How to Hangboard

A detailed look at the fundamentals of fingerboarding for climbing. I'm using the Edge hangboard which I designed myself www.davemacleod.com/shop/edge Which exercises to use, how to warm up, adjusting intensity, avoiding injury, scheduling your hangboard sessions and choosing a hangboard. Everything you need to know to go from never hung a hangboard to 9a beast.

[@katelynmichaud]

very edge-ucational

[@Tomwoodfitness]

katelyn michaud well done. Well done.

[@teodustus]

The door is over there ------->

[@natehochuli6457]

r/angryupvote

[@3DSowner22]

wow

[@sandbox1337]

This made me crimp

[@bakirsila86]

In an age of too much information about climbing where everything is needlessly complicated, I simply go back to the Dave MacLeod channel. I will do this program every day. Thx a lot .

[@kriszteblade]

This is really the only hangboarding video a climber needs to see. The wisdom comes with years of experience.

[@amateurzen4732]

what a calm dude

[@marc5279]

until he climbs xd, have you seen him fall right before the top of a hard boulder? xD kinda scary

[@Mdjagg]

This should be a TED talk. Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@connormccafferty5288]

This is probably the most comprehensive explanation of hangboard training I've ever seen. Thanks Dave.

[@alpinejonny]

Awesome, thank you so much for putting this together Dave!

[@crashalotfpv2174]

Great advice. Thank you for sharing and inspiring us.

[@TheClanAdventures]

Great content. Hope we have more like this.

[@Trimethopimp]

What a thoroughly explained video, thank you Dave. Keep up the great vids!

[@fishmate5443]

Good work, thanks Dave.

[@ChrisHaileyTrainHardDiveEasy]

Great advice Dave, love your training tips and books. Keep up the great content :-)

[@mohammadlevy9668]

Dave's analysis makes perfect sense to me. Going to watch this again a few times.

[@caelinroza1371]

Best video on finger strength training I've ever seen..Thank you so much!

[@benjaminengelberg6847]

You just answered a bunch of questions I was wondering about hangboarding. Thanks for the video!

[@biblibop]

Most clear and comprehensive guidance on fingerboard training I've come across. Thanks!

[@PhonyRice]

Thank you for taking the time to make this for us! What an amazing time we live in where anyone in the world can learn these lessons from a seasoned professional!!

[@twen7yseven]

Your channel is amazing in so many aspects. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences!!!

[@edemaye3328]

This is all the advice I was looking for make my own hang board program. Thanks Dave for again sharing your experience in a way that clearly outlines what to aim for, gives us the basics for how to approach this and continue that journey whilst leaving room to interpret in a way that works for the individual.

[@thomasr1051]

so informative thank you. what a great resource. i'll definitely be watching multiple times

[@nicolasbisordi9151]

Best hangboarding video. Amazing!

[@ejl74]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@benjaminbrantner-beratungen]

Thank you Dave! Especially right now a super training guide for me. Just installed my free swinging hangboard >not other option during this time. Thank you for all the information you give constantly. Greetings from Austria

[@Kilocheat]

Great video and great content. I enjoy a lot listening to you. Super calm and and lots of experience :) thanks and keep on posting new stuff :)

[@richardford1055]

Great video Dave. I agree with Kris' comment below and you've certainly motivated me to put more effort into my hangboard training.

[@boulderjunkie3799]

I gotta say, awesome video!! You nailed a point that me and my friends were talking about earlier in the season. A friend of ours was crushing it, and when asked how he was doing so well, he replied, I dunno I just try as hard as I can!

[@DoominikD]

Lovin the way u are talking! So calm...

[@parbat8126]

thanks dave again for an inspiration, after 3 years break from bouldering you gave me some positive vibs to climb better and harder... It will be time to go back to Dumby and finish some unfinished business ! I'm 43 and still want to climb a hard as possible !!

[@susannewilliams]

Brilliant. Clear. Concise. You really are the man to watch and learn from. Thank you for all the efforts you make with these vids. Really valuable!

