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progression and transgression impressions?

Original Post
Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450

Hi:

I've been hearing a few things here and there (such as this thread)
mountainproject.com/v/eva-l…
and this review
powercompanyclimbing.com/20…
about the Eva Lopez Transgression and Progression hangboards.

Curious:
1) Have you used one, and had good/bad luck with it?

2) The major departure this board makes from pretty much all others is that there's only one hold type (an edge), and variation comes with size only. So no pinches or pockets. Various other manufacturers and gurus recommend using a variety of grips, because the rock has a variety of holds. Thoughts?

3) The Transgression is the hard one, and the Progression is the more entry level...anyone have direct experience with both? If so, any thoughts on just going straight to the Transgression?

Thanks,
David

reboot · · . · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 125

I don't have a lot of direct experience, but a buddy (that climbs at similar level) bought the Transgression last winter & sold it before spring. He thought it was a gimmick & the texture was horribly rough. He ended up sanding down the smallest edge & it still wasn't that hard as a 2-hand 10 second deadhang hold.

Personally, I think the RPTC and the Beastmaker are the 2 best boards on the market, depending how much of a wood texture snob you are. Even if you buy them both they'd still end up cheaper.

Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
reboot wrote:I don't have a lot of direct experience, but a buddy (that climbs at similar level) bought the Transgression last winter & sold it before spring. He thought it was a gimmick & the texture was horribly rough. He ended up sanding down the smallest edge & it still wasn't that hard as a 2-hand 10 second deadhang hold. Personally, I think the RPTC and the Beastmaker are the 2 best boards on the market, depending how much of a wood texture snob you are. Even if you buy them both they'd still end up cheaper.
Thanks Reboot! Interesting...

I don't know if you saw the review I posted in the original post, but it alludes to them having made some pretty major manufacturing changes...sounds like the initial version was kind of rushed to market and had some issues...'course, maybe your friend's experience was AFTER all the changes?

Anyway, thanks again.
Rui Ferreira · · Boulder, CO · Joined Jul 2003 · Points: 903

if a 10 second hang on the smallest edge is easy then the process is to add external resistance (weights). There are videos online that detail the various exercises for these boards.

I guess some of the appeal is that the various training sets are very few and not requiring much time per session.

kenr · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 16,608

You either believe in the Eva Lopez strategy or you don't.

For hang training, seems to me you think you either want
A) a simulation of a range of "realistic" climbing holds, or
B) focused strengthening of two (or three) specific grip configuration angles, usually some sort of "open", and some sort of "crimp".

People who choose B usually think that the attempted fingerboard simulation of A is fairly lame -- and have frequent access to a good indoor climbing gym or a system board or bouldering wall at home. People who want A obviously are not going to be happy with either of the Eva Lopez fingerboards.

Authorities who recommend B often think that a simple piece wood of roughly appropriate width is sufficient (sanded and filed to desired feel).

Idea is to have a positive edge so the focus is on muscle-tendon strength and perhaps neural recruitment, rather than subtleties of friction (or sweating). Adjust for changes in strength by attaching weights to the climber, or by grasping a rope or elastic or pulley to reduce weight-load.

When you feel like your current piece of wood is too easy / too wide, you cut (or purchase) another one and sand + file that to your taste. Or stick a shim (plastic?) above/behind the current piece.

I guess the advantage of Eva Lopez board is for ...
1) people who don't want to have to guess a width of wood (and guess again later sometime), or
2) don't have space for several different widths of wood? or can't figure out shims? or
3) have a strong preference for the feel of resin over wood, or
4) believe that switching among different edge widths in the same workout is important (instead of just changing the amount of weight attached to the hanging climber) - I'll guess the Eva Lopez website explains why this is so valuable.
or
5) ? some other reason ?

reboot · · . · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 125
Rui Ferreira wrote:if a 10 second hang on the smallest edge is easy then the process is to add external resistance (weights).
One can only add so much weight before it ends up overloading the shoulder, elbow & whatever else. I've found working pairs of fingers really help recruit the less dominant fingers, in addition to stressing the finger tendons to withstand the load placed on 1/2 finger pockets.

kenr wrote:You either believe in the Eva Lopez strategy or you don't.
Or you tried the Eva Lopez strategy and found it not to work for you. If you have access to a system board w/ matching set of holds you probably have no need for a fingerboard, but otherwise there's more to climbing hard than being able to crimp the smallest edge w/ all 4 fingers, at least as far as hand/finger strength goes.
kenr · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 16,608
reboot wrote:there's more to climbing hard than being able to crimp the smallest edge w/ all 4 fingers
That seems like an obvious point.
But I suspect part of the "belief" in the Eva Lopez approach is an obsession with hanging off small (positive non-sloping) edges - (Just like some climbers get obsessed with certain campus-board sequences). I remember some note on Eva Lopez blog about the exact width of the smallest edge some guy had hanged on for some number of seconds. Maybe around where she lives there are lots of popular problems/projects with cruxes of small positive edges?

Myself I did go through a phase of my hang training where I worked on trying to hang off the smallest edge that I could for a single rep. After I succeeded on the smallest edge on my fingerboard, I created smaller (non-sloper) edges with wood, and adjusted them smaller with plastic shims. (I guess this was around the time I first read about the Eva Lopez boards.) And I was amazed at how small an edge I developed to be able to handle.

Then I discovered there were lots of outdoor sequences I could not send, for which this capability made no difference. Then I decided that spending lots of training time hanging from 4 fingers on small edges was boring. And also that spending lots of time hanging from 3 or 2 or 1 fingers per hand was boring.

But likely I'll get back into static hangs again sometime.

Ken

P.S. Funny a couple of times at my local gym a climber asked me to show them how to get started with campusing ... and the first thing they noticed was that I grasped the wood rung with an open grip using all 4 fingers. It had not before occurred to them to use their pinky finger in an Open grip.
Eric8 · · Maynard, MA · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 310

Never tried the board but you don't need pockets to train pockets and edge works fine. Pinches are harder to train...never tried the rock prodigy board and its pinches.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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