Fingerboarding

Well I finally went and bought a fingerboard. After looking around I decided to buy something other than the Metolious range, mostly because these have huge jugs that I know I can hang off and would not be inclined to try the smaller holds. Instead I decided on a Moon hangboard, these are marketed at intermediate/advanced climbers and honestly they re not wrong.


The board itself is great and after an hour putting it up (stupid wood is freaking hard) I managed to get onto it for the first time. First impressions are it's hard! All holds are 1-1.5 finger bads deep, I can hang off the 2 largest holds but need support on the smaller more crimpy holds. I'm thinking my contact strength is way below what it should be given, this will not make my wife happy as she thinks I have a strong enough grip already. Unfortunately I had to mount the board lower than I would of liked, but it is still very useable.


My goal was to be able to do the sample workout as listed on moonclimbing.com which is reproduced below.


1. Double armed dead hang on front three fingers open handed. (hold 5)

Hang for 6 seconds, repeat three hangs resting 2 minutes between each.

2. Double armed dead hang on middle two fingers open handed. (hold 5)

Hang for 6 seconds, repeat 2 times resting 1.5 minutes between each.

3. Hang open handed on three fingers on one arm, decrease resistance as required until hang can be completed. (hold 2 or 5)

Hang for 6 seconds, repeat 3 sets for each arm, resting one minute between hangs on alternative arms.

Rest 5 minutes.

4. Double armed hang on full crimp position, on a first joint edge. (hold 1 or 5)

Hang for 6 seconds, repeat three hangs resting 1.5 minutes between each.

5. Double armed hang on full crimp, this time slightly smaller than the last set, i.e., _ of the the finger tip. (hold 3 or 4)

Hang for 6 seconds, repeat three hangs resting 1.5 minutes between each.

6. Single arm hang on 1st joint edge, decrease resistance if required until hang can be completed. ( hold 1, 5, or 4 depending on level)

Hang for 6 seconds, repeat 3 sets for each arm, resting one minute between hangs on alternative arms.

Rest 5-8 minutes (and prepare for some arm and body work!)

A. Single arm lock off at 90 degrees see pics. If required use the assistance of a bungee cord or pulley system. Try to stay as open as possible rather than twisting your body in to lock off. (hold 1 or 5)

Lock off for between 8 and 10 seconds. 3 reps for each arm, resting 2 minutes between each rep.

B. One armed pull ups, again assistance may be required using a bungee cord or a pulley system.(see video here). (hold 1)

Keeping your body as open as possible Try to complete 2 one armed pull ups for each set and complete 2 sets for each arm.

C. Leg lifts/ Front levers. Depending on your ability either do front levers or leg lifts. (hold 1)

If doing front levers, complete three sets of front levers holding each set for 5 to 8 seconds. If doing leg lifts complete three sets of leg lifts. For each set lift legs up to chest level 6 times. 


It is going to take me awhile to get to that level so instead I'm going to aim for repeaters. Essentially it involves hanging off a hold for a period of time then reducing the hold size and period so for example 5 seconds on a #1, 3 seconds on #2 etc etc. Unfortunately until I get some more strength its going to limit holds I can use but that is what it's all about, improvement.


Tomorrow I'm off to Stathams Quarry for the afternoon, hopefully I'll be climbing well.