Hangboarding with a portable AC unit

Hangboarding with a portable AC unit.

Do you want to improve your hanboard workouts? -------> Yes you do.

First off, there is nothing new or novel in this read (looking at you, hecklers). I'm only here to share the details of my/Mike Anderson’s hangboard/portable AC set up and the results I found.

To begin, my brother made mention of an article written by Mike Aderson's wife on the creation of the bubble, “a hermetically sealed hangboarding bubble in which climate could be easily and precisely controlled.” To be honest, after seeing the pictures, I had a good chuckle, but reading the article evoked memories of several sweaty and less-than-optimal hangboard sessions. Needless to say I was intrigued, but $320 is more than a modest investment. But after a couple days of thought and the encroaching summer heat, I pulled the trigger. A week after reading the article my LG 10,000 BTU portable air conditioner arrived (huge shoutout to Amazon/UPS for shipping this 80lb monster to the front door of my upstairs apartment for free!).

My set up:

The mount for the hangboard is a near carbon copy of the set-up discussed here. I held out on going full bubble because space is already tight and it isn’t necessary for the time being (more on that later). I usually flip the unit on an hour before the workout and warm-up at the gym near my place during that time.

Specs:

I live in Portland, OR
Highs this Spring have been in the 60s and 70s.
Humidity in room is somewhere in 50-70% range.
Room size: 160 sq. ft.
AC unit model: LG 10,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner (rated for 300 sq. ft.)
Price: $320
Distance from AC vent to board: 3 ft (important**)
Hanging protocol: Repeaters. 7s on, 3s off per rep. 5-7 reps per set. 14-21 sets.

Temperature Data from a few different days/climates
Time of workout: 10AM
Forecasted high: 74F
Temp of Room (No AC): 66F
Temperature of Hangboard (with AC): 50F
Temperature of Room (with AC): 60

Time of Workout 6PM
Forecasted high: 79F
Temp of Room (No AC): 73F
Temperature of Hangboard (with AC): 55F
Temperature of Room (with AC): 64

Objective findings:

Proximity is key. Naturally, the air coming out of the unit is much cooler than what the entire room will cool down to. As you can see above, the temperature on the hangboard is 10F cooler than the rest of the room.

You'll also notice a fan on the right side of this image. While the fan is an integral part of everyone's set up I don't actually use it. When the fan is on the temperature near the hangboard actually increases a few degrees. This is due to the fan circulating the warmer room-temperature air and this disturbs the conditions of the, in my case, “pseudobubble.”

Subjective findings:

First off I was blown away after my first workout.
While the obvious advantage of using a portable AC unit is:
Decreased Temperature ---> Increased friction ---> More effective workout
The benefits are actually several fold:

The sweating. Virtually gone. A shit-eating grin crept across my face at the end of each set as I looked down and found all the chalk I started the set with still on my finger tips. Exactly what I was hoping for when I made the purchase. I will note that my thumbs still get a little sweaty during the pinch grips.

Skin. My skin is intact after my workouts. The thin crimp and pinches on the RPTC hangboard can be absolutely heinous on the skin. Unfortunately I haven’t used this hangboard without AC so I can’t compare for myself. But this allows me to get the most out of my last sets by preserving skin throughout the workout.
ALSO (and this might be my favorite part), between sets I’ll hold my hands over the vent for about 30 seconds and when it comes time to hang my skin will be noticeably firmer. Very reassuring before high resistance sets!

Convenience. The forecasted high tomorrow is in the 80s? No problem! No longer am I sentenced to waking up at the butt-crack-of-dawn for improved temps.

Would I change anything

:

Do I think I would benefit by going full-bubble?
Maybe? But probably not. My unit has a “protective mode” that shuts off the compressor (briefly) if the ambient temperature gets “too cold.” This has happened a couple times so I am achieving the lowest temperatures this machine will allow. With that said, it would be nice to have an AC unit with a compressor that runs at full steam at all times. We’ll have to see how well the climate can be controlled during the summer months.

Do I wish I had a better unit? A unit that could achieve lower temps?
Meh. Not really. Low 50s, in the shade and a breeze? I reckon those are sending temps! Again, I usually come off the board due to muscle fatigue, not sweating/greasing.

One last perk of using the portable ac I’ll mention is the cleanliness. During my pre-AC hangboarding days, temperatures were higher, a fan was in use, and LOTS of chalk was used. After a session’s worth of chalking/brushing holds/rechalking, the fan had distributed and deposited a thin layer of chalk all across my room. With the portable AC unit I now use much less chalk during the session and the lack of turbulent airflow from the fan leaves my room damn close to spotless.

So there you have it. This has been my experience with portable AC hangboarding. Is it worth $$$? That’s for you to decide.

Portable AC with a dual-hose setup (or even putting a hose on the warm outlet of a single), and running the heat exhaust out of the room will make the whole thing more effective and cool the room more/faster. You're just moving heat around the room as it is.

For the cost of some clothes dryer style flex duct and a radial clamp (~$15 total) you could make that rig quite a bit better.

There is an exhaust I run out the window that isn't pictured in the image above.