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Campus Board Training - Five mistakes to avoid

Original Post
Rui Ferreira · · Boulder, CO · Joined Jul 2003 · Points: 903

Interesting and provocative video regarding campus board training.
It is the first time that I see someone go into the details of rung selection based on finger lengths and why maximum reach exercises should be avoided to prevent overuse injuries of the shoulder and elbow.

youtube.com/watch?v=6p-pNCr…

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

Great work finding that video, Rui.
Its speaking is all in Italian, but the English-language subtitles worked find for me.

Some quick responses:

  • most of the warnings apply equally to non-campus training: also to working hard moves when bouldering or on top-rope or on a system-board.
  • one campusing-specific warning is to avoid no-feet campusing -- especially before fully warmed up.

. (I note that many recommended campus board designs (including those by well-regarded authorities) -- and many campus-board installations at public gyms -- make it nearly impossible to follow this advice).

  • some specific rung designs are warned against -- especially if not appropriate for the your specific capabilities.
  • a recurring theme is not to go near your limit on range-of-motion with shoulders or elbows or crimping fingers -- either launching or latching a move. And not near your limit on force-intensity on fingers -- and especialy don't do that repeatedly.
  • Presents a novel (to me) theory of how to train ligaments and finger pulleys + "capsules" - (differently than how to train muscles).

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

Angle of campus rungs ...
one of the rung design + installation concerns warned about in the video is when the main gripping surface is sloped downward too much, as opposed to more horizontal.

My thought is that I agree with the video that gripping surface sloped more downward requires more neural cooordination / "sensorimotor intelligence" (as well as more finger strength). But I'm not convinced this necessarily brings a higher risk of injury.

Recently I started measuring the angle of different public campus boards using a clinometer - (I've heard you can do this also with many smartphones, if you've got the right app).

So far I've found one at 15 degrees overhanging, another at 20 degrees, and yet another 23.5 degrees.

What other inclinations have you found?

The ones I measured were all using the (very nicely designed) Metolius rungs.

The Metolius instructions recommend an inclination angle within the range of 12 to 20 degrees overhanging -- or specifically 15 degrees.

So only one of the gyms is using the Metolius holds at their recommended design angle. Another is at the upper limit of their recommended range, and one is way beyond the limit.
Myself I find it pretty difficult to latch moves on the Small rungs at 20 degree inclination, and 23.5 degrees makes them nearly useless. But 15 degrees is pretty doable for me.

With the Big rungs by Metolius, even 25-degree inclination is not a barrier for me to effectively use them. And the Medium rungs are still pretty usable for me at 20-degree inclination.

Ken

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

Not that I've campused for that long, but I always thought the primary goal of campusing is to train maximum power. Sure, don't over do it (stop if your performance is deceasing during a session), but you kind of have to explore the limits of your ROM and finger power.

With good upper body+core strength and body control (if you don't, you should work on those before campusing), I don't think extending the ROM of your shoulder/elbow is a big deal because it's a simple upward motion and you don't have a a lot of momentum to control. And you can always train yourself to not attempt latching the rung (or just do reach exercises) if you've poorly executed the upward movement.

The much more dangerous form of campusing, IMO (since I've injured a pulley this way), is down campusing, either with laddering hands or both hands. It feels much harder to just let go if you've sort of botched a move when coming down.

As for campusing using feet, well, that's what a system wall is for.

Rui Ferreira · · Boulder, CO · Joined Jul 2003 · Points: 903
reboot wrote: As for campusing using feet, well, that's what a system wall is for.
The doctor recommends that feet be used during the warm-up phase of campusing even though he does not make it completely clear that feet are not used once you are warmed up
slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103

i don't necessarily agree with feet-on campusing as a total necessity for a warmup. i think it is a lot better to just do about 45 minutes of bouldering. sometimes i might also do a short systems board workout, basically power moves on pockets. ultimately, as long as your fingers are warmed up properly, and also just as importantly you aren't on the 'downhill slide' part of your workout you should be fine.

regarding campus board angles, i built mine at 15 degrees. that has pluses and minuses. the major plus being that the rungs are still fairly positive. the major minus being that you have to be careful not to knock your knees when you are doing max ladders.

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

My view is that most of the video is about the usual well-meaning warnings that are offered for how to avoid injuries when bouldering hard. Not evidence-based (as from well-controlled clinical studies) -- for the usual reason that it's too expensive and difficult to well-designed scientific studies for climbing.

My take on most of those is that if you would heed a given warning when bouldering, then you should heed it for campusing. If you get away with ignoring it for bouldering, then ignore it when campusing.

Myself I ignore most of those warnings when campusing, and though lots of people would say I'm past the age when I should dare to campus at all, I do campusing like two four-hour sessions per week and I don't get hurt.

One warning I do heed is that I do warm up. But I do it with hands only (not with my feet taking weight) ... a few short-duration uneven grip hangs, a few uneven-level "muscle-ups" (like pull-ups, but I raise my chin much higher than my higher hand). Then some small campus moves on the bigger holds, then bigger moves, then smaller holds, etc.

I think the main cause of campusing injuries is hinted at in the video, but gets insufficient attention.

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

The critical thing for not getting injured in campusing is to increase the force intensity and range-of-motion of each kind of move progressively in small measured increments.

The two big problems are that:

(a) lots of climbers do not know the physics of incremental force and RoM; or do not know the creative ways to make the increases incremental -- or just cannot resist the temptation to "jump" directly up to some highly visible new level of performance.

(b) the majority of publicly available campus boards make it difficult to use many of the obvious and non-obvious tricks for making small increments of force and RoM. (and some of the well-known designs for home boards to not emphasize how to make them better support "incremental")

I also think that many of the kinds of moves that people (especially me) try to train on a campus board would be better trained on a system board. But ...
lots of gyms do not have a system board at all, or their system board is targeted only for climbers already much stronger than me. So I'm glad when I can use a public campus board in careful + clever ways to offer some (inferior) systematic training at my current level.

Ken

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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