Nice video Emil! To add to the conversation I thought it might be interesting to add a note on campusing on boulders. You mention this could be a good way to introduce climbers to campusing before moving to the actual campus board, which we agree with. Lots of nice hold options to start with! We also think campusing on boulders is a great idea for world class athletes too. We've seen many elite climbers use footless bouldering sessions to great effect. Some V16 boulderers here in the UK very rarely use a campus board but do their campusing on system boards or woodies. The introduction on more complex movement and multidirectional holds makes it in many ways better than traditional campusing for these elite climbers. Keep up the good work Emil ✊
Possibly the best thumbnail of any climbing video? 😛💪 EDIT: Psyched to see you discussing the trackability of all these modalities. I think that's a very under-analyzed, under-utilized aspect of so many climbers' training programs. Thanks for the great video! -Emile
Great video, I like the mix of recent videos! Nice mix of outdoor, indoor and training. Perfect follow-up to your last upload too. Thanks for the effort you put in your videos!
Fast becoming the most informative and interesting climbing channel on the Tube. Good to see a mix up of new ideas and styles coming through. Up there with Magnus and Erik Horst.
I really enjoyed the style you used to explain all the info. I think there's a perfect amount of detail for anyone of almost any level to get started and feel confident. Awesome job!! :)
That is exactly the videos I love: concise informative without sacrificing entertainment (which is definitely not easy while talking about training). Also might motivate me to finally start training more analytically and less randomly. Keep up the good work dude
Great Video! I think a combination of Max Hangs and snappy moves like on a Spraywall or Campusboard might be the way to go, not seeing them exclusively. Increasing your maximum finger flexor force in a controlled way with the hangs and then learning to access it as quickly as possible. Would be really interesting to see your maximum hangs and rate of force development tested in an assessment with the digital lattice rung :) keep it up :)
0:33 - one of the most impressive feats of physical achievement I’ve ever seen! After climbing for between 1 and 2 years and somewhat improving my finger strength, i can’t imagine how this could ever be possible!
Dude, thank you so so much for your content. I'm new to bouldering though I've been a natural climber all my life- I've been climbing trees, houses, rocks, cliffs, town halls, and theater buildings for as long as I could remember. So when I started bouldering it was quite shocking to see how far I had to go to build up the specific technique and strength to progress. At first, the progression was good and fast but since I hit my first plateau I've had to start thinking about moves more than just moving through moves - your videos give me a structured approach to my training and answer many of the unknowns before I even think about those aspects. From me, a big round of applause and gratitude for all the effort and knowledge that you pour into these videos! Cheers mate!
Hey mate! Thanks for the thoughtful comment. Wish you the best of luck with your progression and climbing, I’m 10-something years in and still loving every session!
Cheers Emil - that was not only informative but so motivating that I actually started training on my board that hangs here since a year as decoration :)
Thanks for the really well structured and the very understandable presentation in the video. There's a further climbing orientated method which we called "system wall training". It´s the way of training Alex Huber for instance used before climbing "Om". It was invented in the early ´90s by a German Trainer called Rudi Klausner. It´s more precisely documented in a video called "Die Kraft im Klettern" from VHS times ... It uses a symmetrical set up of the wall and includes basic climbing movements and positions. The intensity of the exercises can be controlled pretty exactly through using a wall with an adjustable angle. It´s kind of old school, because of lacking the contact aspect of gripping. But it is as well a very useful method to combine climbing movement, strengthening the whole body and the training of different holding positions.
Super informative video. My biggest takeaway is I really need to log my progressions. Currently I just do everything by feel and I think it's starting to become more difficult to keep up with where I need to progress
Super great video Emil! I would really like some demostration on how to note the progression and how to plan a training becouse I'm very lost on how to do it.
Thanks for the video :) Would you be willing to make a video about journaling for climbing? It would be interesting to see how you write up your training plans, notes for specific climbs, or progress in general
Thanks you so much for putting the work to produce this video! By far the best finger strength video I've seen yet. Detailed enough without getting in the rabbit hole of technicity and clear/easy to understand and relate to!