[@ferrells0987]

I have thought a lot over the years about how much the Scottish weather benefits you, Dave. You say in this video, and I have heard you say it elsewhere, "when it's nice outside, I'm outside climbing", and if the weather is poor, you get to train. Imagine if a Utah/California/Colorado climber took this approach! They would never train! While there are tough weather times, it is almost always possible to find somewhere within a couple hours drive that is dry and pleasant. On the one hand, it's a good problem to have: the greatest pleasure in climbing is being outside. On the other hand, if you live in a place with shit weather, you are a lot more likely to get super strong on your board.

[@dmm4133]

I'm watching this for 5th or 6th time in the course of a year. The best video out there! Focusing on the basics is where the bulk of gains are made so we need to refresh the knowledge of those basic principles and this video is the giving us just this. Awesome!

[@EoN36963]

Extraordinary video!

[@rontsuruda5979]

Thank You! Really enjoyed the video.

[@emilielabadie598]

Thank you Dave , very Helpfull vidéo 👍👍

[@stefanrutherford2272]

For a warm up I like to add in 60 or so star jumps whilst opening and closing my hands. A set of ten press-ups and then a bit of shoulder warm up by swinging my arms. I follow this up with pull-ups. For me it's the quickest way. I'll repeat the above once and I'm normally warmed up. Sometimes I have to put in a couple of easier hangs to get the blood into my fingers. Fingers take the longest to warm up but if you get your body warm and then have a rest you will find your fingers get a flushed warm feeling. That tends to be my cue that I'm ready to go :)

[@stefanrutherford2272]

Thanks for the info Dave!!

[@PulseCodeMusic]

Nice one. best video on hangboarding I've seen.

[@climbingsiurana5421]

Very good video Dave!

[@qwert4125]

Great video! Thanks for taking time to make this. Always great to hear someone's opinion when there's so much back and forth about repeaters/max protocols.

[@denislejeune9218]

Great thorough discussion of fingerboarding. Can't say I'd get the same curtains though :). Mind you, I wouldn't complain if they could help me climb 9a.

[@artiomkocharov5384]

Hi Dave, Just wanted to drop by and say thanks. I just couldn't stop myself from commenting since this video was so good. I have been climbing for a couple of months quite intensively and I have recently got more interested in hangboards simply because I have come to a point where I feel that my technique is much better than my power with the fingers or as you said, pulling power. Anyway I have been watching tons of videos to get ideas and advice on how to properly use the hangboard. I have also asked and analyzed people in the gym working out on the hangboard and all I can say is that the knowledge that you are sharing here is out of this world. I learnt so much from this and how to actually get stronger in the most efficient way without wasting time and probably in this way avoiding the plateau quite effectively. The explanation about always trying to do your best and feeling when you are getting weaker and know when to stop is amazing. I agree that It's a waste of time hanging when you cant perform. Resting properly and always being on top doing your best physically but also mentally is so crucial and you teached me that. Amazing advice where you mentioned how we need to learn and feel our body and adapt and not drive over it like a truck digging for injuries. I hope that you will have an amazing year! Stay healthy and keep on inspiring!

[@matthew6732]

With other videos out there on youtube the 'climber' just tells you do this and don't do that, with absolutely no explanation as to why. With Dave you get someone who climbs at an elite level, going deep into the research and giving you the fundamental basics behind it all. Love it.

[@paulauxerre2450]

Your videos are a great gift. I have avoided fingerboarding for years, despite having a board mounted on my wall at home because I was so insecure about how to go about using it. Now I feel like I have a much better idea on what approach to take

[@jrisner6535]

That was so useful, thanks!

[@gimmepowder]

Thanks. Will definitely work on 3 finger drag.

[@calnick0]

Amazing video! So many subtle points that I learned from. Well worth the whole watch. Support Dave!

[@LeeFerikson]

wish i lived in rural scotland now

[@diegoamalfitano6831]

Thanks a lot. So clear and helpful

[@Josh-wb7ii]

Thanks Dave. I took your advice to work on my 3 finger drag a couple months ago, and the careful hangs seemed to have fixed some lingering finger injuries I had done to myself a couple years ago, now my fingers feel healthier than ever and I'm amazed at how good the hangboard is for finger rehab.

[@climbermacleod]

Great stuff!

[@glipquux]

Thank you for all the great training content.

[@Vezerate]

Wow I adore your training philosophy Dave! How do you train you mind (and body) to try harder? Are there things we can do to learn this more effectively?

