The best hangboard exercises for beginners are generally the easiest ones. But if you’re just starting out, it may be difficult to know what types of workouts or exercises will produce the best results. The following guide is designed to give users a full understanding of how hangboard exercises can help beginner climbers improve their skills quickly and safely. It also offers some advice on training tips that are relevant for any climber – novice or advanced!
When you’re starting out, it’s important to take things slow and build up your strength and endurance gradually. The best way to begin training with the board is by using it in short intervals. If you are a beginner, one minute of actual climbing on the board should be enough for your first session. You can consider adding another interval after several weeks have gone by – but don’t push yourself too hard!
It’s important that beginners take time building up calluses and endurance before trying anything more difficult than what they’re already doing. Advanced climbers may want to do longer sessions or attempt harder exercises during their workouts, but always remember that being patient will serve them well over time! Stay safe while exercising. Be sure not keep safety precautions in mind at all times when working out on the hangboard.
What Is Hangboarding?
Hangboarding is an excellent training method that climbers use to improve their finger strength and technique while simultaneously helping them prepare for climbing specific types of routes/problems (for example, overhanging roof problems are often much more difficult than vertical face climbs). This type of training involves using specialised hangboards designed specifically for rock climbers – these boards feature different sized hand grips which allow us to perform various exercises that will help us build finger strength and technique.
If you don’t have a hangboard, an alternative is the Campus Board—an advanced course of many small holds used for intermediate and advanced climbers who can handle more difficult moves than they would find at their local gym.
What Kinds of Hangboarding Workouts Are There?
There are many different types of hangboard workouts, but the most popular are campus board workouts and pull-up workouts. Campus board workouts focus on improving your ability to make quick, powerful moves while pulling up on small holds. Pull-up workouts focus more on building finger strength and endurance by doing repeated sets of pull-ups with a weight added to your waist belt.
What Are The Benefits of Hangboarding?
Some of the benefits that climbers can expect to experience from regular hangboarding include: improved grip strength, increased forearm endurance, better technique (due to practicing specific moves/exercises), and an overall increase in climbing-specific strength. It can also help learn how to use their hands and fingers better in order to make more precise movements.
Before You Start Climbing
There are two main types of climbing – bouldering and route climbing. Boulderers climb low walls while climbers on routes use ropes to support their weight while they ascend fixed lines of bolts for protection. While it is possible to boulder indoors with a hangboard some people prefer not too as there isn’t much moving around which you can do when training at the wall.
If you’re new to rock climbing then this type of indoor training will be perfect for your needs but even experienced climbers adore using them! A great way to build up strength in order to go outdoors later down the line or just have fun whilst staying fit. The best thing about this type of exercise is that anyone who knows how to grip onto something and securely should be able to do it (within reason!).
When starting out with hangboard exercises, there are a few key things to keep in mind.
First and foremost, start slow! Don’t try to do too much at once.
Start by gradually adding one or two new exercises each week, and give your body time to adjust. Secondly, make sure you warm up properly before each workout. A good warm-up will help loosen your muscles and reduce the risk of injury. Finally, be patient! Like anything else, it takes time to build strength and endurance. But with patience and persistence, you’ll soon see results.
Climbing trains the following muscles: Flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS), flexor pollicis longus (FPL), abductor pollicis brevis (APB), adductor pollicis (AD), opponens digiti minimi (ODM), abductor hallucis (AH) and the intrinsic muscles of the hand.
Before you start hangboarding, it is important to understand that climbing itself has a lot of benefits for your grip strength. If you are starting off with no climbing experience whatsoever, make sure not to skip this first step!
How Do I Start a Hangboard Workout?
Start by warming up for about five minutes by climbing easy routes or doing some light bouldering. Once you’re warmed up, start with one of the easier exercises from the list below. If you can complete all the reps listed for that exercise without difficulty, on to a harder exercise. Repeat this process until you reach the hardest exercise in the workout. If you can’t complete all the reps listed for an exercise, go back to a previous exercise and try again.
Climbing is a dangerous sport, and even more so when you’re working with equipment that can easily cause injury if not used correctly. Remember to always use a crash pad when bouldering, and never try exercises that are beyond your skill level.
Start slowly and increase difficulty gradually. As mentioned before, it’s important for beginners to start slowly and work their way up in difficulty as they become stronger. This rule also applies to using a hangboard – don’t attempt any advanced exercises until you’ve mastered the basic movements! If you’re ever unsure about an exercise or how to complete it safely, be sure to ask someone for help or consult an expert. With these tips in mind, climbers of all levels can enjoy the benefits of hangboard exercises.
