Climbing loves consistency. But since the coronavirus pandemic has shut down gyms across the country, and 听is now discouraged, how do you stay strong while you鈥檙e stuck at home?
鈥淧riority number one is maintaining your finger and large-pull-muscle strength,鈥 says ,听补听climber, exercise scientist, and strength and conditioning specialist in Utah.听The key is finding safe ways to continue to load your fingers at home without ratcheting up your pre-pandemic volume or intensity. 鈥淚f we spend all of our time in quarantine doing new types of random workouts, that鈥檚 a recipe for injury, and it won鈥檛 necessarily translate back to climbing,鈥 he says.
According to听Nelson, the best tool to help听mimic previous climbing habits is the hang board. Professional climbers like and 听are making good use of their hang boards while social distancing, but you don鈥檛 have to be an experienced climber to take advantage of this device. That鈥檚 because it lends itself to customization: you can easily听control your workout difficulty by using different-size grips and adding or removing resistance. And at a time when experts are calling on outdoor enthusiasts to minimize their risk to avoid injuries, the hang board is a practical way to get a workout in.听鈥淗ang-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,鈥 says Nelson. In other words, you鈥檙e not听going to make big, dynamic moves like you听do while bouldering, or run the risk of a foot popping and sending a shock load into your听tendons and pulleys.
Follow this at-home, all-levels training routine recommended by听Nelson听to help maintain your climbing strength and keep you prepared for a听return to the听gym or crag. Experienced climbers can use a board to train maximal finger strength, while exercises such as are good听for beginners, says Nelson. 鈥淓ven if a beginner is grabbing on to a board and pulling hard, they鈥檙e not putting that much stress through their fingers, because their fingers aren鈥檛 that strong,鈥 he says.听If you don鈥檛 have a hang board at home, you can use the top edge of a door frame (first check听to see if it鈥檚 strong enough) or听the upper-floor landing in a stairwell, or get creative and make听your own. Any finger-friendly edge will do, but it鈥檚 good to have a variety of size options.
The Moves
Hang Board Climbing Simulation听
What it does: Mimics the finger stresses of climbing and听serves as a good warm-up for strength-specific finger exercises.
How to do it: Place a sturdy chair or stool on the ground just behind the hang board (the farther away it is, the more difficult this will be, since it simulates steeper climbing). Grab the jugs or large holds, place your feet up on the chair, then 鈥渃limb鈥 on the hang board as you would on a climbing wall:听let go with one hand, reach toward the ceiling or out to the side, and return to a different grip. Try to mimic the movement of climbing as best as possible. Repeat with the other hand, aiming for 60 to 80 percent effort. Use different types of holds and edge depths for variety and to change the intensity.
Volume: Complete sets of 10 to 15 moves, with two to three minutes of rest between each set. Continue on and off for 45 to 60 minutes听total. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not as fun as climbing, but if you鈥檙e stuck at home and bored, this is a really effective use of time,鈥 says听Nelson.听鈥淲ith听short sessions, more experienced climbers can also train their fingers again later in the day.鈥
Lock-Off Repeaters
What they do: Strengthen听the body鈥檚 big pulling muscles鈥攖he lats, biceps, shoulders, and upper back鈥攖hrough isometric holds.
How to do them: Grab a pull-up bar or the jugs on a hang board, with your palms facing away. Engage your shoulders and core, then pull up until your elbows are bent 90 degrees. Hold for five seconds, then lower until your arms are straight, keeping your shoulders engaged to protect the joints. Complete another set with your arms bent to 120 degrees. If this is too challenging, use a resistance band for assistance: girth-hitch one end around the pull-up bar, and place your knee in the bottom of the loop to take the weight off your arms. If it鈥檚 too easy, wear a weighted vest or your harness with weights hung from it.
Volume: Two sets (one at 90 degrees, one at 120 degrees) of five reps (five听seconds on, three听seconds off), with听one to three听minutes of rest between sets.
One-Arm Recruitment Pulls
What they do: Train听maximum finger strength by forcing motor units to fire in unison.
How to do them: Find an edge size on the hang board that will work for your finger strength. Beginners should听aim for around 20 millimeters; experts, 15 to 10 millimeters. Stand underneath the hang board, reach overhead with one arm to grab the edge using either an or a grip, then pull down with 100 percent effort for three听to five听seconds. It鈥檚 OK听if your feet stay on the ground, says Nelson, as long as you鈥檙e pulling with maximal effort. Keep your elbow bent at a large angle (120 to 150 degrees)听and not completely extended during the pull. Repeat with the other arm.
If that鈥檚 too easy, do a one-arm hang with your feet off the ground: find an edge depth that allows you to hang for around five seconds before hitting failure. Wear your harness and hang additional weight off it if necessary.
Volume: Three (beginners) to听five听(experts) repetitions for each grip (open hand and half crimp) on听each hand. Rest for one to two听minutes. For expert climbers, complete a second set.
Density Hangs
What they do: Strengthen听the flexor tendons and muscles of the fingers听to help make them more resilient against injury and allow you to climb and train at a higher intensity.
How to do them: Find an edge size on the hang board that you can hang from with both hands for approximately 20 to 40 seconds, then do so, keeping your听shoulders engaged, until failure. Beginners should听use two grip positions: and . Experts should听use three positions: open hand, half crimp, and .听(Based on your strengths and weaknesses, you might need to use different edges for each hand position.)
Once you can hang for 30 seconds easily, progress by switching to a smaller edge. For advanced climbers without a smaller option, don and add weight to a harness.
Volume: One (beginners) to two听(experts) sets of two to three听repetitions per grip. Rest for three to five听minutes between hangs.
Front-Lever Progression
What it does: Trains climbing-specific core strength, targeting听deep-core muscles,听补bs, your听back,听obliques, and hip flexors.
How to do it: Grab a pull-up bar or the jugs on a hang board, with your palms facing away. Engage your shoulders and core, then pull up until your elbows are bent to 90 degrees. Keep your body completely straight听from heel to head, then lean back as you raise your legs to enter a partial front lever. Go as far as you can while maintaining a rigid plank form, whether that鈥檚 only a few degrees back or a full front lever with your body parallel to the floor. Focus on breathing in this position. Hold for five seconds, then lower and rest for three seconds.
Volume: One to two听sets of听five听seconds on, three听seconds off, for five to seven repetitions.
The Workout
Allow time for at least a 15-to-20-minute听warm-up before diving into the workout. Try to match the volume and intensity of your climbing-gym routine as much as possible,听starting听with easy boulder problems or routes, resting between each, and gradually increasing听the difficulty until you鈥檙e ready to roll. Jog or jump-rope to raise your听heart rate, then do a set or two of pull-ups and burpees to get your听big muscle groups fired up. Then do short, easy hangs (five听seconds on,听ten听seconds off) to warm up your听fingers.
Once you鈥檝e warmed up, transition to the workout. If you鈥檙e a sport climber, aim for shorter rests between sets颅鈥攁round 15 seconds to a minute鈥攖o emphasize endurance and capacity training. If you鈥檙e a boulderer, use longer rests鈥攖wo to four minutes, or as long as you need to reach full recovery鈥攖o focus on maximal strength and power. If you normally have a mobility or stretching routine, feel free to听add that to the mix as well.
Beginner climbers should aim to do听four training sessions per week.听Split the recruitment pulls and density hangs between different days, separated by at least two days. Experienced climbers can realistically knock out听eight training sessions per week, splitting climbing and finger sessions between mornings and evenings.