[@fuuckkUSINGmyNAME]

I don't know if you get around to reading all the comments, but just in case wanted to say thanks for uploading this. I know to some degree its a promotional video, nevertheless always a pleasure to listen to your thorough commentaries. Cheers!

[@zackkelly8438]

very nice, just bought a hang board and am waiting on hold to come for my system board in the shed and am a complete beginner only having bouldered with a friend twice

[@tjackman]

How'd it go?

[@ghaver8214]

It's very reassuring to have come to the same conclusions about fingerboard training. I started blind and found what seems to work best for me. It's awesome that it's the same thing Dave has found.

[@petarchalamov]

Awesome! Thanks!

[@dvdsct]

Thank you!

[@edwardoakley8659]

That was the most comprehensive introduction (and more) to hangboarding on youtube, to my knowledge. There are lessons in here which I wish I knew when i started 6 months ago. Only thing not answered for me is about arm angles when hanging? Thanks, much appreciated. I will definitely be sharing this video!

[@climbermacleod]

Is used to think a slight bend in the elbow was optimal (based on experience and opinions of others only). But I am less convinced about this now. Chronic use of a slight elbow bend did seem to give me some brachioradialis pain when doing a lot of hangboarding. So now I tend to vary between straight arms (with shoulders 'engaged') and various angles up to almost 90 degrees. I still think that a lot of hanging above 90 degrees, i.e. pulled up into a lock-off position is likely to cause or contribute to damage to the common flexor tendon in the elbow (Golfer's elbow). But I don't know that for sure. Its possible this is only important for those already at risk for that injury. I go through risk factors for elbow injuries in detail in Make or Break.

[@derekxiaoEvanescentBliss]

kinda funny how on climbing videos it's just assumed you can do a front lever: "a big rung, for a some pullups or a front lever"

[@Zloner]

Great video Dave. What should be the angle of the forearm relative to the upper arm while performing these exercises? I know you can probably play with the angle, but is there any recommendation regarding injury prevention?

[@hugodenoyelle3187]

Thank you so much

[@thehogus]

Thanks for the video. When I tried the three finger open grip I could immediately feel the difference. Particularly the contact with the board changed radically when I took the pinky off and suddenly I could feel the muscles working much harder. It was almost equivalent to 4 finger crimp with an extra 15kgs of weight.

[@Loveyogaanatomy]

Such a lovely calm and clear delivery, with excellent information. Can I ask you a question about straight or bent arms when hanging? In this video, you have bent arms but is that because of the camera height or the way you choose to do it. I'm just thinking of the load in the biceps. Also as a side question, I'm interested in your new course on Altitude, but I have only been climbing for about 10 months. Also an old git now at 61. Is the course still useful for me even though there is a lot for more experienced climbers? Thanks again for the really great videos on your channel.

[@climbermacleod]

Thanks. I would say the course ought to be very useful. Experienced folk will go through it looking for gaps in their knowledge. For novices, nearly everything is a gap!

[@sethgilbertson2474]

Your thoughts on plateaus are really great. Since fingerboard training is isometric after the initial period of adaptation we reach a plateau. Sticking with it and not pushing to hard over time will get past it. Considering factors that one could change such as frequency or intensity can also help move past a plateau. Thanks for covering this topic so thoroughly!

[@camilojacob]

Great content! Could you comment on arm bending angles?

[@basedlukashenko5249]

Thank you

[@ionutcotinghi1915]

Thanks for the info. Any vlog about recovery method after hangbord training?

[@arishtat4523]

I'd be curious to hear your opinion about Eva Lopez's doctoral dissertation on fingerboard finger strength training and the training regiment she created based on her research.

[@Del1Dub]

can you link that paper? would appreciate

[@markustrenker2757]

Cool guy, thanks a lot!

[@hyau23]

Dave, what is your take on hangboarding protocols of Tyler Nelson and his density Hangs, , velocity pulls, etc?

[@ihsanzemzeM]

I would like to ask you a question. As you said there are some scientific works on fingerboarding but there is not a %100 correct recipe of fingerboarding, yet. However, besides your useful and experienced remarks on the subject, you have some controversies with some ideas of Eva Lopez who has a PhD. on the topic as you probably know. If you share your ideas especially on "maximal hangs" and "minimum edge hangs" for power workouts I would be pretty happy. Thanks in advance.