I think one important thing to note is that just bouldering on boulder with hard holds will make you progress in finger strength, so just making sure that you try hard on boulders with small holds can be enough to progress. It's even more sport-specific than board climbing, because you will train all types of movement, but it's probably even more chaotic, because if you don't choose the right boulders to try, your finger strength will not progress as much.
That’s why I use those tools as a supplement to climbing and as a training tool. Because there is so much variety with bouldering holds you may change your style of climbing but you can always use the hang boards to add structure to the chaotic routine.
Insanely motivating video. Perfectly condensed and everything🙏 God bless the man😁 I am temporarely injured, but I plan on starting a structured training approach right after full recovery.
Great video! I think one aspect for the pros/cons that you didn't consider is accessibility. Sure, system boards and campus boards are great tools to build fingerstrenght, but a lot of people either prefer doing fun climbing or don't have those instruments (or they don't have enough strenght to use them), while a hangboard not only is very accessible in the sense that anyone could use one, but also that you have it at home. I wonder what would be the best approach for the average, non elite climber who doesn't have the time to train twice a day 5 times a week, considering that climbing is already a great tool for improving your overall fingerstrenght.
Absolutely, accessibility becomes the most important factor. Almost everybody has a doorframe, after all :P I think it'd be very interesting to see a structured study of how average climbers most easily would improve. It's a tricky subject!
Woah! One of my favourite videos on training so far. Love the going in depth and sharing the pros and cons + risk reward section. Informative and entertaining 😄
Really cool and precise video! As a 1 year climber I'm moving onto easy campus boarding sessions integrated in climbing sessions and probably fingerboard for warmup only after this, thanks. And I'll note results! ✊
thanks to the youtube algorythm for recomending me this gem of a vid!! and thanks to you Emil for making it... idk if il be a frequent veiwer but this is an easy subscribe in my book.
Thanks a lot for the tips, super clear and useful information! One small thing I saw from the video that might have minimal impact short term but "might" make a difference long term, you seem to be doing 4 seconds max hang instead of the min. 5s you recommended, and a 6/4 seconds repeaters instead of a 7/3, make sure to add that one extra second in, and hope you don't mind me pointing that out! Happy training and thanks again for the video!!
Very much enjoyed this video! But as an avid system boarder, I think an important aspect of trackability was missed. I agree that tracking progress between climbs can be difficult/arbitrary depending on the climb, but repeating boulders and logging their difficulty (not by grade but by how you feel on the wall) can be a very effective way of tracking your progress. For example, when I was first getting into moonboarding I would repeat climbs I had difficulty with (Hatha Yoga) and log how the holds felt as well as how hard it was to move between them. Keep on keeping on sloper daddy
Great video! Very helpful and informative. Currently rehabing a pulley injury. Which is my first injury and a warning sign that I should train my fingers (according to my physio). Fingerboard has a always been intimidating for a beginner/intermediate climber like me. But now I see it’s just like a dumbbell , track it, know ur limit and it can be very safe. Also the info about contact strength is very interesting, I should include campus board in my training as well. Thanks a lot and keep up the good work!
If I train at all with pull-ups, press-ups or use weights, I get very painful elbows. this puts me off doing a training regime to use as well as climbing
As a climber (bouldering) who started just about 4 months ago and have progressed very quickly (consistently climbing v4-v6, sent a few v7-8), finger strength is the one thing that I lack. These two finger strength videos you have made have helped the most for me learning how to progress. I dont have several years of finger conditioning that you need to climb v8 up and everyone else who has climbed for 5+ years dont have the most reliable training methods to quickly build strength without risking injury. Thank you so much for these videos!!
Very informative video and well structured too! I‘ll be coming back to this one once or twice to look stiff up :) Also cool to see you in in my home gym :D did you happen to try some of the boulders too, I‘d be very curious to see you go on the light blue overhang problem ;)
Great content Emil! Impressive how concise you have been able to showcase your idea. I will start doing some campus latches and campussing on bigger holds. Thank you
This was great. Tying in several training tools that many of us use but don't really know how they relate is very useful. Some info on tracking/journaling and how to modify the training accordingly would also be useful.
