UKC

Hi,

I'm pretty new to climbing and trying to build my strength and technique. In the last few days I've been making some attempts at fingerboard training (or just hanging off door frames if needs be) and I'm wondering how long I should be doing this for each day to see an improvement over time without risking injury?

I can currently really only hang for about 2 seconds! Pathetic I know! Is there an amount of hangs I should be doing daily or should I dedicate a certain amount of time and just do as many as I can in that time?

Thanks in advance,
Rach

In reply to Rachyjane:

I'm from the "don't train strength before you've got good technique" school of thinking. I reckon fingerboard training is useful only once you're bouldering about V5/6, as before that level if you gain strength out of proportion to your technique, you learn how to climb badly.

In reply to Rachyjane:

If you're new to climbing I'd say you're barking up the wrong tree with fingerboard training. Your time would be better spent just getting mileage, at this time of year most likely bouldering.

In reply to Rachyjane:

Climb 2-3 times a week for a year, you need the rest between trips to the wall to recover.

At this stage in your climbing the only system I would say you can beast all the time is your core.

Bouldering would certainly help your technique, strength and power development. Endurance takes 6-8weeks of training to optimise what strength you have.

In reply to Rachyjane:

As you are 'pretty new to climbing' then definitely would advise you stay away from fingerboard training and definitely not 'each day': that way injury lies. Just do plenty of mileage as others have said and build in plenty of rest days to recover and consolidate your gains. Good luck and enjoy.

Im not really sure how to reply to all of you at the same time haha, so sorry - hope this works. Thanks for the advice, duly noted! It was really just something I was thinking would help through the week as I work long hours so can only climb once a week ish and I'm inpatient to improve! But I'll give it a rest and commit to researching techniques instead!
Thanks again.

In reply to Rachyjane:
If you can only climb once a week progression is likely to be slow-ish. You could get a pull up bar and do some pull up training along with some core too if motivated. Or you could get some large finger blocks - say big enough to go to your second finger joint and do some pull ups on those which would be more specific though harder.

But ideally try to climb more if at all possible. Climbing is predominantly a skill sport so getting stronger won't help that side of it. Going twice a week on a consistent basis would be more than twice as good for improving.

Cool that you're getting into climbing though. Great sport and a life changer for many people. Have fun.

In reply to Rachyjane:
If you're new to climbing and only climbing once a week, what will hold you back is only climbing once a week. No point getting strong (or injured) if you can't deploy that strength due to poor technique or head game. You really don't need to finger board until mid E grades / mid sport 7s / bouldering V5 and above. I don't fingerboard; if I did, it *might* help me improve but better technique and more strength from general hard(ish) bouldering plus following an actual training plan would probably pay more dividends.

In reply to Rachyjane:

Fingerboard training for new climbers is really a short cut to injury and a long cut to performance. Climb more first - seriously for a long time - then your fingers and tendons will adapt to the rigors of climbing and if finger strength is a serious limitation (around v5/6 as before) start slowly and gently.

Fingerboarding before you've given a chance for your connective tissue to adapt isn't a good idea and it does take a long time to acquire the adaptations.

Technique, core strength, flexibility, technique and more technique are good early things to train!

In reply to duchessofmalfi:
Hm. I can see some value in dead hangs and leg raises if climbing twice a week, on the days in between eg climb, rest, dead hangs leg raises (knee raises), rest, climb, rest rest. It all depends what's there to start with though.

In reply to Rachyjane

I say start early if you are up for it and it doesn't get in the way of other more productive stuff. It takes a long time to get finger strength gains so good to start early. It is a controllable exercise so if being sensible and coupled with a progressive warm up of increasingly harder hangs then finger injury can usually be avoided

2secs isn't long enough hang time though. You need to do hangs between 5 and 30secs. You need some assistance to do this. A chair set back will do the trick though a pulley system with weights is ideal.

In reply to Rachyjane:

As most people suggest, just more climbing is all you need. 

But if you can't.... For a beginner some doorframes could provide an edge that is way too small, especially if painted / varnished, so don't be surprisedby 2 secs. Hang board training is often just up to 7 secs on, 3 off, repeat. 
Any idea how deep it is, the edge? If u really can only get out climbing once a week, fingerboard can help start getting your fingers strong, but be very careful if you buy one , don't use any small edges, maybe even close them off with tape so you can't risk injury.... Nearly all the edges on most fingerboards are too small for beginner cimbers, and are meant to be training aids for intermediates and above. 
I would have thought you would want at least 50mm depth. 
The beastmaker 1000 provides some good jugs, try doing pull ups on these, or a bar, or sanded slightly rounded beam, that you can get almost the full length of fingers on top of, that may be 50 - 70 mm deep depending on handsize. You will be hanging on a big hold, it will still develop your fingerstrength, and pulling up strength. Round off the edge, it will also help if it has some texture, not paint or varnish. 
Perhaps have a foot edge / big strong theraband loop to put your foot in / chair to assist if necessary. 
Maybe 3 to 6 months in, or longer, you could start playing with edges that allow all your fingers to the mid joint, that's probably still about 30 to 50mm deep. 
Always warm up, read about the dangers of crimping, and different crimps, and avoid using them as a beginner, but crimping holds is still recommended at times and is a grip you need to train, later .
Read about how to hang right, with bent elbows. Theres lots of web trails to read on fingerboarding, and injuries. Read about how to hang right without fully stretching your shoulders too. Don't drop into fully stretched shoulders, put feet down first. 
Read lots about injury potential... Your best tip, get working through all the thereaband injury prevention exercises, buy a variety of bands, the cheapest sports direct stuff and argos davina or pro sport stuff are well worth incorporating straight away. 
Have the board or bar at a height you can reach without needing to jump to it, to avoid shock loading vulnerabilities, also so that when your fingers start to uncurl you can touch back down to ground with your feet and then release grip, rather than slip off the hold with weak grip. 
Maybe you will manage to use it regularly,... In 6 months to a year, when you start to use the medium size edges, expect slow progress, be patient, there's plenty of time, years to build it up, before going to, <25mm edges.
Train other large sloping holds too, long before you play with the small edges.
Some people do start out with more fingerstrenth than others.

If you are a teenager or younger, read about why you shouldn't be doing it at all.