[SeanBaek]

I just have a quick question and I am trying to get ideas for an upcoming deployment. I am deploying for an extended period of time to a location that doesn’t have climbing walls or access to a gym. However, I will have a full gym and I am taking my Tension Flash board with me. What exercises would ya’ll recommend I employ to maintain/build upon my current climbing endurance/power? My goal over the next year is to onsight 5.12 using passive protection only, and I do not want to loose gains I have already made, or waste valuable training time. This project isn’t something I will be able to attempt until I return, but due diligence with research and preperation is something I’ll be focused on while I am gone. Thanks for the input.

Topic

[David Thompson]

David Thompson on September 28, 2019 at 9:53 am #29166

Sean, one of our custom plans would be a great way to get you started.

But, to make this a bit more concrete you will want to focus on the Big Three:
Fingers; Pulling; Core
This can be done with a few basic pieces of equipment: Hang board; Pull up bar; Suspension trainer (TRX for example)

Fingers: It can be difficult to train endurance on a hang board, you will likely have more performance gains by using the hang board to train strength.

There are a number of workouts that you should consider cycling through.

Here is an article that outlines how to perform pulls that are climbing-specific:
Here

Core:
A great climbing-specific core exercise is the hanging leg raise.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Jo]

Jo on September 28, 2019 at 10:01 pm #29181

Thanks for the question and reply!

Are there any good methods to maintain endurance when you only have access to a gym (i.e. with free weights etc) and hangboard? I have done barbell finger rolls in the past with low weight/high reps and so far that’s the only thing that mimics the forearm pump that I get climbing…

Also-not sure if it’s just my computer but the link to the pull up article didn’t work for me.

I am spending a lot of time this winter working in places without a climbing gym, but easy access to a full gym and I purchased a portable hangboard, so this question and the reply are super helpful. Thanks again!

[David Thompson]

David Thompson on September 29, 2019 at 11:38 am #29198

Hi Jo,

I believe I fixed the link above.

To answer your question, Steve wrote an excellent article on endurance hang boarding. Keep in mind that the protocol he suggests builds strength and endurance but doesn’t entirely isolate either. You could certainly try a similar protocol on your portable hang board.

To circle back around to Sean’s original question about training endurance and power specifically, keep in mind that power is the product of force x velocity, so in aiming to train power means erring on the side of quick, dynamic movements. Proper form is imperative for dynamic movements and that form is built by strengthening a given movement by doing it slowly and consciously first, then adding speed to it.

An element of speed can be added to any of the above exercises contained in the links, but with hang boarding it is trickier because finger power is essentially what we call “contact strength” and that is generally not trained on a hang board. One way you could train contact strength on a hang board is to jump from some distance to the hang board and latch its holds at speed, hang them for a couple seconds and release; three to five times per set, with at least three minutes of rest in between sets; work toward latching smaller and smaller holds, and/or jumping from greater distances to the hang board.

[Jo]

Jo on October 2, 2019 at 11:15 am #29324

Great thanks for the advice!

[DCMosley]

DCMosley on December 21, 2019 at 3:19 pm #34788

Guys, you are awesome. Thanks!