As a climber, the foremost important thing to build endurance and strength is consistency. However, with the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown, gyms around the world have closed down and most climbers don’t know how to maintain the gains they have worked so hard for.
You might have been advised to go for climbing as a source of workout thrice or four times a week. However, in some parts of the world going outside even for activities like climbing is discouraged. Hence, the best way to keep in shape is by coming up with safe ways to load your fingers at home.
According to Tyler Nelson, a climber, exercise scientist, and strength and conditioning specialist in Utah,
“Priority number one is maintaining your finger and large-pull-muscle strength. If we spend all of our time in quarantine doing new types of random workouts, that’s a recipe for injury, and it won’t necessarily translate back to climbing.”
Here’s what you can do to keep up with your gains even if you cannot go to a gym or spend three to four days a week climbing.
Invest in a Hangboard
According to many climbing experts, hangboards are the best way to keep in shape and mimic climbing habits. The best part is, you don’t have to be an experienced climber to make use of this versatile tool. You have the complete freedom to control and customize your workouts by choosing the difficulty level and playing with different-sized grips.
According to Nelson,
“Hang-boarding, by and large for the fingers, is much safer than climbing because we have more control over individual variables like velocity and force vectors.”
You neither have to make rapid movements or jump like you have to do while rock climbing and bouldering. This majorly reduces the risk of foot popping without compromising your gains.
Since the pandemic has created a rift in our daily lives and ripped us off of luxuries like the gym, hangboard has been the front runner. Whether you are an amateur or an advanced climber, it will greatly benefit your climbing practice.
Being self-motivated and pumped up to work out alone at home is something that does not come easily to everyone. Moreover, hangboarding is surprisingly tricky. Some days you feel like you have it under control while somedays you will not be able to hold on to a rather easy edge for a decently long time. The trick is in giving yourself ample time to recover from a strenuous workout.
Here are some of the workouts you can do using a mounted or a portable hangboard to keep up with your climbing gains.
(If you don’t have a hangboard yet or cannot get your hands on one, don’t worry. We have listed some no equipment exercises for you at the end of the article.)
Training with a hangboard
Before starting, it is imperative to understand that progression in bouldering and rock climbing comes from consistency. As far as working out from home is concerned, you need to get in as many high-quality sessions as you can. However, don’t forget that your body needs nutrition and enough rest to be able to progress. If at some time you feel you need another day of rest, don’t feel guilty about it, just take another day off.
The first step is choosing an edge. Preferably, it should mimic a crevice where you can do one arm hang for somewhere around 2-7 seconds. If you can complete 3 sets of 7 second hangs separated by 3 minutes on the edge, then it is too easy. Choose another one.
Once you have decided upon an edge on your hangboard, start with the easier hangs. Our favorites are the openhand position, half-crimp position, and three-finger open-hand position.
Here’s how you should do it.
Three-finger open-hand position
- 3s hang – 30s break (4 sets)
- 6s hang – 30s break (4 sets)
- 9s hang – 30s break (4 sets)
Half-crimp position
- 3s hang – 30s break (4 sets)
- 6s hang – 30s break (4 sets)
- 9s hang – 30s break (4 sets)
Openhand position
- 3s hang – 30s break (4 sets)
- 6s hang – 30s break (4 sets)
- 9s hang – 30s break (4 sets)
If you feel like the workout is becoming too easy for you, start increasing the intensity.
Before starting your workout on the hangboard, it is advised to get your body running with at least 25 to 30 minutes of cardio.
Training for Rock Climbers (Without Hangboard)
If you have not yet invested in a hangboard, you can still maintain your gains. However, you will have to put in some extra effort.
Start off your workout with some stretching followed by cardio to increase your aerobic capacity. You can go for a run or follow an aerobics routine for 25 to 30 minutes.
The key to maintaining your rock-climbing muscle memory without the proper equipment is to stimulate every muscle in your body. You can, of course, dedicate days to each set of muscles.
Here are some of the exercises that have been known to help rock climbers maintain their gains.
Upper body exercises
- Dumbbell shoulder press
- Tricep Dips
- Pull-ups
- Push-ups
- Bicep curls
Core
- Planks
- Hanging leg lifts
- Big kicks
- Crunches
- Bicycle Kicks
- Six inches
Antagonist Muscles
- Elbows back
- Wide stance
- Diamond stance
Conclusion
Even though there are many workout regimes for rock climbers that don’t require hangboards. However, for a more efficient and more progressive workout session, it is advised that you invest in a hangboard. This simple yet efficient tool mimics the stresses of climbing and serves as a great way to carry strength-specific finger exercises.
As mentioned, hangboards have been growing popular amongst the climbing community due to closed gyms. Since hangboards became all the rage, many new manufacturers have started working on developing reasonable yet good quality hangboards. You can now find the best hangboards for a cheap price on both online and offline stores.
As far as hangboard workouts are concerned, make sure you don’t overdo it. Not giving your fingers the rest, they need to heal can result in permanent injuries. If you are a beginner, don’t top four workouts a week. Avid climbers can knock out 5 to 6 workouts a week.
