Fingerboard Training, 2011 Edition

I’m often asked about fingerboard training, since local folks know I spend far too much time hanging from a plank of wood in my basement, so I figured I could simply record my workouts (both actual planned) here and just send along a link when someone asks.

Most of my workouts are patterned after the various Beastmaker training manifestos. The great/confusing thing about the Beastmaker advice is that each document is a bit different, and assigns different meanings to words. Of course, a year later, and word of their workouts is out, so it’s not as difficult to find a sensible set of exercises. My routines have morphed a bit over the past year, especially after the purchase of a Beastmaker 2000 board, which provides a better set of grips for sensible training.

The core of my workouts, regardless of intensity, are repeaters and encores. The structure of a repeater set is:

Hang for 7 seconds
Rest for 3 seconds
Repeat 6 times

Six? Why six, you ask? The Beastmaker boys recommend seven repetitions, right? Well, kinda. Ned Feehally recommends six as it’s easier to track on the watch. If I’m on the clock, I stop the timer, and begin hanging at 3 seconds. Following the pattern, that means at one minute (aka 60 seconds), I’ve completed my set. No need to count reps, just watch the clock.

I do a minimum of four sets, with eight minutes of rest between sets.

So, what grips? Well, that depends. Repeaters can be done two ways: dead hangs, or varying arm angles. Dead hangs are pretty simple: just hang from the given grip during each repetition. This is the way to “break in” new grips, and it’s likely I wouldn’t be able to make it through a whole set initially[1]. These exercises build finger strength, pure and simple.

By varying your arm angle between reps, however, you can work on lock-off strength, too. This tends to require a bit more comfort with a given grip (that is, if you can barely deadhang a given hold, how you do expect to hold it at full lock?), so I back off a bit from my maximum. As far as arm angles for the exercises, here’s my guide:

Rep 1: 140 degrees (barely bent)
Rep 2: 90 degrees
Rep 3: Full lock
Rep 4: 140 degrees
Rep 5: 90 degrees
Rep 6: Full lock

Now, on to the encores….

The Beastmaker site defines these differently, depending on which bloke is writing. I treat these as deadhang exercises with grips that I can barely hold without assistance. The structure of a set is:

Hang for 5 seconds
Rest for 10 seconds
Repeat 4 times

If you can easily make it through a set, you’re doing it wrong. Change grips, remove fingers, add weight–just do something to make it more difficult.

So how do I put this all together? Well, it depends on what I’m trying to accomplish. At the moment, I’m finishing up my initial phase of board training for the winter. I didn’t work on the board much in the fall, since we were doing routes, so I’m easing my fingers back into the swing of things. A typical workout looks something like this:

Warm up (critical–about 15 minutes of various exercises and hangs. I do jumping jacks–really!)
Repeaters: Sets look like this at the moment:
* Front 3, good rail (lock-offs)
* Back 3, good rail (lock-offs)
* 4 fingers, small rail (lock-offs)
* 4 fingers, 35 degree sloper (hangs)

(Various finger grips are described here)

Depending on how I feel, I may add additional sets of the 3 finger exercises, or add a lock-off set on the 20 degree sloper.

Encores
* Back 2 on deep pocket
* Front 2 on medium pocket
* Mid 2 on small pocket
* 4 fingers on 35 degree sloper with no progression techniques (nestles, pinching, etc)
* Back 3 on small rail
* Front 3 on small rail

Typically I’ll also repeat the pocket exercises. Yes, hanging from your ring and pinkie fingers is a bit scary. Take it easy on new grips when those fingers are involved!

When I start my next phase in January, after a brief rest period (maybe seven days), my repeater sets will shift to more difficult grips. Ideally, the three finger exercises will shift to the small rail, and I’ll integrate two finger pocket sets, too. My encore sets will shift to my “project” grips: the 45 degree sloper and sloping two finger pockets (can’t even dream of hanging these yet). I’ll likely do super-sets of repeaters as well.

One thing to note: I don’t crimp on the fingerboard. Ever. Not even half crimps. Everything is open handed. I figure I spend enough time at the gym bouldering, so I can work on my crimping there. No need to ruin my season (again) in my basement. If you are careful, fingerboarding is fairly safe, as it is far more controlled than bouldering–you’ll never catch a grip in a weird way, nor will you pull in a weird direction. Yes, monos (singe finger hangs) can ruin your season, as can certain two finger exercises, but, again, ease into things and use progression techniques and you should be fine [2]. This should probably go without saying, but you should be fresh heading into a workout. Don’t do one after bouldering at the gym for more than an hour. If your fingers are tired already, you aren’t going to gain much, and you risk injury. Generally, I work on the board two days a week, and both days, it’s the only “climbing” I do.

1: It’s important to view fingerboarding as you would a project–in order to set proper goals for yourself, exercises should be difficult, and some should be just beyond what you’re capable of at any given time.
2: I make no guarantees, however, that you won’t destroy a pulley trying to ease into pinkie monos.