Fresher Is Better
When campusing, the general approach is different than when training for endurance. On
the campus board, the idea is to do the hardest exercises that you can, in perfect style.
You should only train on a campus board after a rest day or when you are completely
recovered from your last climbing or training session. Additionally, you must rest after
every exercise within your campus routine long enough to recover completely. Three to five
minutes is the norm, but you can rest as much as 10 minutes if necessary. Power can only
be trained on a totally fresh muscle.
How Much Is Too Much?
You are determined to see an improvement, so you want to keep at it for hours, but you
are playing with fire. On a campus board, more work does not equal more gain; it equals
injury. Never train to exhaustion on a campus board. Do the hardest moves you can in good
style and come back two or three days later. Be patient and remember: so long as you do
not get injured, you will get stronger.
As a rule, it is okay to do one to four sets of any given exercise. As long as you are
improving or maintaining from one set to the next, it is okay to continue with that
exercise. As soon as you are weaker on one set than the last, it is time to move on to
another exercise or stop for the day.
Several exercises are described below; you cannot train all of them in the same
session. Choose a couple of exercises each time and concentrate on those. Stop your
session and begin your warm down when your muscles have lost their "snap".
Rest
Resting is perhaps the best thing about campusing because you get to do more of it than
with other types of training. Rest, rest and rest some more. Although well-conditioned
campus addicts may rest for only about two full days after every session, if you push
yourself hard, take three or four days off. Do not expect quick results. If you feel like
you are resting too long, not doing quite enough, that is good; that is how you should
feel.
Warm
Up, Warm Down
It is critical to warm up thoroughly; much more so than with other forms of training.
You can start by climbing, bouldering or doing easy pull-ups and dead hangs, along with
gentle stretching. Make the first fifteen minutes ridiculously easy and gradually increase
the intensity until you are at full power. Reverse this process at the end of your session
to prevent injury and speed up recovery. The warm down should be even easier than the warm
up. It should feel as if your doing almost nothing. The idea is just to keep the blood
flowing for 15 or 20 minutes after the high intensity part of your workout.
A typical session might involve up to an hour of pull-ups, stretches and climbs up and
down the board on the larger holds, with all of the high-intensity exercises done in the
next 20 to 30 minutes, followed by 15 to 20 minutes of warm down.
Stretching
Stretching is simply insurance against injury. Stretch regularly and you will wonder
why you bother, but do not stretch and one day you will suffer. It is a good idea to
stretch between sets and critical to stretch after the session, but be careful about
stretching before your workout. Never stretch a cold muscle.
How To Grasp The Grips
You want to use an open-handed grip as much as possible. Most climbers are weaker
open-handed than crimped, so you may find this hard at first, but you will get used to it.
Training open-handed will increase your crimp strength (but not vice-versa), and it is
essential for holding pockets, slopers and certain edges, as well as making moves at
maximum stretch, and catching dynos. Most importantly, however, using an open hand lowers
the potential for injury. As you adapt to campus training, you can incorporate a little
crimp training to increase your maximum edge holding power, but keep it to a minimum.
What’s The Point?
The deadpoint is an instant in time, at the apex of any dynamic move, when you are
neither rising nor falling. In all dynamic moves, large dynos or short snatches, the goal
is to be in perfect position to grasp the target hold during the deadpoint. As you perfect
this technique, the deadpoint will begin to feel like an instant of weightlessness. As you
continue to improve your timing and coordination, the deadpoint will seem to get longer
and longer.
"Campusing" is one of the best ways to improve your all around
"deadpointing" skill. Because you train movement between holds at varying
distances, you learn how to generate the precise force and timing required to catch holds
accurately and consistently. It cannot be over-stressed how fundamental dynamic moves are
to good climbing technique. A well-executed dyno is often more efficient than a static
move, even when it’s not strictly necessary.
Alternate Your Leading Hand
You should do most sequences as pairs, first leading with one hand, then with the
other. This avoids over-training your strong side and keeps you balanced.
Making
It Easier
If you find some of the moves or exercises suggested here too difficult to start out
on, put your feet on a chair or on the wall behind the board, to take off as much weight
as necessary. Be sure to have ample padding under your board, as landing on your back is a
distinct possibility.
