SCHOOL ROOM / CAMPUS BOARDING

The Campus board was first designed and built by the legendary Wolfgang Gullich in the late 80s. He desired a training apparatus that would help him gain the required strength to ma e the first ascent of !ction "irecte #a in Germanys $ran en%ura. When designing the campus board& Wolfgang was loo ing for an apparatus that could be used to impro'e e(plosi'e power and contact strength in the fingers and arms. )t was also important that it incorporated simple yet specific mo'ements which were found on many of the harder climbs in the $ran en%ura. )t wasnt long before the idea of the campus board caught on amongst the worlds elite& including the li es of *en +oon and ,erry +offat. These climbers added campus sessions into their strict training regimes bac on -nglish soil in the early #0s. .owadays& the campus board is a common piece of equipment seen in climbing gyms all around the world. They are used by a 'ast amount of climbers of all abilities to help impro'e climbing specific strength in the fingers and arms and brea the ne(t grade barrier. ! campus board is a 'ery basic piece of equipment& consisting of a slightly o'erhanging wooden board with wooden rungs /holds0 e'enly spaced upwards. The idea of this apparatus is that you campus /climb0 up the wooden rungs without using you feet& therefore all the stress is going into your arms and fingers. 1b'iously campus boarding is no use if you neglect climbing which in'ol'es your feet as well& but can be a good supplement to normal bouldering2 climbing. Throughout this article ) intend to include se'eral different e(ercises that ) use whilst training on the campus board. 3ome e(ercises are easier than others and wor slightly different grips& and types of strength. Howe'er it is worth noting that a campus board is a 'ery physical piece of equipment and there is an element of ris of in%ury when using one. ) wouldnt recommend the use of a campus board to anyone who isnt a good strong climber and doesnt fit into categories C or " in the training questionnaire& be careful. 4ou can also download a campus training plan Here& but ) recommend reading the rest of the article beforehand. Rung sizes and spacing !n ideal campus board will ha'e a few different si5ed rungs& spaced at around 66cm apart with up to # numbered rungs going upwards. )t is important that you use the correct si5ed rungs when campus boarding. 1b'iously campussing on huge %ugs wont increase finger strength but while using smaller rungs will be more beneficial& it could increase the ris of in%ury. Clearly some common sense is required when selecting which rungs to use& if you are new to campus boarding then ) recommend that you use slightly bigger rungs and gradually decrease the si5e. )t is important howe'er that you can perform a minimum of 7 pull ups on the rung you wish to campus on& if you cant complete this then they are too small. Grips When campus boarding there are three main types of grips you can use& although ) generally force myself to stay open handed or half crimped. Open Handed this is an important grip to train since it is generally trained less when bouldering2 climbing indoors but is important to be strong in this position. $or this grip it is also possible to e(periment using only a select few fingers& as if you where climbing in poc ets. *ut beware this is a 'ery intense e(ercise& and for all but the few mortals using all 8 fingers open handed will be

sufficient. Half Cri p this is my preferred grip to use when campus boarding since it will help impro'e both crimped and open handed strength. !ull Cri p ) ha'e ne'er found the need to campus in a full crimped position since ) feel half crimped is safe and more efficent for training. Howe'er& other climbers ) now do& so ) ha'e included this 'ariation. !gain& beware as it is more dangerous than using a half crimped grip. "#ercises ) wont go into detail about being warmed up when using the campus board& its common sense& and we also ha'e a great article on warming up /see here0. )t is important that you dont campus when tired or unwell& since sloppy technique will increase the ris if in%ury. !lso for most climbers it is best to campus board when you ha'e rested the day before and are totally fresh. !im for quality o'er quantity and a session should last no more than 9 hour. !s stated abo'e each rung will be numbered& when e(plaining e(ercise ) will state rung numbers in a particular order. 4ou should campus between these rungs with alternati'e hands. $or e(ample if ) state 9:;:< leading with the left hand& you should start matching on rung one. Then campus up to rung ; with the left hand& then pull straight through to rung < with the right hand without matching. Laddering /3ee =ideo0 >addering is the most simple and ob'ious e(ercise done on the campus board and can be done on any of the preferred grips as mentioned abo'e. The idea of laddering is that you mo'e up the board in a symmetric fashion mo'ing with the opposite hand for each mo'ement. 4ou can e(periment with se'eral different rung combinations& such as 9:8:7:<:# or 9:;:< and so on. With laddering it is important to use se'eral different sequences to get you to the top& This will help train a wider 'ariety of mo'ement in the arms. Generally to ma e this e(ercise more difficult you can use less hand mo'ements to ma e it to the top& two current benchmar s seam to be 9:;:< or if your unbelie'ably strong 9:7:#. $%uc&es /3ee =ideo0 Touches are one of my fa'ourite campus e(ercises& but beware since they require lowering bac down onto the arms? therefore they carry a higher ris of in%ury. Touches wor e(plosi'e upwards mo'ements as well as deep loc ing off strength and contact strength. ) would recommend that touches are only done in a half crimped position. )t is possible to use many different sequences when doing this e(ercise? howe'er 9:8:9 or 9:;:9 should be more than sufficient for most climbers. ) recommend for one set& that you lead with alternati'e arms twice thus creating ; upwards mo'ements as in the 'ideo. To concentrate more on deep loc ing of strength you should not drop bac to rung one& instead go 9:;:8:; etc as in the 'ideo here. This should be repeated each for both arms D%u'les /3ee =ideo0 ) am not a fan of this e(ercise& infact ) ha'e ne'er included this in my training routines. Howe'er other top climbers will beg to differ and use them frequently.

