Pulley System for Hangboards

John Byrnes wrote:

Easier, yes.  For someone like the OP, who is apparently a novice, finding a chair or bucket around the house is far easier than spending time (days?) on Craigslist looking for plates, buying pulleys,  mounting them, etc.  In a month or so he'll probably be able to eliminate the chair: no money spent, no time wasted and now he can continue on whatever hangboard program he chooses.

Seriously?  I literally just found 50 CL postings for used weight plates in about 8 seconds.  I got two pulleys and two screw hooks at Lowes for $8.  I like how you're talking about one of the six classical simple machines like it's some newfangled, highfalutin tech.

And I would argue that investing in a pulley system, even at a novice level, makes it much more likely that you actually stick with hangboarding long-term.  It makes it both more quantifiable and safer: both paramount factors in effective training.  I've seen plenty of dusty, unused Simulators over the years (including at my house), and it wasn't until I set up a pulley system that I actually stuck with hangboarding long-term.  Also, to the whole "eliminate the chair in a month or so" thing; have you ever hung on the small crimp on the RCTP Forge or the 7mm edge on the Tension board?  Introducing negative weight is pretty much the only way to safely and progressively train full crimps on a hangboard.

And BTW,  simply using a chair or equivalent has been recommended by professional trainers since Neumann & Goddard's Performance Rock Climbing back in 1993.  Eric Horst has it in all his books.  So when you write your book, you can call it inferior.

I don't need to write it in "my" book, because the Anderson bros., Steve Bechtel, and pretty much any other modern expert on training for climbing has already endorsed the pulley system in -their- books.  You're referencing a 25-year-old book that came out before modern climbing gyms existed. 

Jesus I didn’t mean to start an argument was just looking for some suggestions. Any of these will work. I literally have about 10 dollars rn so buying stuff isn’t a real possibility for me currently. All of these are good suggestions for me. Thanks a bunch

Chair it is!

Mark Paulson wrote: Chair it is!

Haha at least for now. I’ll do my best to keep my progress traceable for all you discipline junkies out there. It’s how I am too

David Kerkeslager wrote:

You can definitely work onto harder holds as long as they use similar muscle groups or the relevant muscles are already strong. But again, this isn't always the case.

I keep bringing up the one-arm hang case because it's the most climbing-related example I can think of. People expect that because they can hang on a tiny hold with both hands they'll be able to hang on a moderate hold with one hand. But the asymmetry turns the body and loads the shoulder differently. On two occasions I've seen older teenagers at my gym start working into one-armed hangs and bam, rotator cuff injury.

I agree.  But I'll also mention (ducking down of course) that having the opposite foot on a chair/bucket when working into one-hand hangs allows you to easily stabilize your body (lessening the stress on the shoulder) and is a more common climbing position.  

But yeah, if you do similar holds that work pretty similar muscles (i.e. same grip with slightly smaller holds) you're probably okay. I'm pointing out a specific exception but I suspect we agree more than we disagree.

We do.

Mark Paulson wrote: Seriously?  I literally just found 50 CL postings for used weight plates in about 8 seconds.  I got two pulleys and two screw hooks at Lowes for $8.  

Okay, 8 seconds.   So how long will it take you to contact the seller, arrange to meet/pay online and have it shipped, and have the stuff delivered.  Now you gotta go to Lowes and buy the pulleys, find some appropriate cord, then come home and mount the whole thing.  

I can walk downstairs and get a bucket/chair in 8 seconds for free and be hangboarding in another 8 seconds.  Easier, QED.

I like how you're talking about one of the six classical simple machines like it's some newfangled, highfalutin tech.

I like how you're talking about a pulley-system like it's some sort of miracle device that has no rival.  

...  Also, to the whole "eliminate the chair in a month or so" thing; have you ever hung on the small crimp on the RCTP Forge or the 7mm edge on the Tension board?  Introducing negative weight is pretty much the only way to safely and progressively train full crimps on a hangboard.

There ya go again.  It's not the only way.  And I suspect you've never tried having one foot on, eh?

I don't need to write it in "my" book, because the Anderson bros., Steve Bechtel, and pretty much any other modern expert on training for climbing has already endorsed the pulley system in -their- books.  You're referencing a 25-year-old book that came out before modern climbing gyms existed. 

