rest time for maxhangs

I was reading some threads on hangboarding and saw a couple people mentioning that they do MaxHangs as e.g. a 7sec hang with a 53sec rest. Then perhaps they rest a lot after a few of those. However, I think the original maxhangs protocol was a 10sec or so hang, followed by a lot of rest (like 3 minutes).

Now the question is... which one's better?

This review of 35 papers says 3-5 minutes is probably best for pure strength, but maybe 53 seconds is fine too?

For an exercise where you are supposed to give “max effort” longer rest periods are generally more optimal.

Hangs on the minute seems like more of a repeater than a max hang.

both of these approaches will lead to gains of course.

I feel that each protocol may have its place in an any given training program.  I prefer a 5-7x 10/50 protocol for its efficiency and training stimulus as a route climber. Each set after about the third starts to simulate the try hard efforts I find more applicable for me, at a lower risk. I cycle in antagonist sets every or every other set of hangs. As fatigue sets in I have to dig deeper with each set. A 7/53 or 10/50 is not a true max hang protocol but it’s close. It trains your body to recover your CP energy system at an accelerated rate. It is not a repeater protocol as repeaters also activate the lactate energy system and are more of a power endurance protocol.

Asking which is better is almost the same as asking if bouldering or route climbing is better. Each protocol favors a specific element of strength. I think a 7/53 is more applicable for route climbers as it more closely simulates route climbing. A standard max hang protocol is more similar to bouldering, where full rest between attempts is pretty standard.  I’m at the point in my climbing journey where maintaining what I have and maybe increasing even a fractional amount while avoiding injury is key. For younger, less experienced climbers, alternating several different protocols throughout the year will be the fastest way to see progression.   You will also begin to correlate top performance to a given protocol. Every body is different, find what works best for yours. 

your eyes may gloss over (at which point i'd recommend just looking a basic physiology text/illustration of energy pathways), but this paper gives a pretty thorough overview of what's going on:

Interaction among Skeletal Muscle Metabolic Energy Systems during Intense Exercise

on a personal level i feel that 10 second max hangs are quite long, for MAX hangs.  i bet you could add a significant amount of weight for 3-5 second hangs.

As has been said both will work but the 3-5 minutes is the original protocol.  Thinking of it from the perspective of other strength sports a 7sec isometric max hang is somewhat equivalent to a heavy 3 rep lift, and for strength gain you want to more or less fully recover before your next set.

Playing with the work/rest interval gets other energy systems involved.  This can be great training as well, but isn’t primarily focused on pure strength, and often there are ways to work on those energy systems while climbing (which is usually more fun).  But that is a whole different topic!