"oubles should increase& li e all other campus e(ercise& hand eye co:ordination and timing. !s well as impro'ing e(plosi'e power and contact strength. "oubles require mo'ing between rungs with both hands at the same time& therefore causing a moment of free flight before catching the ne(t rung. !gain there are many different sequences to be tried& but generally people will use 9:8:6:;:8:7:;:@:7:<:@:8:<:# and so on& basically going up 6 rungs and down one. P%(er endurance )raining /3ee =ideo0 ! campus boards best training asset is possibly its ability to allow top end power endurance training. $or me training this type of endurance training is best done on the campus board. This type of training has allowed me to see significant impro'ements in my power endurance le'els in a small time periods. Howe'er training power endurance on the campus board is 'ery physical and ) only recommend this type of training to people who are e(perienced with campus board use and also strong ha'e a good le'el of strength. 4ou should at least be in the ad'anced category in our training questionnaire to include this type of training in your plan. *asically it in'ol'es going up and down the campus board for a period of time& usually between ;0 A @0 seconds. )t is done in sets& usually about 8 sets with 6 minutes rest between. )t is important that you dont go to failure in your early sets and that your only begin to fail in sets @:< and 8. $raining Plan +y aim is to pro'ide a rough layout of a successful campus board session. 1b'iously a training plan will 'ary from person to person& but if you follow the structure of this session you should be on the right trac . ) would usually recommend 9 or 6 campus board sessions per wee as well as at least 6 climbing2 bouldering sessions. 1b'iously& again this is a rough guide since ) dont now your wee ly time schedules. *ut try this routine for one month then ta e a few easier days& after that go out and try your pro%ect& you will be pleasantly surprised. This session is based on a climber who has a ma(imum campus le'el of 9:;:<& note this is a ma(imum le'el& it is not necessary to do 9:;:< e'ery time. !gain ) am using 9:;:< as a base le'el& if your ability is higher or lower you should be able to simply twea the e(ercises to suit your ability.

*%r+%u) plan
*efore you start this plan it is essential that you are fully warmed up& preferably on a bouldering wall or hang board. 7 minutes on a few easy boulder problems is not sufficient. !ll e(ercises can be done of any of the three grips mentioned in the main article? howe'er ) would recommend for most people that half crimped would be most beneficial. Ladder ,-.-/-0-1 /=ideo0 6 3ets with 9 minutes rest between each set Ladder ,-2-3-1 6 3ets leading with each arm /; sets in total0 with 9 minutes rest between. Best ; +inutes Ladder Ma#i u ,-2-0 /=ideo0 8 tries leading with each arm /@ tries in total0 resting 6 minutes between each try. )t is no problem if you fail to complete 9:;:< on e'ery try. *ut you should be aiming for at least 6 successful attempts& leading up to 7 or @ as you impro'e. Best ; minutes $%uc&es ,-2-, /=ideo0 8 3ets of 9:;:9:;:9:;:9:;:9 leading with alternati'e hands& i.e. >eft Hand touches rung ; 6 times& as does the Bight Hand for each set. Best 6 minutes between each set. Best ; +inutes $%uc&es ,-2-.-2 /=ideo0 6 sets for each arm& 9:;:8:;:8:;:8:; for each set eeping one arm constantly on rung one and the other mo'ing between rungs 8 and ;. Besting 6 minutes each set. Warm down properly and gi'e yourself a pat on the bac .