Tension board workout structure

A friend recently turned me on to the tension board. i love it. but am aware of BECHTEL’s maxim - the #1 result of board training is injury. so my question is- how do you structure your TB workouts with an eye not toward sending/performing but toward exploding with newfound power outside?  for example, warm up how, how many routes, at what difficulty in relation to your OS max? how much rest between sets of mirrored problems?  i am shocked how fun and addictive this tool is…. i see many mentions of it here but cant find any wise words of guidance on training strategies… seems like IF you avoid injury and use wisely it will improve explosive power- which i sorely lack

How much bouldering do you do inside? Outside? Have you done any other board climbing before? What angle is the board you have access to? Adjustable?

Depending on where you are at now with the above questions this could change, but if you are just starting out with board climbing I’d start on the beginner problems. Work through a bunch of V0 and V1’s for at least a few weeks mirroring problems. The 0s and 1s are mostly on jugs, but have big moves which is great for building that explosive power.

To start I’d fully warm up on other gym problems for about 30 minutes and then pick 3 or 4 problems per session. Do one side, take a few minutes break and do the mirror. Rest at least 5 minutes, longer if you need it, then repeat with your 3 or 4 problems.

If your goal is explosive power don’t underestimate the low grades. There are lots of great problems with big moves to big holds that will really help you build that explosiveness.

Thanks Andrew!  I don’t do hardly any bouldering outside- too into the local sport and gear lines for now. I boulder inside 2x week to train at the same gym w the tension board. The main thing I haven’t done is rest as much as you are saying. Also have been trying to progress grades too quickly I think rather than focus on perfecting the movement on the 1’s and 2’s. The angle is adjustable to 50 but I have only used 25, 30, and a bit of 35. Thanks again for the ideas!

Nice, If you are more of a outdoor route climber I think you have a chance to see a lot of gains with the TB, but definitely take it a bit slow. That’s great your board adjustable. I’d shoot for 35 or 40 for now while using some of the bigger holds for a bit. 

I've never heard Bechtel's Maxim, but it makes sense. My wife and I canceled our gym membership and built a Tension Board during Covid. Ours is a "short board," fixed at 35 degrees, and I've had quite a few injuries since, especially after I signed up for a training program with Power Company. For me, even the easiest TB V0s are a bit too much for all the PC drills. By the time I get to the "mini proj" or "limit bouldering" part of the program, I'm already ragged. 

That said, here is a rough approximation of how I'm using the TB. Keep in mind, I have two kids, a full-time job, and a complete unwillingness to prioritize training over outdoor climbing. I'm also being pretty conservative because I don't want any more tweaks. Your body and life might allow for more. 

1x per week - (This is my super simplified, dumb-downed version of the PC program.) 

• 10-15 minutes. I warm up off the board with some easy hangs and exercises. 
• 10-15 minutes. I get on the board and do some V0s with some PC drills. (Climb a route fast and dynamic, then slow and static. Stuff like that.) 
• 10-15 minutes. Ramp it up with some harder onsight attempts. For me, this is V1s and 2s, sometimes 3s. I don't dally too much on any particular problem. Just try to send it quickly. 
• 15 minutes. Mini-proj. I work on a problem that I do not expect to finish in a single night. For me, this is usually V4s or 5s. 
• I usually end with a "Fitness Pyramid," doing 13 boulders problems, one every 2 minutes, from easy to moderate and back to easy, -or- I end with some max hangs/core.

1x per week -

• To train some endurance, I screwed some large, not-TB jugs to the top edge of my board. (They aren't on the face and don't interfere with the TB arrangement.). I start by warming up, similar to the first 30 minutes of my other workout. Next, I do a boulder problem, but from the finish hold, I move on to the bonus jugs. I shake out on these jugs for a bit, and then downclimb using the biggest TB holds and try to add another boulder problem (usually a V0 or 1). I keep repeating this circle until I get pumped off. I'm trying to make it harder by adding time and harder moves. 

I also climb outdoors once a week, and I don't think I could add any more training days to my week without hurting myself. YMMV. Also, I'm not an expert at training or an exceptional athlete. (My ticks are public, so see for yourself!) One of my main motivations for typing this all up is to inspire more ideas and conversation. That's why I signed up for the Power Company program, but I can only do maybe 20% of the weekly workouts on that program. It's too much for my body and life.

Thanks CA!!!  I am seeing that I need to do more warming up and progression too. Very helpful. Greatly appreciate the shared wisdom here!

I have climbed on the Tension board previously but mostly climb on the Kilter board now, but I think this applies to any board I climb on. When I'm doing a max effort session I'll warm up elsewhere in the gym. After feeling warm I'll set a timer for 45 minutes to an hour and climb on limit problems on the board for this length of time, taking plenty of rests between attempts (anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes depending on previous effort levels). On a truly limit session I usually make progress on problems but don't constantly send problems.

The other thing that I find the boards useful for are power endurance drills, especially as a sport climber (most of what I do). You can easily swap between problems for either 4x4 style drills or "on the minute" power endurance drills. If I'm doing these style exercises then I will reduce the grade intensity. I have a list of problems that I've done previously that I like using for these types of exercises because you want to reduce movement errors if the goal is to train power endurance rather than limit ability.

Overall, I feel like climbing on boards has helped improve my climbing ability immensely since it's a style that doesn't come naturally.