[@classcougarreynolds]

Thanks.

[@DerrekChu]

Fantastic video, I certainly wish I had seen this when I first started hangboarding! If you have a moment, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on training with 4-finger open-hand vs 3-finger drag. I get the feeling they're closer to each other than any other pair of grips, and am wondering if training both within a session introduces some redundancy. Do you train both, and/or do you find any transfer in strength from one to the other?

[@climbermacleod]

Well the discussion is purely based on experience and opinion since there is no proper data, but my thought is yes it is possible there is some redundancy, but I still think they are different enough to be worth training separately, and definitely notice I lose strength in one if I am not exposed to it enough. There is also a further subtlety of different climbers finger length affecting it slightly. For me, if I put the little finger on, it changes the grip a lot. Also, regardless of the redundancy, covering the grip types helps to build out the workout without it becoming too monotonous.

[@DerrekChu]

Thanks Dave, I appreciate the input, even if anecdotal! I've gotten some great mileage with my half-crimp as a jack-of-all-trades grip, but like the recounted experience in your video, a recent pulley strain has forced me to expand my repertoire a bit. Definitely excited to develop some proficiency in more open-handed positions!

[@rubendeklerkdeklerkperform5501]

Hi Dave! I plan on making my own hangboard. Should I make the rungs incut on the top or just flat?

[@pablomellado4984]

Eva López, a spanish climber and sport sciences researcher has many works and papers about the benefits of hangboarding for rockclimbing with a proffesional scientific approach.

[@BartekSpitza]

What about retraction of the shoulders? Should you always engage your forearms like you did in this video?

[@karolaszewski7912]

Amazing video. Do You recommend the three finger drag for climbers with 4 - 6 months of expierience?

[@simenhw]

Eim leking ferwerd te stert the hengberd treineng! Thenks.

[@alexbourlier6996]

I must start by saying I watched your video twice 😊 Now, I'm a tiny bit unsure what your total hangboard session is made of, so I'm asking instead of... guessing. You say : 5 max hangs of 10'" each with 1' rest in between. That is what I would call a "set". How many sets do you do? How much time do you rest between each set? Thank you very much for your guidance here, and basically in all your videos. Very helpful! You rock.

[@alexbourlier6996]

🙂

[@thanjay1867]

Suuuper excaited to use the fangerboord

[@trepos22]

Hi Dave. You mention in your video that you can be creative in finding your level for hangboarding. Is there some benefit in using the 14mm edge? If for example I have a 10kg weight with which I can hang on the 20mm but not the 14mm, should I do that as a max training or should I hang on the 14mm without weight (even though bodyweight might be a bit less than my max)?

[@stevencooney9236]

Hi Dave, Can we recruit and train type 2 B muscle fibers through cumulative fatigue of a local muscle group at a slow pace or lesser load? Does the body recruit the entire local muscle (like all fibers in a bicep) as it fatigues and attempts a repetition at a less than maximum load? The Burdenko method (one example) often uses less than maximum loads but requires the participant to execute a movement in three speeds slow, medium, fast. Thanks

[@TroutMaskReplicaa]

I've only just started climbing but most places I've checked recommend waiting around a year before fingerboard training. Does Dave have an opinion on this? Thanks

[@redshift3639]

I always trained open 3 as it felt safer than the forces a half crimp exerted on my joints. Now i struggle with half crimps. Can do open three easily but struggle with 4 finger half crimp!

[@SonnyKnutson]

@Dave MacLeod One tip. Don't put the mic to your throat. You hear every swallow so loudly ^^ Great content tho!

[@PB-sk9jn]

Dave's such a beast his swallows echo through the Glens like a peal of thunder anyway. That's why he had to be sent so far north.

[@eyesontoast1105]

13:10 . . subtle, but I like it

[@doncumaria1742]

Hi! How would you recommend using the board while having a leg injury that's kipping you out of the gym? (In my case ACL surgery) Thank you!

[@sethgilbertson2474]

How do you feel about training different types of holds like slopes vs edges? Thank you.