Grip Strength Exercises
The best way to improve your grip strength is by doing some finger exercises. This is where the hangboard really excels as it can help you to train each digit individually! The best way to do this is by using a variety of holds on your board which will put pressure across all fingers.
Try hanging off two or three fingers at once, just by wrapping them around part of the hold and gripping down hard with these digits only. You might find that even one of these variations are too difficult for beginners but there are other ways in which you can improve grip strength without having anything attached to yourself!
Endurance Exercises
The best exercise for improving endurance when climbing indoors (or out) is simply doing pull-ups on the or on pieces of wood which are about the same width as your shoulders! For beginners, you might want to try doing these exercises on both arms at once so that there is less pressure across the body. When training endurance it’s important not to overwork yourself and ensure that you don’t do too many reps or sets in one go – this will only lead to injury.
Start by doing three sets of six reps (or even less if you’re finding it difficult) and increase the number as your strength improves. Remember to rest for a good few minutes in between each set! This type of exercise is best done after a climbing session so that you muscles are already warm.
Power Exercises
The third area which climbers should focus on is power. This can be improved by doing explosive exercises on the hangboard, such as dead hangs or pull-ups with a . When doing these exercises it’s important to remember to use full range of motion and not just do half reps otherwise you’ll only be working on one aspect of power – the up phase. As with endurance training, start with three sets of six reps and increase the number as your power improves.
Remember that this type of training should only be done after a climbing session when you’re muscles are already warm! If you find dead hangs to difficult then there other types such as weighted pull-ups which can also improve your overall strength.
What Are Some of the Easiest Hangboard Exercises?
When training on the fingerboard there are certain exercises which will help develop both endurance and power in different areas of your fingers. It is recommended that beginners focus mainly on their crimps (the part where each finger meets the palm) as opposed to open-handed grips.
A good thing about this type of training is that it can be done pretty much anywhere since all you need at hand is just a little bit of free space along with some equipment such as: A hangboard, a pair of climbing shoes and chalk.
There are many easy exercises that can help beginners improve their finger strength and technique. A few of our favourites include:
The Basic Hang
This is probably the most basic hangboard exercise there is. Just hang from the board with your hands shoulder-width apart and your feet off the ground. Hold this position for as long as possible or until you feel fatigue in your fingers.
The Half Crimp
Start by hanging from the board with your hands shoulder-width apart and your feet off the ground. From here, slowly curl your fingers into a half crimp position. Hold this position for as long as possible or until you feel fatigue in your fingers.
The Hang and Reach
This exercise is great for improving your reach. Start by hanging from the board with your hands shoulder-width apart and your feet off the ground. Reach up as high as possible with both of your hands and then return to the starting position. Repeat this process for as many reps as possible.
What Are Some of the Hardest Hangboard Exercises?
There are many difficult exercises that can help intermediate and advanced climbers improve their finger strength and technique. A few of our favourites include:
The Full Crimp
Start by hanging from the board with your hands shoulder-width apart and your feet off the ground. Curl your fingers into a full crimp position as high as possible, hold this for at least three seconds, then lower yourself slowly to the starting position without letting go of the holds or releasing your grip.
There are many different types of hangboard exercises that climbers can do in order to improve their finger strength/technique while simultaneously helping them prepare for climbing specific types of routes/problems (for example, overhanging roof problems are often much more difficult than vertical face climbs). This type of training involves using specialised hangboards designed specifically for rock climbers – these boards feature different sized hand grips which allow us to perform various exercises that will help us build finger strength and technique.
The Full Crimp With Weighted Waist Belt
This is very similar to The Full Crimp except that we’re adding weight using a weighted waist belt (or if you don’t have one of those, you could also use a backpack filled with heavy books). To do this exercise properly, first put on your weighted waist belt and then curl your fingers into a full crimp position. From here, hold this position for at least three seconds, then lower yourself slowly to the starting position without letting go of the holds or releasing your grip.
Repeat this exercise as many times as you can until it becomes too difficult/painful to continue doing reps.
The One Arm Half Crimp
Start by hanging from the board with one arm using a half crimp grip. Slowly curl your fingers into a full crimp position. Hold this position for as long as possible or until you feel fatigue in your arm, then lower yourself slowly to the starting position without letting go of the holds or releasing your grip. Repeat this process with both arms for as many reps as possible.
Dead Hang
This is perhaps the most basic and essential hangboard exercise. Dead hangs are great for overall strength and endurance, as well as grip strength. To do a dead hang, simply grab onto the edge of the board with both hands and hang without moving your feet. Hold for as long as you can, gradually increasing your time over weeks and months.