Agree with the other comments with a few things to add. Sound like you want to specifically train power which the tension board is great for, especially long moves where keeping your feet engaged is difficult. I have a 40 degree board and often do not warm up on it. If I use it to warm up, its usually with my feet on the ground doing 20-30 move circuits (x2 or 3) with a couple minutes rest before I even start on the v1,2. For reference, I boulder about V6 on the tension board and feel ready to train power after I've done a couple V4 problems. The really important thing to remember on wood holds is that skin isn't going to be a limiting factor for the most part so it's really easy to overdo it. I would start with a power training circuit that feels pretty easy to complete (below os grade) and start bumping up from there. 3 minutes rest between problems is great if you're training power, you want to be fully rested between problems for max effort. Could maybe initially start, after warm up, with doing a problem around your -1,-2 os grade 2x on each side with 3 min. rest between every rep. If you still feel you have power left, drop down a grade and repeat. You're training pure power here so if you feel gassed and keep training you're getting diminishing gains. Once a week to start and build from there. When you can do two solid sessions a week rotate to some more endurance, power endurance based workouts for a couple weeks with a single power, rest for a week, then start again with two power sessions. After 6-8 weeks have a couple restful performance weeks and its time to train again. Difficulty over volume for power training! I find it the hardest thing to train because I don't really feel pumped afterwards, so I train core and antagonist work the same day.

There is so much of MP forums that is a waste of time. It is so cool to be able to use it to try and actually improve and avoid injury. Thank you. 

j mo, still working on the tension board? If so, how's it going? 

You bet!  Can’t stay off the thing- I love it!  Due to a finger injury I’m nursing, I’m limiting myself to one session per week and staying off anything harder right now (for me on the board that’s v4 and up). 

J mo, glad you're still at it. Using mine three times a week right now because its fucking snowing every time I have a day off. You can use the feet on ground method I mentioned for the warm up to train pure endurance/hypertrophy while the finger is healing. I usually do this with a metronome app on my phone holding 3-5 seconds per hold before doing the next hand movement until i'm absolutely smoked, rest a few minutes and go again 3-5 times. Good for getting forearm pump without overstrain on the tendons. When I had a finger injury I taped it straight so I couldn't really use it while doing this workout. Hope you heal up man

j mo wrote:

You bet!  Can’t stay off the thing- I love it!  Due to a finger injury I’m nursing, I’m limiting myself to one session per week and staying off anything harder right now (for me on the board that’s v4 and up). 

Hahaha so Bechtel was right!!

This was a helpful thread! Hope you heal up! The finger putty stuff is magic.

Alec O- So true, ignore his wisdom at your own peril!

But- what finger putty stuff?  I need to look into that

j mo wrote:

Alec O- So true, ignore his wisdom at your own peril!

But- what finger putty stuff?  I need to look into that

TheraPutty: https://a.co/d/2HHhh8M

I use the soft and the firm. Switch back and forth each time I use it. I try to work it with my injured finger in all directions.

Unrelated Question: Any tips for cleaning shoe rubber off wood holds? Mine is in my living room and I don’t know how best to clean the rubber off

John Clark wrote:

Unrelated Question: Any tips for cleaning shoe rubber off wood holds? Mine is in my living room and I don’t know how best to clean the rubber off

I've used very fine sandpaper. 

Yeah 220 grit or finer sandpaper should do the trick. Any kind of cleaner is likely to overdry/harm the wood a cause potential cracking.

Bolting Karen wrote:

Yeah 220 grit or finer sandpaper should do the trick. Any kind of cleaner is likely to overdry/harm the wood a cause potential cracking.

Awesome! I will give that a whirl when it gets real bad or just try to alter feet. 

j mo wrote:

A friend recently turned me on to the tension board. i love it. but am aware of BECHTEL’s maxim - the #1 result of board training is injury. so my question is- how do you structure your TB workouts with an eye not toward sending/performing but toward exploding with newfound power outside?  for example, warm up how, how many routes, at what difficulty in relation to your OS max? how much rest between sets of mirrored problems?  i am shocked how fun and addictive this tool is…. i see many mentions of it here but cant find any wise words of guidance on training strategies… seems like IF you avoid injury and use wisely it will improve explosive power- which i sorely lack

I've mostly trained on a board since the pandemic, with no injuries in that period and steady gains. I would recommend:

1. Develop a really good, comprehensive warmup (ankles to neck to fingers). It's best for me to warmup off the wall first, then on the wall (move-by-move, then problems), but lots of methods can work.
2. Develop a warmup bouldering circuit on the board. A set, repeatable warmup circuit is specific, helps gauge readiness, and gets you some mileage. Note that you don't necessarily need to do the set problems, and that might not even be advisable, since what's out there isn't always best for warming you up. I personally liked having the final problems be ones that I couldn't send on bad days since that's really useful information, but YMMV.
3. Stop sessions before your power drops. This is very hard to do in practice, especially depending on the scene around you, but I think it's immensely useful for building strength and power. You need to learn how to identify that power drop for you, personally. (For me, it's that I start slipping into a more passive / hanging climbing style.)
4. Climb well. You really should not be jumping around and climbing desperately on a board, even though that can look cool. In the long run it's much better to force yourself to climb fluidly and not to take outs like jumping to big, blobby holds. At the very least, those workarounds stop being available to you once the problems get hard. ("Hard" being relative, of course.)

j mo wrote:

A friend recently turned me on to the tension board. i love it. but am aware of BECHTEL’s maxim - the #1 result of board training is injury. 

I have experienced this - I of all things got an extensor injury on my tension board - probably too much too fast.  Is there any training plans out there specifically for tension boards, or even just system boards?  does anyone find some of the tension board holds "tweaky" (honestly I was probably just holding the holds in a tweaky manner, more to do with my utilization of the holds rather than the holds themselves being tweaky)

also where does Bechtel say this?  I'd like to learn more about what Bechtel has to say about system boards.