You missed my point.  Using a chair or equivalent to take off weight has been around for 25 years and has been endorsed by experts that entire time.  Even in Horst's current videos, although he recommends pulleys, he also mentions that you can put a foot (or both) on to take off weight as you ease into a new exercise.  

If you are truly short on cash, don’t buy a hangboard. Just get some wood strips from Home Depot and nail them up somewhere. 

Mark E Dixon wrote: If you are truly short on cash, don’t buy a hangboard. Just get some wood strips from Home Depot and nail them up somewhere. 

I’m short on cash because I bought a hangboard, am 13, and don’t have a job yet

Good luck with your board. Most of them are pretty nice.
Here's my setup, definitely on the cheap side, but it works. No chair  :-)

One benefit to Mark E Dixon's solution is you can spend the money you saved on a hangboard on weight plates and a pulley. :P

Plus you get to know the basement spiders.
I've met their children and watched them grow up.

reboot wrote:

Seems perfectly reasonable, but also we are talking about different things: you are primarily talking about using something as a stop gap measure during a phase where gains are quick, in which case large variances are easily tolerated. The other guys are talking about making small improvements over a long time, where small variances makes session to session progress hard to track (although IMO, it's hard to track regardless).

I agree with you!  
It seems that only two of us actually read the OP's profile before posting.   I recommended the chair solution to a novice who, as you say, will be making large, quick gains and (one hopes) will be eliminating the chair very soon.  And once he's hanging free, it may be many years before he plateaus and actually needs a pulley system.  By that time he'll be employed ;-)

Also the whole chair thing, there are holds I can't (one arm) hang easily but as soon as a foot can weigh (and especially pull in on) anything (doesn't matter how far it's front of me or to the side), it becomes quite easy (other than the core tension needed to hold the position),  not to mention it completely changes the body balance and the direction the hold is loaded. So yeah, it may work, but it's vastly inferior, and is recommended only because it's easy and cost nothing extra to most people.)

Easy and zero cost are important factors!   When I can tell my butler to have a pulley system rigged up for this afternoon,  I'll change my mind.

But again, I agree with you.  Having been climbing since the Jurassic, my hangboard abilities have had many ups and downs due to time off, injuries and ski seasons.   Putting a foot on during a come-back allows me to maintain the contraction for 12-15sec over 3 sets and multiple grips when I couldn't if I was free hanging.    Thus my re-gains are faster.   

Sure, I could install a pulley system but I've never felt the need.  Once I'm free-hanging and moved to somewhat smaller holds, I just add weight as needed.  I've only had three finger injuries in 38 years and I want to keep it that way.  

And yes, having a foot on changes the balance and direction of the hold.  This is good IMO because it mimics steep climbing positions.  I've never hung one-handed on an 10mm edge on a climb, so all of you who do need to cut the rest of us some slack.

Connor Erickson wrote: Jesus I didn’t mean to start an argument was just looking for some suggestions. Any of these will work. I literally have about 10 dollars rn so buying stuff isn’t a real possibility for me currently. All of these are good suggestions for me. Thanks a bunch

Conner: don't worry about starting arguments.

Just about every topic on MP provokes a broad spectrum of highly opinionated, conflicting responses.   Just roll with it.

John Byrnes 

I’m And once he's hanging free, it may be many years before he plateaus and actually needs a pulley system.  By that time he'll be employed ;-)

Hope so

Are people using actual pulleys, or has anyone had success with just eye screws. A bit more friction resistence this way obviosly.

Conner, you may want to look into if hangboarding is right for you at all. It can be pretty hard on your fingers and I’d be concerned that your tendons won’t be able to handle the rigors of hangboard training at your age and experience level. If you do continue to pursue hangboarding, be sure to add in opposition training to keep your shoulders and elbows healthy. Push ups will be your elbows best friends. 

Here’s my setup as an example for when you’ve saved a little money. The bottom also has a 1.5” crack so I can hang off thin hands. Red Camelots don’t make me so angry since adding that to my routine. 

Ryan Pfleger wrote: Are people using actual pulleys, or has anyone had success with just eye screws. A bit more friction resistence this way obviosly.

Eye bolts will be fine, because it will be consistent, so you can track and measure.

A friend uses resistance bands on hers.