Power Throws
This fundamental exercise trains forearm recruitment, upper-body power and deadpoint
accuracy through explosive upward moves between rungs at various levels. Each sequence
involves two moves plus matching at a hold.
Number the rungs 1, 2, 3 on up, starting with the lowest. With your feet hanging free
and both hands on the lowest convenient rung, launch for another rung with one hand, then
reach for an even higher rung with the other, match, and you’re through. For example,
match and hang on rung 1. Throw with your right hand to rung 4, then pull through to rung
6 with your left. Match on rung 6 and drop.
Try to complete the same exercise by using every possible sequence of holds between the
lower and upper chosen rungs, for example: 1-2-6, 1-3-6, 1-4-6, 1-5-6. Different push-pull
forces, as well as different timing, are required with hands at different levels and
although the moves in the middle range will feel easy, those at the extremes will not.
Also, try going all-out for the maximum total distance, say 1-4-8 or 1-5-9. * Remember to
lead with alternate hands.
Doubles
& Plyometrics
Moving both hands at the same time is a great way to improve overall coordination. It
also builds recruitment and confidence. Begin by doing the easiest moves to feel this out.
Just jump from one rung to the next.
Eventually, increase your range and stack a series of doubles together, climbing up the
board and down again. An advanced version of this is the "two steps forward one step
backward" routine: 1-3-2-4-3-5-4-6 etc.
A related exercise is plyometric campusing, which involves dropping both hands from a
higher hold to a lower one (a reverse double dyno), then jumping up again as fast as
possible. The key is absorbing the downward motion and reversing the force into an upward
motion as rapidly and smoothly as possible.
Be careful not to overdo it. This is a very advanced exercise, and the potential for
injury is very high. Never catch a hold with your elbows locked or extend all the way to a
locked elbow on the negative contraction. Feel out your tolerance with some easy moves on
large holds the first few times. Introduce this exercise gradually, a little more each
week for a few months. Even when you have adapted to high intensity campus training,
don’t do hard plyometric sessions more than once a week.
Static Moves & Lock-Offs
Any kind of campusing will improve your static strength as a spin-off, but you can
train it specifically by doing small "power throws" slowly and as statically as
possible. Also try "laddering" up and down the board a rung or two at a time,
without dynoing. Static lock-offs can be trained by putting your feet on the wall behind
the board or on a chair, to take as much weight as necessary.
As with all campus board exercises, make the moves hard enough to keep the total number
of repetitions low (3-5 on each arm). The idea is to train maximum force, not endurance.
Variations
When you feel like you’ve adapted to full hand training, you might want to try
isolating fingers. Two fingers is the norm here, but don’t be afraid to mix it up. As
with everything, build up slowly. You might want to start by doing dead-hangs and pull-ups
with various combinations of three, two, or one finger. Again, use the wall or a chair to
take weight as necessary.
It is important also to realize that different sized holds will train different
muscles. If you’ve been focusing your training on small holds, forearm strength may
no longer be your limiting factor. You should also train longer moves on larger holds for
a while, to increase the recruitment of your upper arms and torso.
Incut or flat holds will slightly alter the muscles used and it’s worth
experimenting with as many types as possible. The more you vary your training, the more
effective it will be.
What
Works For You?
While we are not sports physiologists, we do have a lot of hands-on experience and have
learned from some of the best climbers in the world. However, exercises that work for us
may not work for you and vice-versa. Experiment with your own program and figure out what
works best for you. Always remember to warm up thoroughly, start small, and take plenty of
rest days.
Don’t Forget To Go Climbing
Finally, of course, the whole point is to improve your climbing. "Campusing"
is a powerful tool for improvement, but any gain made on the board will require a period
of adaptation on the rock for you to see its full value. So go climbing, have fun, and
remember, all it takes to succeed is a modicum of talent and a lot of dedication. In the
words of Sheffield’s master boulderer Richie Patterson: "Be good, and if you
can’t be good, be strong."
Warning All Training Board
Users: Training on a hangboard carries risk of injury to fingers, arms, shoulders
and the joints connecting them. Take every precaution to avoid damage to
yourself; warm-up, stretch, don't overtrain and listen to your body. Remember,
even under the best of circumstances, injuries can occur. In addition, however you
mount your board, be sure that it cannot move in any direction. There should be no
possible way for the board to come down while training.