My take, as a V10 and 8b climber : -Hangboarding is simple, meaning that you'll have trouble messing it up. it's also compact and cheap, meaning that you can probably have it at home. However, it's boring as hell, and while you're pretty sure to have so physical gains, you might notice low, or even none improvement to your climbing performance (because of contact strength, body positionning, etc). I would only recommend it to people with no other climbing facilites, or super low finger strength related to their climbing level. The risk/reward is in my opinion low/low. -System wall is actual climbing, and if you get better at that, you'll be a better climber. However, i"ve noticed that such walls oftenly have a way too high percentage of "small/medium pinches" holds (like the moonboard does), and it means that you actually get good at such holds, and cut-loose moves (because they make up for pretty bad footholds). While it's interesting, it may push you in a very specific direction, so make sure to diversify somewhere else. In addition, the space required and price of such a training tool is pretty high for an individual : i would actually say that it's not worth it to have it at home unless you have no climbing facilities nearby. if you train on such a tool, try to visit climbs (rock or plastic) that are very different from that, so based on body positionning, huges volumes, that sort of stuff. The risk/reward ratio is high/high if you have it at home, it's quite addictive and you can build yourself ultra-hard boulders on those. -Campusboard : my favorite compromise. You can fit it in a garage or next to your house. Maybe even in an appartement if ceilings are high enough. it comes affordable, and with little woodworking skills you can build rungs yourself, lowering the price. The variety is higher than simple hangboarding, and you can train contact strength and coordination on it. However, it will at some point become boring too, and still doesn't train body positionning, some same advice than for the system wall : try to mix it up with climbs that are very different from a campusboard. The risk reward is medium/medium while using the campusboard "dynamically", and high/high if you use it more statically (yes !) All in all, i pretty much agree with you. In addition, i add that the only time i injured myself was when i wasn't tracking or structuring training. So, either : -fiddling around on a hangboard without structure, "just to keep fitness" every now and then -going to the gym whenever i had the time, without taking rest days into account No training is better than injuries, all the time.
This got me thinking about how climbers can have such different muscle development. Makes sense that climbers with bigger muscles probably climb more dynamically and pull through positions whilst climbers with more condensed muscles are more static.
Hey Emil, I think it would be a gread addition to the video to come up with some sort of testing protocol on what your weakness is. Or add a link to a video. So one can find out what they are mainly lacking of when it comes to holding strength in the fingers (tendons), force generation ability (in the fingers, which is like contact strength) and force generation through the back muscles or forearms. Also maybe like a benchmark route on one of the boards to test wether you lack strength in some part or body tension. As for me as an example, i have 80kg BW, can do a Pull up with max +50kg (62% BW) but only hang with +10kg (12% BW) from a 25mm edge for like 5s, but for like 30+s with BW. And also i can't full crimp and have a hard time staying in half crimp when using crimps/HB in general. Also when i pop of crimps when bouldering i always have the feeling like my finger tendons are giving in, like i never feels something in the forearm muscles. So i am wondering what would be the best approach to increase my finger strength, max hangs or pulling on ledges? And also it seems to me i am super bad at slopers because i can't generate enough friction trough generating force with my fingers. Also when deadlifting 140 kg for reps, grip is not an issue. So i am having a hard time understanding what my main lack of strength is in climbing (besides technique of course).
Hi Emil, i agree with mostly everything, but think you missed out on one important topic. During your Mesocycle, you would have different exercises working on your energy system, just like you explained. During a base, you might work on MaxPower and Endurance, but during a build block, literature usually guides you to power endurance (like campusing, campus bouldering). Would you say, that you select different exercises at different times of your training period? I am a triathlete, thus i am used periodisation of a training year. I know, that climbing in somewhat different. Due to your scientific approach to training, it would be amazing if you could shot a video about building up a training plan for an entire year. Based on the period you are at, which exercises are the most useful. How to choose working to resting periods, rests between sets an so on. Anyways, great video.
Thanks for the video! I've been waiting a while for a video like this. From your video I got that two ways to de-risk system board training would be to (1) using personal benchmarks to check in each session and (2) being careful with volume. Do you have any additional suggestions on how to de-risk system board training?
I'd record myself if I were you, and study what looks "solid" and what doesn't, as well as really focus on how you're holding the holds. A quick example is from something which happened with me and Cordi the other day. She climbed a 7A that had a very very incut hold, and she has a fairly injured finger with the hand that used that hold. It all went well, but when she climbed it she said she was happy she managed to grab the incut hold completely openhanded, but when I showed her the video of it she realised she was holding it with the most fully ultra crimped position ever existed. The point being, sometimes you grab holds differently from what you "feel", and it's important to take note of that!