[@illduitmyself]

works the same. put them up and hang from them

[@raiemie7365]

damn, for me the 3 finger feels more intuitive while I struggle to engage my hand and go into half crimp position

[@habbidaim]

Do you just train max strength all year round? Or do you do a hypertrophy period before starting max strength training? Would you train hypertrophy with the hangboard or just by bouldering?

[@solosonic9528]

Hi and many thanks for the video! I've got a question: After I have finished my 3-5 sets of my open hand hangs how long should I pause before I do another round of half crimp or pocket hangs. I might have missed the information so grateful for anybody who can answer.

[@Rebelutionman123]

Depends on your level of intensity! If you're warming up with these hangs, I believe you can give yourself a quick shakeout, ie on impulse yanks you do three sets of three with breaks of 5 seconds. Buuuut if you're limiting with these exercises and trying really really hard, give it a good shake, maybe 30 seconds to a minute up to 3 minutes if youre doing a MAX isometric pull.

[@Mikkel99]

would lov to know what kind of fingerboarding you did when you were injuried?

[@Average_at_best_gamer]

I struggle with endurance at the moment, only been climbing for one year, I have the strength but it fades quickly

[@LukeRockCimber]

Hi Dave- how many actual hangs is this?

[@williammendoza5576]

Hangboard 6 days a week???

[@juba]

@davemacleod who is the manufacturer of the Power Station, is the stand part of the product?

[@climbermacleod]

The Power Station stand is a separate thing - its here powerstationtraining.com

[@FirstLast-gr8oc]

13:08 When Dave flips everyone off and were happy he did.....

[@Brainworm89]

"your body will tell you when its too much" -> "i had pulley injuries on every finger" xD

[@tobiasbrunner4720]

He heard it but decided to ignore...

[@Zach_Routhier]

Literally every hangboarding video I have seen says "Add some weight to your body and hang with two hands." I feel like I was just way ahead of the curve there boys. See, during covid I gained about 40lbs. So now that I'm sitting comfortably at 240, when I do the max hangs with 2 hands, I don't need to add anymore weight. I've already added 60-70lbs from my optimal body weight. And I can't cheat. Now that's thinking ahead, eh ;)

[@AtomicCheese92]

When you say 3-5 sets, are you meaning 3-5 individual hangs? or is there more than 1 hang in a set?

[@climbermacleod]

Individual hangs. But one set is two hangs if you are doing one-handed hangs, obviously.

[@jozuaschiltz8434]

@@climbermacleod Thanks for this video & other vlogs! Do I understand well that you recommend doing between 9-15 hangs in one workout? 3-5 hangs open, 3-5 half crimp & 3-5 three finger open hand

[@gordonrobb]

Dave MacLeod So if I’m just starting out, (and will be taking weight away) should I start at 3, and build up to 5 (or more) of each hold?

[@gordonrobb]

Dave MacLeod Also, I was reading something about 3 finger drag, that said if your ring finger is significantly longer than your index finger (which mine is), doing 3 finger drag with the other 3 (using pinky instead of index) is can be more recommended. Any thoughts on this?

[@alexgalays910]

@@gordonrobb Pretty sure it's fine. You just want to avoid crimping with the other fingers, which would happens for most people if they also tried to hang on the pinky.

[@DoddyDoes]

Thanks for this. I have been climbing for about 6 months now (bouldering only so far) 2 times a week. Should I have started hangboarding yet? I have started to hit my strength limits in crimpy moves on V4/5 boulder problems and am concerned about overdoing it on my tendons... Any advice?

[@climbermacleod]

Oh sure it's fine to start hang boarding. It's just a basic strength exercise like any other such as weights in a gym. You just have to manage the totality of the training design to match your physical level and health status.

[@DoddyDoes]

@@climbermacleod Brilliant! Thanks for that! Guess I'm now hoping Santa is kind to me and gives me a hangboard for Christmas ;) haha thanks!

[@bradwheeler8050]

Watched this at 1.5 speed to save time

[@bobkin611]

Holy shit thanks

[@ANIKOLATRONIK]

you traded time for essence

[@tambling3961]

Watch it at 0.75 if you can't fall asleep

[@abel2226]

And 0.5/1,75 for a good laugh.