UKC

Ok - after hitting the gym for the first time in a little while and getting utterly spanked whilst all my other friends are showing big signs of progression I am determined to find a way to build finger/forearm strength even when I can't make the wall.

The main problem for me with fingerboards is that I don't feel like I have the basic strength to safely hang on them without risking finger injury. I was thinking about just buying a few jugs and crimps and screwing them to some wood and hanging that up somewhere but surely there must be a more elegant option?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

Get a fingerboard with larger holds/jugs on it, eg Beastmaker 1000 series, rather than the 2000.

http://www.beastmaker.co.uk/collections/fingerboards/products/beastmaker-10...

Sounds like you're wanting the gain without the pain, but it doesn't really work that way I'm afraid.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

Slopers are your friends, much less tweak potential than crimps if you are worried about overdoing it. If you aren't strong enough to deadhang on the easy holds on something like a beastmaker 1000 then try a set of small foot holds below the board to either side, so you can slowly increase the weight on your fingers by using one foot on wider holds. Plus it will give you a free core workout

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

Maybe try some resistance bands to reduce the weight on your fingers?

In reply to planetmarshall:

or a pulley to take weight off.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

OK, I just wrote a long response about why finger boarding is the answer. Then I looked at your profile. Assuming your profile/logbook is reasonably up-to-date, I'd say you'd be much better served by just climbing a lot more. If you really can't get to a wall, then perhaps yes, finger boarding and some general conditioning work (core training, weights, pull-ups etc) may help; and in that case I second the Beastmaker 1000 AND a pulley to remove weight over the other options. But better by far to enjoy the process of getting stronger for climbing by actually climbing!

One other - admittedly tangential - observation is you should try and get at least 6 routes done in a day's outdoor climbing (and ideally 8-12 if they're short). To do this you need to be efficient: arriving fairly early, with a plan and targets mapped out, your gear and food organised the night before, etc. Obviously don't rush when you're actually climbing, and don't compromise on safety (belays etc). Doing more climbing each day will improve your level far quicker than finger boarding etc. Apologies if this seems intrusive, I'm just trying to be helpful.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

At the risk of sounding daft...
I had a similar issue (was only climbing indoors once a week, and not making as big improvements as I'd hoped for - was also feeling that I was getting pumped more quickly than I should've). I noticed that on the way home I'd pass a number of trees, and one day decided to climb one, do pullups, etc. I now try and do this every evening for 5-10 minutes, and have got marked improvements in my climbing ability. As the branches are so wide, it really does not stress the joints and is kind of like holding a huge sloper.
Have also got a weird tree in the backyard with a big "crack" in it which is perfect to practice laybacking, and a nice high branch that I've practiced prusiking up / abseiling down (with a rope slung over and suitably tied).
If I was back in NZ, I might even practice my front-pointing going up the big shitty pines in the backyard too
In short - trees have improved my climbing ability, and are free.

Also got 2 captains of crush grippers that I keep on my work desk and do a set of 5 every now and again. Mostly helps with general hand / forearm strength.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

In addition to the good advice above I'd say you don't need to shell out a small fortune on a fancy hardcore fingerboard. You can make a simple one just using an old strip of wood and some square blocks for the edges. This way you can make the blocks as big as you feel you need and make them slightly incut too (easily done by making the whole board tilt slightly up with a thin strip of wood or newspaper along the inside of the bottom edge). With blocks your thumbs go naturally on to the sides of the blocks which also reduces the force on the fingers too.

How are you at general pull ups on a bar? Doing fingerboard hangs its usually recommended to engage one's shoulder blades but that of course takes strength too. Progressing on bar pull ups for a while might be a good way forward. If you can't do any then look on Youtube for pull up and chin up progressions. Bars are also good for many other exercises including core stuff like various forms of leg raises.

The satisfaction of training is seeing yourself get stronger but to do that you've got stick at - three times a week is probably best. It's also good to use a training diary to chart progress and keep you motivated.