UKC

Hey y'all,

I was at Westway last night and saw a woman using the campus board... was very impressed (esp compared to my feeble attempts at chin-ups).

But it made me wonder as I've not seen women using it before, how many of you climbing girlies use the campus board? Did it greatly increase your strength??

xx

In reply to broccoligirl:

I do try and use the campus board intermittantly but I get bored and can only go up using either every rung or every other rung so I don't know whether it does any good. I also do pull-ups, sit-ups, press-ups and planks (when I remember and can be arsed). Again I dunno if I do them with enough frequency to make much of a difference but I have recently managed to overcome my first mini-plateau in climbing ability after switching back to regular indoor training - an inability to do strenuous routes or climb indoors harder than f6a+ - so the idea of a more structured training regime seems appealing now that I have a better base of strength and fitness. So I have gotten stronger but I dunno if it's the training or just doing lots of climbing.

In reply to broccoligirl:

I'm not sure the campus board is really worth it if you have to match every rung or can only ladder up it.

By that I mean the amount of time spent for the gain in strength isn't great compared to other things you could be doing.

I'm sure Paul B, serpico, etc.. will come and spill the beans.

In reply to broccoligirl:

Don't confuse strength with power. Campus boarding is a normally a power thing ie. generating force explosively via 'plyometrics' (using the recoil at the bottom of the movement to bounce back up). Strength is better gained from deadhangs, pull ups, lockoffs etc.

However, I must say, all the women I've seen outdoors seem to always do everything slow and 'statically'. I once showed one girl a problem using a double slap/recoil and she instinctively did it as a static rockover. Faultless clean technique, but a totally different way of approaching movement over rock.

To summarise, dynamic, slappy moves can be trained anywhere. If you want to specifically train 1-5-9, get on a campus board.

HD.

PS. 'HD's Top Tip' #37: Twist your body sideways when campusing. You get a better reach than staying open.

In reply to broccoligirl:

Girls tend not to campus or do that many pull ups because their shoulder development is different to boys. That said not everyone is the same there girls who have broader shoulders and therefore find it easier to do pull ups or campus.

Remember doing 20 pull ups doesn't replace technique to get you a French 7a balance and technique are more useful tools that pull ups.

In reply to broccoligirl:

I am pretty sure campus training is not the best use of time for any climbers at least until they are pushing into the F8's - I wouldnt bother with it until you are pretty solid at bouldering already. There is an article here though:

http://www.planetfear.com/article_detail.asp?a_id=206

In reply to galpinos:


I'd disagree, as long as you are pushing yourself any training is good and this sort of thing will put more stress (and therefore training effect) on your fingers than most things you will do. Also I have a mate who thought exactly this sort of trainig was what was required to get him up a bouldery 8a+.

As an aside to Climbing pixie; if you can do campus on the smallest holds missing out rungs then you should be climbing a lot harder than you profess to

In reply to Tyler:

I bow to your greater knowledge.

In reply to Richard Horn:

I would have to disagree here. If you have noted that strength/power is a weakness in your climbing then working campussing into your training sessions will have a better effect than just doing more bouldering. I've climbed very steep low 7's where I would have struggled a lot more without having done some campus training. As said before as long as you have a basic level of strength allowing you to ladder 1-2-3-4 etc. and know the risks regarding dropping down onto straight elbows, then I think the campus board can be useful to a wide range of people.

In reply to Flatlander:

Um... hi, haven't we met before???

In reply to all:

Is a campus board much better than doing training at the gym where you are trying to exercise the same muscles (and then the opposing muscles too). ie using machines/weights where you are pulling down, and say using two fingers instead of your whole hand?

I know it probably trains fingers more than other methods?


OP - sorry for slight hijack there. I've never used a campus board as there isn't one where I climb! But I have found doing the stuff I said above in the gym, makes a huge difference. That and developing core strength, means you can stand on/hold smaller holds, and grip less tightly etc.

Thanks all! I'm in no way strong enough to play on a campus board yet, but it's nice to dream...

In reply to Tyler:


LOL, give me a chance, I've only been doing this trad malarkey for just over a year. And whilst I might be strong I lack stamina, experience and balls (in both senses, though only the metaphorical one has any relevence to my climbing).

In reply to Richard Horn:

Twaddle!

>- I wouldnt bother with it until you are pretty solid at >bouldering already. There is an article here though:

Agreed. I think once you are solid around brit 5c bouldering and have been climbing regularily for over a year or so you can start to use a campus board (pick your rung size sensibly) in anger.

A campus board and finger board program last year pushed me from a 6b climber (font and fr) to redpointing 7a+ and getting a font 7a in font.

For power, campus board rules.

In reply to catt:

Why is it twaddle? Campus boarding is very specialised - it does nothing for a lot of muscle groups that are important for climbing hard (let alone climbing technique), why would you bother using a campus board before you had strong core strength for example, your time would be better spent bouldering on steep ground?

I have done a couple of routes up to F7b+, and tried harder (up to 7c+), and none have involved particularly explosive moves where out and out campusing would make a difference over overall strength.

In reply to Richard Horn:

I guess we'll just have to disagree then. Campusing improves pulling power, lock of ability, finger strength, contact strength, coordination, core strength (there is a technique to doing it correctly that works your core).

There's also a stack of different ways you can use the campus board for different goals (locking off, explosive power, finger strength, power endurance).

It does a lot for a lot of muscle groups important to climbing and it will improve the climbing strength of even fairly lowly grade climbers. So I'll stick by my twaddle. No offence was intended by the way!

Iain

In reply to broccoligirl:

I do.. and here is sort of an indirect answer... http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=256463&new=3777915#3777915

In reply to Jenn:

Where you by any chance the woman who was on the campus board last night at Westway?

In reply to broccoligirl:

Nope, I was in the Peak trying to boulder with one foot (sprained my ankle ).

In reply to Jenn:

hands-free too easy . . ?

;¬)

Ah well. Just hoping to add a face to the many UKC names. Was the bouldering sucessful despite your poor foot?

In reply to rich:

I guess I should add that she managed to climbed Font 6a+ (admitedly a repeat ascent) using one foot - all very Johnny Dawes.

In reply to Jenn: How do you find the campus board then?

I read your other reply on the other thread and couldn't find the answer!

In reply to TRNovice:

indeed :¬) it was an amusing image anyway . . .

In reply to rich:

Yep - something like that

I have horrible balance and would actually rather climb without a foot!

In reply to broccoligirl:

I'm normally at the Castle as doing routes is against my religion

Yep, bouldering was a lot of fun. I did my first VS... sort of.

In reply to Jenn:

Is VS a new sub-division of the Vermin scale?

<runs away very radpily>

In reply to rock waif:

Sorry, I meant it as an indirect answer...

My 'training programme', such as it is, mostly revolves around climbing (mostly indoors since I live in London) as much as possible and at least 3-4 times a week. If this isn't possible I do a fingerboard session at home or if for whatever reason I'm not doing a lot of bouldering indoors then I will do ladders on the campus board, mostly on the middle sized ones at the Castle. I have to admit that I don't do it regularly, only when I have little other alternatives.

I feel that both the fingerboard and campus board are very useful, but overhanging bouldering is still the best training aid for the level that I'm at, V4 / V5 IMO, of course.

In reply to Jenn: Thanks Jenn

In reply to rock waif:

No prob

In reply to Flatlander:

No its not...more power...more power...

ha