Training spiel:

General stuff:

I never train on my fingerboard more than twice/three times a week if doing large sessions, if you only do an hour a day though more will be possible.

I never prioritize the fingerboard training for more than a 4-week cycle

If I feel a niggle on a grip I don’t use that at all, then depending on the severity I either end the session straight away, or I just use safe grips like open hand on different slopers.

I usually listen to music when training to keep focused, as daydreaming is a killer to the stopwatch,

If I feel bad I don’t force a session I go for a run or do something light to help recovery.

This is a general guide and is set out in really basic form so you can tailor it to the training regime that suits you, e.g don’t go jumping on monos until your good at middle two and front two, the trick is to take it steady and aim for slow gains rather than a long layoff because you shot a tendon trying one arm mono front levers with a weight belt on because last week you felt strong on the juggy monos.

If adding weight add no more than 5kg at a time when on 2 arms and 2kg if on 1

If you find progress slow going change things up a little or stop and go Bouldering or campusing instead and come back in a few weeks with fresh tenacity.

Repeaters: I have found repeaters useful for increasing all round finger strength, however they side more towards power endurance than explosive power, yet I find they help build a foundation on which explosive power can be trained on. I often do One set of repeaters followed by some maximal hangs on grips I find difficult. I will do 2 sets to consolidate grip types and to build up my basic finger strength level, which applies to both Routes and Bouldering. I try not to add weight because with this fingerboard you can just use harder grips, however for the open handed grips I found it useful to add weight on the 35 degree sloper before I was able to use the 45. For half crimp I can use the smallest rails so I added weight up to 10kg before switching to One arm dead hangs. Lately, for all the 2 finger or less grips I found I could do mid two on the slopey pockets, front 2 on the 1 pad pocket and back 2 on the 2 pad pocket.

set 1
Grip type	duration (secs)	repetitions	weight	rest (mins)
back 2	7on 3 off	7		2
mono	7on 3 off	7		2
front 2	7on 3 off	7		2
mid 2	7on 3 off	7		2
1/2 crimp	7on 3 off	7		2
open	7on 3 off	7		8
set 2
Grip type	duration (secs)	repetitions	Weight	rest (mins)
back 2	7on 3 off	6		2
mono	7on 3 off	6		2
front 2	7on 3 off	6		2
mid 2	7on 3 off	6		2
1/2 crimp	7on 3 off	6		2
open	7on 3 off	6		8

Encores: I often do these on one arm now as I find extra weight with 2 arms can do more damage than good when at your absolute limit. One arm dead hangs feel a lot more natural. Also I often try to lock at different angles using one arm, so my first hang will be at full lock, the next at 120, then 90, then 1/4, 1/2 and back to full, I find this helps keep my arms in shape as lots of finger boarding can lead to awesome finger strength but a lack of burl.

I have found that this works for maximal hangs:

Max hangs
Grip type	arms	duration (secs)	repetitions	Weight	rest (mins)
index mono	2	5 on 10 off	4 or 5		2
mono	2	5 on 10 off	4 or 5		2 between each arm
front 2	1 arm R then 1arm L	5 on 10 off	4 or 5		2 between each arm
mid 2	1 arm R then 1arm L	5 on 10 off	4 or 5		2 between each arm
1/2 crimp	1 arm R then 1arm L	5 on 10 off	4 or 5		2 between each arm
open	1 arm R then 1arm L	5 on 10 off	4 or 5		2 then 8

One armers:

I have found most success training these by doing pyramids with assistance

1 armers
reps	assistance	rest (mins)
1	0kg or little finger	2
2	2kg or little finger	2
3	4kg or index finger	2
4	8kg or index finger	2
5	10kg or middle finger	2
4	8kg or index finger	2
3	4kg or index finger	2
2	2kg or little finger	2
1	0kg or little finger	8

I will do one full set on one arm (my weakest i.e. Right) then I will do the next set on my strongest arm i.e. left, I find this has helped to begin to sort out any imbalances I have had in the past. I often do this exercise off the 20 degree sloper or one of the central “face” holds. I often would combine 2 sets of these (one for each arm) with a core work out, but not really with maximal hangs or repeaters as I find it drains the arms past the quick recovery period. If you only wish to train 2-3 times a week or have to have time off due to work it could be a good idea though.

Core:

My core exercises consist of various types of front levers and pressure levers, and occasionally bat hang sit-ups, back raises and front lowers,

Front levers: I hang for between 5 to ten seconds, in reps of 5 with 2 mins rest, I mix them up by lowering in or ‘bicycling’ my legs.

Pressure levers: involve levering out onto a vertical object within reach and putting pressure on it.

scorpion raises: can be done on any floor and have been made famous by the movie ‘Oldboy’ all you do is lie on your front and place your arms by your waist then try to lift your legs and chest up to past 45 degrees and off the floor: (similar to a planche but easier)

Ground levers: look stupid but are nails. Lie on your back and with your arms by your waist kick your legs up to near vertical and lower them as slowly as possible infront of you. (you may have to tuck your legs in) ground levers also help deep lock on steep stuff, they also nail the triceps.