One-Arm Hang
Once you’ve mastered the dead hang, progress to one-arm hangs. This exercise is more challenging than the dead hang, but it also builds greater strength and endurance. To do a one-arm hang, grab onto the board with one hand and let go of the other hand. on for as long as you can, gradually increasing your time over weeks and months.
Pull-Ups
For this exercise, you’ll need a pull-up bar or something that can serve as one (i.e., sturdy rafters in an attic). To do the basic version of this hangboard exercise, simply grab onto the bar with both hands and let go of your feet. Pull yourself up until your chin is above the level of the bar; then lower yourself back down again to complete one rep. Repeat for as many reps as possible in thirty seconds before taking a short break. Then repeat another set after resting for sixty seconds before moving on to more sets if necessary! This is not only great for building overall upper body strength but also good practice for climbing.
Jug Haul
This hangboard exercise is great for building grip strength and endurance, as well as arm and shoulder muscles. To do jug hauls, you’ll need a sturdy rafter or something similar that can serve as one. Grip the edge of your board with both hands; then climb onto it using only your feet (no hand holds). Grab onto the “jug” part of your board with both hands before lowering yourself back down to complete one rep. Repeat for as many reps as possible in thirty seconds before taking a short break.
Then repeat another set after resting for sixty seconds if necessary! While this might be tough at first, keep practicing and you should see results soon enough! You can also make this exercise more challenging by using one hand only, or by increasing the distance between the board and your grip.
Pinch Holds
These are exercises where you pinch two edges of a grip together. There are several different variations that you can do on the hangboard, such as open hand pinch holds and closed hand pinch holds. Start with basic pinches and work your way up to more difficult grips.
Finger Rolls
Finger rolls are a great way to strengthen your fingers and forearms. The goal is to roll the finger up, down, forward, backward in succession without dropping off of the hold. Start with basic holds (or easy grips) so you don’t injure yourself.
Campus boards
These can be quite intimidating for beginners but can be a great way to develop power and strength. If you don’t have access to one, then try using a chin-up bar instead.
Tips for Preventing Hangboarding Injuries
Warm up properly and don’t just jump straight into your workout. Hangboarding is an intense exercise that can be brutal on the fingers if done without warming up, so always do a thorough warmup to prevent injuries and get better results from hangboarding in general.
Don’t neglect “pulling” exercises when it comes to strengthening your fingers for climbing. Just because you’re looking at fingerboard workouts doesn’t mean pullups aren’t important too! Make sure you add some dedicated pulling work like weighted pull ups or lat pull downs once per week to target different muscles than those used by hanging exercises — think back vs biceps here folks — and keep injury free while getting stronger overall.
Forget about the numbers. It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers game when it comes to training, but hangboarding is one place where obsessing about your weight on each hold or rep range for a given workout can be counterproductive and lead you down the road toward injury if done too intensely for too long.
Use various holds on the fingerboard that are suited to your individual needs — don’t just use pinches because they’re weighted lower than slopers! Use common sense here folks: some people have bigger hands while others may need smaller holds due their body type/size so adjust accordingly based on what works best for you not what feels most comfortable at first. If something starts to hurt or doesn’t feel right after using it over time then make adjustments or scrap it altogether.
Avoid overtraining. If you push yourself too hard, too often with hangboarding your body will shut down and underperform every other exercise due to the high intensity that hangboard training brings about on its own without causing further injury by pushing past what is sensible for a given amount of time.
Bottom line? A little common sense goes a long way when it comes to preventative measures so don’t be obsessed with numbers or doing things “by the book” if they feel wrong or cause pain in any way — this isn’t meant as an excuse to do sub par workouts mindlessly but rather as guidelines for staying healthy while getting stronger overall using finger strength exercises!
How Often Should I Hangboard?
As a beginner climber, you should aim to hangboard at least once per week in order to see significant improvements in your finger strength and technique.
When training on the fingerboard there are certain exercises which will help develop both endurance and power in different areas of your fingers. It is recommended that beginners focus mainly on their crimps (the part where each finger meets the palm) as opposed to open-handed grips.
A good thing about this type of training is that it can be done pretty much anywhere since all you need at hand is just a little bit of free space along with some equipment such as: A hangboard, a pair of climbing shoes and chalk.
Conclusion
Start by doing basic exercises such as half crimp hangs or one arm hangs and work your way up gradually as your strength improves. Always make sure to warm up properly before starting any type of training!
Do you have any questions about hangboarding that weren’t answered in this article? Feel free to post them in the comments below and we’ll do our best to help out. Happy climbing!
