Fingerboard Basics, with Ben Moon

Fingerboards (AKA hangboards) are simple training devices: long, flat pieces of plastic or wood covered with hand holds (crimps, pockets, slopers, pinches, jugs) and bolted above a door or to a freestanding support. To train, climbers hang from fingerboards, with the ultimate goal of increasing maximum finger strength.

The British climbing and training legend Ben Moon trained fingerboard-style in the early 1990s: he’d do one-arm hangs on blocks of wood screwed to a beam. He’d reduce weight by gripping a suspended bicycle inner tube — a makeshift bungee — with his free hand. Today, he designs his own training equipment (and clothing; see www.moonclimbing.com for both) — and he still has shockingly strong fingers, even off the couch. Moon has climbed V13/14 (at age 40), and has climbed and trained with a topflight crew, including Jerry Moffat, Malcolm Smith, and Richard Simpson. In other words: he knows a thing or two. And he believes that finger strength is a key to climbing harder. “Ultimately, it’s your fingers that keep you in contact with the rock,” he says. So it’s no surprise that Moon has designed his own fingerboard and believes training with one will benefit any climber.

There are many ways to use a fingerboard. For this article, I spoke with Moon, to get his timetested tips and a sample routine that’ll get you cranking.

FINGERBOARD BASICS — 8 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU HANG

Focus on the Fingers: Avoid using a fingerboard to perform large numbers of pull-ups; instead, focus on the fingers by hanging rather than pulling. “For someone who hasn’t done this kind of training before, I’d say keep it really simple,” says Moon. “Oneor two-arm dead hangs are mainly what I’ve done.”

Do it Right: “Compared to pullups, hanging puts less stress on your joints,” says Moon… “If you do it right.” His advice: don’t use a true “dead hang” position, but a tensed posture, as though about to initiate a pull-up, with your elbows slightly bent. Keep your fingers in a position about halfway between open hand and crimp, too.

Space Your Workouts: Don’t begin any workout on the board unless you’re feeling healthy and well rested. Even a short fingerboard workout can leave you needing two to four days off, depending on age and fitness level. A halfdozen of these sessions will give big gains, even if spaced through your climbing season.

Stay Hydrated: Dehydration makes tendon or ligament injuries more likely and lowers your performance, so come to a fingerboard workout prepared. Start hydrating the day before your workout, as it’s almost impossible to make up the loss once you start a training session.

Warm Up First: Raise your pulse with 20 minutes of aerobic exercise (jogging, cycling, jumping rope, or whatever gets you going). Then do some light arm work (for example, three sets of pull-ups on the largest holds available, at two-to-three-minute intervals, and at 30 to 50 percent of max effort). Take five, and then begin in earnest.

Use good form: As with weight lifting, you should perform fingerboard exercises in total control — no jerking, swinging, slipping, shifting, or straining, all of which will put you at serious risk of injury. During your training, “aim for about 90 percent of maximum effort,” says Moon.

Stop Before Failure: These exercises are to increase peak strength, not endurance. Quit while you’re ahead and train again a few days later. Split the workout into separate days, if necessary.

Remember to Rest: “The most important point is to feel strong every time you do an exercise,” says Moon. “You just rest as long as it takes. It might sound strange because maybe you’re only hanging for five seconds, but you could easily need a three-minute rest after that!“