UKC

Hi folks,

Now that home training is the norm for a few weeks, I thought I'd canvass opinion on this issue I have.

Like many I've got a beastmaker 1000 over the kitchen door. It's great but I find the slopers basically impossible to hold on to. At the Works I can use the slopers on either of the angles no problem, and can do pull-ups on them, but not at home!

Anyone else have this issue and got any suggestions? Perhaps roughing up the surface with sandpaper? Or is it just that the beastmakers at the Works have enough sweat and chalk on them to hold my hands in place??

Cheers,

Max

There's a section on this here

https://www.beastmaker.co.uk/pages/faq

I had exactly the same problem but it got better with use. Oddly enough, it can vary with the weather but mine's in the garage so it might be the humidity.

I asked a similar question in January. The best response I had was

"you don't break in a beastmaker..." 

Sweat, chalk and effort should make them more amenable!

Having said that, me and my mate both bought beastmakers around the same time, his was much darker, more patterned, slicker wood whereas mine is much paler, planer and feels much more grippy.  I can hang on the steep slopers on mine whereas I struggle on his.  Just variations caused by them being made of wood.

I guess hard is good, will need more effort and make you stronger.  And prolong how long it will be till you have to upgrade to the 2000!

Every Beastmaker owner has this issue

You just have to hope it's only sweat and chalk

Take a fine rasp to it. You can always sand it smooth again if it gets too easy. 

I find on my 2000 that chalk is a no go on the slopers, I prefer them tacky. That said, my newer one is way harder than the one at the gym that's seen tonnes of chalk. I find body position key personally.

Sticky damp works well for me. I use chalk on all the different grips apart from the slopers, where I wet my hands slightly before hanging, obviously not too wet but it's very effective, I can hang one handed from them this way!

Bizarre, I definitely have to use chalk on mine to have any sort of sensible workout (2000 in the garage)

After about five years of intensive use every day they will break in - by then you'll either be so hard or so broken that it's irrelevant

Have you checked that the beastmaker is placed exactly vertical? Even a degree overhanging could make the slopers much harder to use. I think I saw a section on the BM website mentioning customers who have accidentally installed it somewhere overhanging!

As I've found in the past, if it's over the kitchen door it could be getting greasy from cooking etc. 

good point, I couldn't hang the smaller holds at all when I first put mine up, turns out it was leaning forwards, packed them bottom out with cardboard in the end.

Thanks everyone, really interesting to hear how each of you has tackled this apparently universal issue!

Hadn't thought to check whether it's vertical or not - to my shame I got someone else to put it up for me and just assumed they did it right! The rest of the holds are fine so I'm fairly sure it's right...

I had felt that a dusting of chalk maybe did help a bit, but I'll also give it a good clean to see if that makes a difference. Intrigued at the idea of having damp hands - I kind of suspect that'll just end up with me in a heap on the floor even quicker than normal!

I'll report back in 5 years as to whether I'm hard or broken. Pretty sure it'll be the latter but we'll see. 

Maybe the take-home message is that you can't make a beast without pretty regular struggle and frustration. Which makes sense.

Wipe it down with a damp cloth, let it dry, chalk then brush. This will bring out the grain a little. 

Thanks, will do!

I know this sounds a bit arcane, but when you brush it, brush it lengthwise with the grain. On some Beastmakers this can make a difference if you brush it consistently. 
Also, pack the bottom out until you can hold the slopers, then remove packing over time as your contact strength increases. It doesn’t take much to make a big difference

paul

I struggle bad if my hands/fingers have too much hard skin... They just skid off.

I would recommend doing pull-ups one hand on a sloper, one on a bigger hold then swap if it's just one of those days that you can't stick to the slopers... Works better than doing nowt.

I reckon humidity and hand/skin conditions are the whole game. I have dry hands and a mixture of damp cloth and chalk seem to make a difference. If everything is totally dry then it is nails. But as a mate pointed out, it is supposed  to be difficult. Turn the whole problem around, and think that you are getting max bang for your buck. 

Not original, but build into it. Pop your thumbs in the adjacent holes and or squeeze the bit in the middle. You will soon have it. 

Work on your grip, try one hand on the Sloper and one hand on something positive, start with your body exactly under the board. Keep at it. We have all been there. Now, I have a problem with my beastmaker 2000 .....