With climbing gyms starting to shut back down due to the rising cases of the coronavirus, more climbers are training at home with their hang boards. Here are some ways you can keep your forearms and body conditioned for climbing (even outdoors if it's safe to do so).
To get the most of your training, we recommend using an app on your phone to keep you engaged and motivated. We use an app called boulder trainer for all our hang board exercises. This app has all the popular hang boards on the market and you're able to use pre-made exercise or tailor your training to how you want them to be. However, here are some quick training drills that's used most common.
Forearm Conditioning (Slight Bend in Arms)
Using an open-handed grip, grab a matched pair of holds, using all fingers. Hang for 15 to 20 seconds.
Rest 30 seconds after each hang, and then hang again. Four hangs equals one set. Pro Tip: You can do a pyramid of decreasing time with short rest intervals to get a good forearm pump in. Trust us, this one is hard.
Rest two minutes and do another set of hangs on the same holds or ones of similar challenge.
Forearm + Back Conditioning (90 Degree Bend in Arms)
Using an open-handed grip, grab a matched pair of holds, using all fingers. Hang for 15 to 20 seconds with your arms bent 90 degrees.
Rest 30 seconds after each hang and then hang again. Four hangs equals one set. If you want to work your upper back between hangs, you can do 4 pull ups each pair of holds.
Rest two minutes and do another set of hangs on the same holds or ones of similar challenge.
Remember to chalk up when using your hang board. However, no one likes a chalky mess in their homes. A chalk bags will create a chalky mess once you start digging your hands through them as chalk will generally fly in all directions due to it's airy nature. We recommend using a good liquid chalk or possibly a chalk ball for your exercise as this will minimize dust.
Happy training!