Climbing,Bouldering,Hangboarding

 I have the ability to boulder/climb at least 4,5 times a week- when I do I work on climbing harder or having projects to grow stronger so I just don't hang out and meander. I also have incorporated working out(upper body, core, cardio) into a weekly routine as well.

Question: Should I or should I not incorporate a hang board routine on top of my already filled climb/boulder/workout schedule? I am working on progressively climbing harder, so I can climb harder outside, but I don't want to overdo it and risk having an injury. I am up for suggestions and comments. I want to nail down some type of plan that will allow me to see consistent results over the next coming months. I feel as if I am working sets and problems on the walls in the gym there might not be a need for me to have a hang board routine? Thoughts? Experience with this issue?

How long have you been climbing? What grades do you climb outside as short, medium, and long term projects?

Really depends on what grades you're climbing/projecting. My initial recommendation is that climbing 4,5 days a week plus hangboarding would be an insane amount of stress on your fingers, forearms, etc. I've always found replicating crux boulder moves/sequences on a systems board helps me more than hangboarding for an extended period of time. The Moonboard also really helps with finger strength and much more fun than a hangboard. Circuits on a systems board can also help a lot for building endurance off the wall.

This is what I use, but I'm sure others will have much better advice than me. Hope this helps!

Although not a concrete factor, knowing your age will help people recommend a more accurate plan in terms of muscle/tendon recovery. I think most would agree that it is awfully hard to answer a question like this as it is often up to how the individual's body feels. Some people train finger strength significantly more than others without injuries, while others train may train once a week and continuously get injured because they aren't listening to their body. 

Hangboarding is critical to preventing finger injury. I use a hangboard to warm up before I climb, in my training and also use it for PT. Most people will just climb hard, without a proper training regimen, not realizing that tendons take longer to build than muscle, "thinking" they are getting stronger when that's not really the case.  Your fingers will hold you back if you don't exercise them properly. The harder the grade the more crimps and monos you will encounter.

Aaron Clifton wrote:  I have the ability to boulder/climb at least 4,5 times a week- when I do I work on climbing harder or having projects to grow stronger so I just don't hang out and meander. I also have incorporated working out(upper body, core, cardio) into a weekly routine as well.

Question: Should I or should I not incorporate a hang board routine on top of my already filled climb/boulder/workout schedule? I am working on progressively climbing harder, so I can climb harder outside, but I don't want to overdo it and risk having an injury. I am up for suggestions and comments. I want to nail down some type of plan that will allow me to see consistent results over the next coming months. I feel as if I am working sets and problems on the walls in the gym there might not be a need for me to have a hang board routine? Thoughts? Experience with this issue?

i try to leave 48 hours 'rest' between really hard climbing sessions. if i climb in between them, it is really normally really low intensity just easy traversing/active recovery. ill also sometimes do more cardio and antagonistic exercises on these 'off' or rest days. i have also had success hangboarding the morning of a hard bouldering session (at night) and leaving 12 hours in between, assuming morning hangboarding is fairly low volume high intensity. i also try not to hangboard more than 2 times a week and certainly not try to do it when im feeling thrashed. i am not a coach or professional, but i feel that if you are not climbing V6 consistently, i would focus my efforts on technique, footwork, and just getting more days on rock. On hard bouldering session workouts where i dont hangboard that morning, i will warm up, do limit bouldering for a set period of time on projects in the gym/moonboard, low volume with ample rest between attempts. after 30-45 min of this, i will go hangboard to finish the workout. if my fingers are feeling the slightest bit tweaked, i definitely do not hangboard and dial back the bouldering and do more recovery (cold water bath, massage, stretching, rest).

This has been extremely helpful!

I am 27 and have been climbing for on/off 6 years now. Started in a college gym and have been primarily in the 5.10+/- to 5.12 range on sport for sometime(gym) and V3/V4 range on boulder sets in the gym as well. I have been really wanting to push more of my big sends for outdoors and utilize the gym for more preparation than anything.

Yeah I do want to avoid a big burn out and have sustained growth and strength while also adequately resting to benefit from that as well.

I have seen the moon board and will look into utilizing that more often while also incorporating rest days to offset the increase risk burnout and injury, maybe venture into yoga for added benefit?

I think as a bigger guy,  6'0" weighing 200 lbs, I need to adjust my training to focus also on cardio as well, to help become more leaner. Thus, I can mix it all together and create a better plan than just beating my body up through constant climbing and risk running into burnout and loss of zeal for climbing.

Thank you all for the help and suggestions! 

Aaron Clifton wrote: This has been extremely helpful!

I am 27 and have been climbing for on/off 6 years now. Started in a college gym and have been primarily in the 5.10+/- to 5.12 range on sport for sometime(gym) and V3/V4 range on boulder sets in the gym as well. I have been really wanting to push more of my big sends for outdoors and utilize the gym for more preparation than anything.

Yeah I do want to avoid a big burn out and have sustained growth and strength while also adequately resting to benefit from that as well.

I have seen the moon board and will look into utilizing that more often while also incorporating rest days to offset the increase risk burnout and injury, maybe venture into yoga for added benefit?

I think as a bigger guy,  6'0" weighing 200 lbs, I need to adjust my training to focus also on cardio as well, to help become more leaner. Thus, I can mix it all together and create a better plan than just beating my body up through constant climbing and risk running into burnout and loss of zeal for climbing.

Thank you all for the help and suggestions! 

That range is really wide. It makes me guess that you are inconsistent in your climbing frequency. I would focus there before trying out habgboarding. 

If you plan on losing significant weight, do it slowly. There’s no reason for you to be under 185 lbs until you are trying to climb 5.12+ outside and trying to make quick strength gains and fat loss simultaneously is nearly impossible.

Yeah the inconsistent climbing comes from having a hard time nailing down a consistent schedule and keeping to it with some form of accountability(i.e having a partner, climbing goal). I think the stoke is hard to keep high when my personality and drive is being surrounded by people who are also working toward the same goal and I haven't found that quite yet("crossing fingers"), so for a lot of time it is hard to stay motivated. But I have been encouraged by the feedback!

Yeah definitely want to lose weight and gain strength the right way and not an overnight success. You know from a climbing standpoint it's important to be fit, but also from a life standpoint I think having healthy balance in life is also as beneficial to climbing better and having more Fun than anything. I think once something isn't fun anymore I have to take a break from it to regain some type of balance again.

I think doing too much at one time can really be a detriment and not be actually helpful. Thats a good observation.

@Jon thank you for the help and everyone else as well.