing and Really keeps good Finger health throughout the training Season and that’s it that’s the session Complete so to summarize that is eight Hangs in a half crimp four finger Position Two arm hangs six sets of building up And only two sets are working Now the reason i’ve done that again is Because it’s a really nice build up you Get to fully recruit and you can adapt The loads in the session depending on How you feel please don’t make that Mistake don’t just set out with really Strict guidelines on what weights you
Should use and then not adapt it on how You’re feeling that day Following the eight hangs i’ve done Three hangs of Longer duration and lower intensity in An open grip position i’m looking after My finger health and making sure i don’t Become de-recruited completely in this Open grip position this is a nice Generic training session which is really Good to just build up general strength You can use it throughout the training Season and depending on your experience You can do it up to sort two three four Times a week depending on how much Climbing you’re doing as well so if i Was climbing quite frequently i would Probably do this session Maybe once or twice a week but if i Wasn’t climbing very much so If i was climbing less than three times A week you could do this session far More The key element of being able to do this Session so frequently is the fact that You’re adapting the loads you’re using Depending on how you feel that session So that is the key element of this Always adapt and be flexible depending On how you feel that session i hope you Found that really useful and if you’d Like to see more from us make sure to Like and subscribe and we’ll see you Next time
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