@@EmilAbrahamsson Hm that's interesting! Thanks for your response. I'll definitely try to film myself more. One final question - when training finger strength on system boards, would you recommend going for smaller moves vs bigger moves? Smaller moves seems intuitively less risky with almost as much benefit, but just wanted to double-check with your experience.
@@rhezabudiono2385 I would think that the downside of doing smaller moves only is that you will not learn how to do big moves (so generating momentum, keeping body tension during the move, etc.).
@@rhezabudiono2385 I mean, I assume doing big moves on small holds is harder, so maybe if you are able to do it it means the holds are not that small for you ? Idk. The most important things stay to be cautious and to rest enough, whatever you decide doing.
If what you're aiming for is finger strength, you can get the gains of the spray wall and circumvent its lack of trackability by periodically measuring your progress ona hangboard instead.
would like to train my campus strength, its the only part of climbing I feel I have a real talent for, as I can do boulders 3 levels higher on big overhangs then I can anywhere else in my gym... Will definitely try to train on the campus board as Its always just been something I saw at the gym but never used. Have a crooked leg so sometimes footwork is my downfall and I am still looking for a teacher to help me figure out how to use my feet/hips more efficiently.
I often find intent when hangboarding makes a huge difference. Actively biting into an edge recruits more fibres into the picture, and will yield better results on the wall, and will most of the time mean you can hang heavier weight too. It's a bit like any other lift really! Awesome video dude ❤️
Hi Emil. Thanks for sharing this content. It's really insightful and well explained. I have one request. I'm interested in your thoughts about how often and how long should you train. Do you believe it's good to have rest days? I personally train every other day, because otherwise I feel too tired the second day and perform poorly. But maybe it's just that I'm training too hard and for too long. Thanks!
A lot of interesting thoughts. Thumbs up for good videos in general. There are though nowadays a lot of studies about isometric training and the benefits of them. With other words, even bodybuilders can use isometrics to get into hypertrophy or if you want to build strength, isometrics are also very efficient, so with other words, finger curls vs hangboarding might not actually be of any difference in building a better "nyp". Board training is for sure helping with overall strength, but as stated, not really measurable if you don't measure the "results" later in others ways like max pull up weight and finger strength on a hangboard. I use max hangs as kind of a warm up and climb on a board for training.. outdoor climbing is where i get my technique schooling. I think these are three different ways of training in general, and one should know what one needs to train and how to use them properly. Everything depends a lot on what's the level of the climber and what is the target. Keep up your good work 👍
Cheers mate, appreciate the feedback. I'll have to expand my research a bit then, my knowledge from mostly talking to experts in powerlifting and reading articles in the past has been that eccentric loads will usually provide up to 70% more muscle strength than isometrics and that it's within a 15degree ROM that you can strengthen the muscle from isometrics. But again, these subjects seem to change and expand every year so I'm completely open to just not being read up on the latest research!
@@EmilAbrahamsson Yes, this is actually very true. The "new" studies showing good results in isometrics are very fresh indeed! Some articles I have read through claimes best isometric benefits comes from doing isometrics with the targeted muscle closer to it's full length, and isometrics also seems according to some studies work best on the muscles on the shorter side, meaning isometric training seems to have a better effect on the biceps than on the triceps for example. But for every study I'm convinced you can find a study claiming the opposite... 😂
Thanks for the video bro I know you didn’t add this one but I feel like people forget climbing outside is 5 out of 5 on the risk scale and probably a 4/5 on the reward. I’ve met strong climbers who’ve even hurt themselves on v2’s outside ha
Pinches is a video I've been working on for a while in writing, but nothing exists yet. I dropped a video a few months ago on slopers that I'm quite happy with, 7 lessons to improve your sloper strength. Check it out and let me know what you think!
hello my question is: if i bouldering 2 times per week,when should i do finger workout?like at the start of my bouldering session or at the end?Or in a complelty different day?(but i dont prefer that because i go to the gym so i only bouldering 2 times per week)
