TRAINING
If your progress hit a plateau and you feel like “just climbing” is not enough anymore, it is time you should consider starting some supplementary training. Here you will find detailed descriptions of the most popular training protocols for developing both strength and endurance.
Eric Hörst Hangboard Moving Hangs climbing training endurance protocol
The Hangboard Moving Hangs (HMH) climbing training protocol was described by Eric Hörst in his book Conditioning for Climbers. Because the intensity of the exercise is rather low, even beginner climbers with a couple of months of training under their belt can give it a try.
The Hangboard Moving Hangs climbing training protocol is a perfect introduction to hangboarding, because it’s safe, it puts less strain on the shoulders than typical dead hangs, and it’s easy to do. This routine is a powerful and versatile technique for developing forearm endurance, and it is worth including in any climber’s training portfolio! I started hangboarding with the Hangboard Moving Hangs climbing endurance protocol myself, and I would recommend it to both beginners and advanced climbers.
One Arm Hangs hangboard training protocol
The One Arm Hangs protocol was made popular by Chris Webb-Parsons, an Australian V15 boulderer. The One Arm Hangs can be particularly useful to climbers who are so strong that they need to add very high loads, even over 50 kg, to make their two-handed hangs challenging enough, and for whom reducing the hold size may at some point become painful. Since the One Arm Hangs protocol is very different from any two-handed hangboard protocol, if you never tried it before, you are likely to notice quick strength gains, owing to the entirely new stimuli it provides. This can make One Arm Hangs the perfect tool whenever you need to break through a plateau.
Finger strength training progress: Steve Bechtel’s 3-6-9 Ladders: part 1
Finger strength is one of the most important, if not the most important aspect of sport climbing and bouldering, so I’m always on the lookout for ways to get stronger. With a single cycle of Steve Bechtel’s 3-6-9 Ladders protocol, I was able to increase my finger strength by 4%, without running any unnecessary risk of getting injured! The finger strength I gained allowed me to send some of my long-term projects on the Moonboard, and solidify my 7A benchmark level! Now I’m starting a second cycle to see how much I can still improve with this extremely effective, but largely underrated hangboard finger strength training protocol. You can find my documented finger strength training progress in this post.
Eva López SubHangs strength endurance protocol
The Eva López SubHangs strength endurance protocol is characterized by long hang times of up to 45 seconds, at relatively low loads, between 55 – 85% MVC-7. This approach is aimed primarily at improving strength endurance and potentially also strength itself, through hypertrophy. The Eva López SubHangs strength endurance protocol is quite similar to the more old fashioned way of hangboard training, where long hangs till failure were preferred. The protocol can be executed in two versions, the minimum edge with no added weight (SubHangs MED) and with added weight (SubHangs MAW). Use this method if you want to reduce recovery times between sustained sections of a route, or if you need to be able to hang on to small holds for longer!
Zlagboard Forearm Endurance Workout
The Zlagboard comes with a built-in Forearm Endurance Workout protocol. The idea behind the method is to generate a severe forearm pump, targeting the anaerobic lactic energy system and improving both the physiological and psychological tolerance to high acidic loads. While not very climbing-specific, the Zlagboard Forearm Endurance Workout might be just what you need to get you through long, hard, and pumpy cruxes. Boulderers may also benefit from faster regeneration between attempts, as well as from muscle hypertrophy caused by growth hormone release triggered by lowered blood pH. Go ahead and give the Zlagboard Forearm Endurance Workout a try if you like suffering, but keep your climbing goals in mind!
Steve Bechtel’s 3-6-9 Ladders hangboard finger strength training
Steve Bechtel designed his 3-6-9 Ladders protocol as an effective and safe strength training method that can be used both off-season and during the season, while not leading to overtraining or injury. His idea was to reduce the load to the necessary minimum and progress the volume instead. But that does not mean that the loads used are light! Try an 8-week cycle with Steve Bechtel’s 3-6-9 Ladders protocol to trigger both neural and structural adaptations of the forearm muscles!
Endurance Repeaters – Forearm Aerobic Endurance Hangboard Routine
Endurance Repeaters are a less known modification of the standard 7/3 Hangboard Repeaters protocol. The idea behind this method is to perform intermittent hangs until failure, with the load reduced to only 30 – 40% of your maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Such training is known to introduce adaptations, which include improved capillary density and vascular conductance, increases in size and density of the mitochondria, aerobic enzymes and fat oxidation, as well as sparing of muscle glycogen, reduced rates of lactate (La-) production and enhanced La- removal. Ultimately, you should expect improved oxygen supply to the muscles and better maximal endurance capacity. Give Endurance Repeaters a try if you often get pumped before you even reach the crux on those long sport routes!
Eva López MaxHangs hangboard routine for finger strength
The Maximum Hangs (MaxHangs) protocols were developed and popularized by Eva López. The training protocols are low volume and high intensity, and their effectiveness is scientifically proven! MaxHangs became widely accepted in the climbing community and are among the most popular hangboard protocols. The routine can be executed in two versions, the minimum edge with no added weight (MaxHangs MED) and on a fixed edge depth with added weight (MaxHangs MAW). Both methods trigger neural adaptations through short TUT and high loads.
Eva López IntHangs strength endurance fingerboard protocol
The Intermittent Dead Hangs (IntHangs) protocols were developed by Eva López for strength endurance training. While similar to the classic Repeaters, IntHangs are generally characterized by lower volume. IntHangs should constitute only a part of a training session and be combined with other activities. lntHangs can be executed in two versions, the minimum edge with no added weight (IntHangs MED) and fixed edge with added weight (IntHangs MAW). Both methods trigger muscle hypertrophy because of the relatively long time under tension (TUT) and medium loads.
Hangboard Repeaters strength endurance protocol
The classic 7/3 Repeaters are a typical strength endurance training protocol, designed to mimic the grip and relax sequence that is characteristic of climbing. The loads used are generally low, compared to the Eva López MaxHangs protocol, or to the Eric Hörst’s “7-53” protocol, which makes Repeaters safer for intermediate climbers. The rest times between hangs are on the other hand very short, typically just 3 seconds, which stimulates the anaerobic lactic energy system and inevitably leads to severe muscle pump. While Eric Hörst doesn’t consider repeaters to be the best strength endurance protocol, he still thinks it can be useful as a pre-season preparation for lead climbers.
Eric Hörst’s “7-53” finger strength hangboard routine
The Maximum Weight “7-53” protocol is a highly effective strength training method developed by Eric Hörst as something in between the classic 7/3 Repeaters protocol and Eva López’s MaxHangs. This highly time efficient protocol is the middle ground between strength and strength endurance training, and it is recommended for intermediate and advanced climbers. With this method, Eric progressed from 22.5 kg to 41 kg added weight on a 14 mm edge and it’s his favorite hangboard protocol!