Hangboard Training - Do 10 Minute Workouts Work?

I recently started using a hang-board and came across this training regimen:

metoliusclimbing.com/traini…

I really like the idea of a 10 minute workout (plus warm up), but my question is will it really make me better, or am I wasting my time working out for just 10 minutes per day?

There are better fingerboard routines.

If hangboarding will make you better really depends on what your weaknesses are.

I'd suggest trying something more like this-

Pick 4 grips.

Hang for 10 seconds, rest for 5 seconds. Repeat for total
Of 4 reps. Rest 2 minutes. Do the same with second grip, rest two minutes, do the third, then the 4th. Total 10 minutes. Repeat no more often than every other day for a mo th and decide for yourself if it helped.

Not the best workout. But better than the metolius 10 minute wo.

Use weights or a pulley system so that you are trying hard on the last repeat of each set. Probably don't want to go to failure until you've been HBing a while.

Scope out Steve Maisch's website, nice simple protocol on there, I'm using it and liking it so far. Really like the pinch blocks he describes there. Caveat, I'm not really qualified to evaluate a hangboard workout (although Mr Maisch seems to be), but so far (about a month in) seeing nice gains on the hangboard and on the rock.

The routine is pretty similar to what Mark described in his reply, by the way, except with more rest between workouts and more details. onhow to determine how much resistance to use.

Be sure to warm up!! Easy to get hurt on a hangboard...

alextaylor116 wrote:I recently started using a hang-board and came across this training regimen: metoliusclimbing.com/traini… I really like the idea of a 10 minute workout (plus warm up), but my question is will it really make me better, or am I wasting my time working out for just 10 minutes per day?

Wow, that is certainly a terrible hangboard workout. Take Mark's advice, his plan is a much better way to spend 10 minutes on a hangboard.

kennoyce wrote: Wow, that is certainly a terrible hangboard workout.

Can you give any insight on why this is a terrible hangboard workout?

Andrew G wrote: Can you give any insight on why this is a terrible hangboard workout?

Hangs too long
Rests too short
Too many pull-ups
Pull-ups off HB holds
For most people too many packet grips
Core exercises in the middle of HB workout
I probably have missed some flaws

They really should update this workout.

Steve Maisch is vastly more qualified than I am.
As are many others- Andersons, Bechtel, MacLeod, Will S, et al.
I just couldn't bear to stand by and let somebody do the 10 minute workout.

Andrew G wrote: Can you give any insight on why this is a terrible hangboard workout?

Worth noting that this is not necessarily a terrible workout to do on a hangboard. However, for the intended purpose of a hangboard (typically regarding as gaining finger strength), the workout does little to meet that goal. A protocol similar to the recommendation upthread is better suited to this objective. But if the objective is merely to feel like you did some kind of climbing-related activity that happens to occur on a hangboard, then the Metolius workout will suffice.

Andrew G wrote: Can you give any insight on why this is a terrible hangboard workout?

It has been said above, but I'll repeat it again. The purpose of a hangboard is to increase finger strength. The metolius workout seems to be trying to do a whole body workout by using the hangboard. The problem with this is that it lacks specificity to what you actually do in climbing, meaning that you aren't going to be able to maximize your strength gains in either your fingers or the rest of your body. It would be much better to do specific exercises to strengthen the individual muscle groups that you are working one at a time rather than trying to mash a whole bunch of different workouts into 1 "hangboard" session.

There are basically two workouts that are done on hangboards that seem to work the best for doing what hangboards do best (increasing finger strength). These workouts are either repeaters which is where you do multiple reps of a single hang (usually 7 to 10 seconds of hanging followed by 3 to 5 seconds of rest for 4 to 6 reps) on a single hold before resting and moving onto another hold. The other normal workout is a max hang which is where you just hang on a single hold for as long as you can, then take a longer rest before doing it again.

I personally think that the repeater workout is the most specific to climbing so that is what I do, but if you are just looking for maximum finger strength then a max hang might be a better way to go about it. I'd recommend reading some of the books from the authors mentioned up thread.

Mark E Dixon wrote: Hangs too long Rests too short Too many pull-ups Pull-ups off HB holds For most people too many packet grips Core exercises in the middle of HB workout I probably have missed some flaws They really should update this workout. Steve Maisch is vastly more qualified than I am. As are many others- Andersons, Bechtel, MacLeod, Will S, et al. I just couldn't bear to stand by and let somebody do the 10 minute workout.

This.
I'd personally recommend climbers first search this forum for info if they have questions about hangboarding. This topic has been covered dozens of times just this year...

One thing that all the sources described above have in common: by the time you're warmed up and through it all, hangboard workouts are time consuming

I will start by saying I agree with what has been posted above. There are better workouts. I don't think it's terrible as a starting point to hang boarding though.

When I first started hang boarding a couple years ago I used the metolious workout throughout a winter while I was not doing any official training, just climbing and doing the 10 minute workout once or twice a week. I thought it was a good intro with low commitment and I definitely noticed my finger strength increase. When I started it I could barely do the easy one and by the end of the winter I was doing a meld of the intermediate and advanced one. By the next winter I was ready to step it up and began looking around for other workouts, but I think that one helped set me up to be ready for those that are described above.

Has anyone else had success with a 10 Minute workout routine?