Hangboard Training Program – José Antonio
José Antonio is a highly motivated climber from Mexico who likes both lead climbing and bouldering alike. When José Antonio and I met in June, he’d been climbing for over three years, and his personal best was 5.12a/7a+. After two months of following the program, he quickly sent his first two 5.12b/7b routes, and now he’s hungry for more!
Since José Antonio was completely new to hangboard training, I decided to put him on a long and easy adaptation cycle to ensure that he doesn’t become overtrained or injured. The cycle was a mix of weighted hangs, Endurance Repeaters, Moonboarding, and lead climbing. Despite the seemingly low hangboarding volume, José Antonio improved his strength and aerobic endurance significantly, allowing him to enter the 5.12b/7b grade.
Here's what José Antonio says about the Program:
Results of Cycle 1 (Strength/Endurance – Adaptation)
When José Antonio started the program, his MVC-7 on a 20 mm edge was 117%, and his Critical Force (CF) was only 28%, which is very low for a lead climber. After five months of an adaptation training cycle, his MVC-7 load increased by a remarkable 7 kg! In parallel, he managed to improve his CF to 35% MVC-7, which is a much more acceptable value.
José Antonio is now ready for his training loads and volume to be carefully increased to ensure that he keeps progressing evenly without hitting a plateau.
Table 1: Hangboard Training Program progress.
| Beginning (07.2020) | After Cycle 1 (12.2020) | |
|---|---|---|
| Completed cycle | Just Climbing | Strength/Endurance Adaptation |
| MVC-7 (20 mm) [kg] | 77 | 84 |
| Body weight [kg] | 66 | 71 |
| MVC-7 (20 mm) [%BW] | 117% | 119% |
| CF [%MVC-7] | 28% | 35% |
| CF [%BW] | 32% | 42% |
| CF [kg] | 21 | 29 |
| Score | 829 | 906 |
| Bouldering level prediction | V4 (6B) | V4 (6B+) |
| Current bouldering level | V5 (6C) | V5 (6C) |
| Lead level prediction | 5.11d (7a) | 5.12b (7b) |
| Current lead level | 5.12a (7a+) | 5.12b (7b) |
Figure 1: Critical Force as percentage of MVC-7 – progress plots.
Figure 2: Critical Force as percentage of bodyweight – progress plots.
