UKC

As the title says really. Never fingerboardEd in my life and know zilch about it... I climb 6b+ indoors at the minute, 6b outdoors. The beastmaker appealed because of the apps until I read that they will kick your ass. Any other similar systems which will be hard but not demotivated?

In reply to beardy mike:

The alternative is to make a board out of scrap wood you have lying about or fish out of a skip. If you've got some very basic skills and a few tools it could could save you pounds.

And if money is no object you could make a big board, tailor made to the space you have and use it for all sorts of things like wide grip pull ups, traversing and campusing. The Raboutou family has a pretty good one in their lounge:

youtube.com/watch?v=D6y_GHkEtr0&

The only thing with the Beastmaker app is that the grades are a bit off. No reason not to use one though.

In reply to beardy mike:

The Beastmaker 1000 plus the app. Just cut the time on any of the hangs you can't do a full 7sec. I've notice newer 1000's seem to have deeper or more positive small crimps than old ones so maybe it won't be so bad...

In reply to JLS:
OK. They do seem like nice pieces of kit and the app does appeal. Well that's a Christmas present sorted then B)

In reply to beardy mike:

There is a few different apps. hang board guru ( summat like that) is another. Beast maker is a good board but the app is buggy and the routines are way too long IMO. They should remove the grades as well.

In reply to beardy mike:

IMHO, the Beastmaker's a really great board whether you're using the app or not. Wood's easy on your skin and it's the best-designed out of any wooden board I've tried.

There are various different fingerboarding protocols, and also various free/minimal-cost exercise timer apps, so if you don't want to go with the Beastmaker approach (or would like to work up to their "easiest" routine) but would like the convenience of a timer on your phone, it's very easy to set up one that does exactly what you want.

In reply to beardy mike:

I'd bought and never used finger boards in the past. It was only really the Beastmaker app that gave me enough discipline to to useful work. It's not easy work but if you stick at it you'll get there. The routines are based on 18 sets of 6 hangs (each hang 7sec on 3sec off) on diffrent holds. Typically there are 2.5min rest between each set and 6min between sets 6 & 7 and sets 12 & 13. Maybe first session just do sets 1-6. Like I said earlier the small crimps are nails so I let the timer run down to 5sec to go before starting rather than doing the full 7sec. I can do 5sec right through but if I try 7sec I crack after about 3. The slopers are very "conditions" dependent. Some days I can do all the sloper hangs, other times it is impossible. I started at the beginning with struggling on "5A" and progress to "6A" over about six months (I'm old). I skipped 5C as that seemed more brutal than 6A. Takes about 1hr 15 to get through all 18 sets. A warm-up that works for me is...

10min rubber ring squeezes, 10 LH, 10 RH, 20 LH, 20 RH, 30 LH, etc up to 60 then back down to 10.
20min pull-ups and press-ups... 5 pull-ups on the odd minute and 5 press-ups on the even minute.

I was doing it once a week for about 9 months (last year) but I dropped it to make time for other things. Expect to restart shortly once I chuck the Track Cycling again and ramp the climbing back up.

In reply to beardy mike:

If you don't like the Beastmaker app there are various free timer apps for tablets and smartphones. I use Hybrid Interval timer and New Interval timer for Android. The first is simpler to use and a bit more basic, great for single exercises with lots of sets and reps or circuit training. New Interval timer has more options and you can program a whole workout. When you've completed a workout it also records the fact in a log with the time and date.

You could also consider a making Kraftboard: vimeo.com/195121901

In reply to stp:


Good link, cheers for posting. I'd seen their standard pegboard before but not the Kraftboard variant.

In reply to beardy mike:

The BM 1000 is excellent, I would also add that you can get away with buying a single medium and small campus rung from them as well if you are squeezed for space.

Now having used both wood and resin types, I would not go back with resin, it destroys skin so quickly

In reply to beardy mike:

Has anyone tried the grip monkeys board? Sorry I'm dragging away from the BM feedback, but thought it might be a good alternative as I'm looking for my first board!

In reply to natehd9:

http://www.gripmonkeys.co.uk/

Not seen that before. Looks like a Beastmaker clone and about £10 cheaper. Interesting.

In reply to stp:

"Made of hard beech wood it is sporting smooth holds and grippy sloppers"

Interesting indeed!