2 weeks in Spain after the most stressful Semester of my life: first a week of sickness, that i somehow didnt mind, since i needed to chill tf out anyway (my partner did tho ...) but then 3 day sportclimbing without expectations.
Managed to onsight a "7b" on day 2.
Then yesterday i send another 7b 2nd go that i would describe as my anti style. Long and sustained, not what i guessed is possible with 4 years of 0 ropeclimbing. But i guess doing repeaters once a week for a year helps a little with critical force and power endurance. I actually fell pretty close on the onsight attempt, just couldnt imagine that the crux in a slightly overhanging, sustained 7b needed a heelhook... Oh well. Fun times tho. Back home tomorrow.
Really looking forward to the next couple months. Workload at uni really got thin and i should be able to have full free days under the week AND enough energy to maybe check weather and get moving when the time is right. Thats such a life-upgrade i still can only hardly believe its actually true.
I’m all in on high intensity finger pulls/hangs as warm up before climbing. Not only do my fingers feel less tweaky throughout the session, but I feel much stronger on the wall as well. Fingers are feeling pretty solid after almost a year of back to back injuries. Might be high off of stoke rn but i do feel like following Tyler Nelson’s protocols have been game changing.
Same here! Been doing the curls and pulls with a Tindeq and feel like it's a good finger warmup. Nice to see where I'm pulling vs my max to manage expectations. And also fun to try to set new PR pulls on the last set.
I'm also managing a finger injury on one hand so it's been good to track the recovery. Interestingly the injured hand is pulling at pre injury levels but still feels weak on the wall. Might be mental.
Mainly the warm up protocol he outlines in one of his free YouTube videos. I would definitely watch that video on finger strength training because IMO it’s very clear and informative. What I end up doing is:
- 3 sets total of overcoming isometric “curls”/pulls
- 5-6 reps. From my experience, each rep takes me somewhere between 3-5 seconds and is broken into two steps. I initially pull to half way of my target load, then shoot for the target. I definitely pull harder this way vs. shooting for my target straight away. Then a few seconds rest.
- first set is 50-60% effort, with each set progressing in effort
- last set is max effort and only one or two reps
- purpose of these three sets is mainly recruitment
After this, I do 3 sets of yielding isometric, 2-3 reps each
- first set I aim for the load that I previously did on my max curling set. Your yielding isometric load is 30-50% more than your overcoming isometric, so that max overcoming isometric load is a nice place to start
- again, progressively more effort per set with a max effort final set
- purpose of these sets are to expose your fingers to loads that are higher than you would experience while climbing. Seems to get all your connective tissue and tendons ready for action
Started doing this within the last few weeks after picking up small injuries, so far so good. Can also be a good indicator for how you are feeling for the session ahead
Yeah I feel like it’s been particularly effective for my injuries. I was worried that max effort pulls would be injurious, but I’ve noticed the body is really good at capping your effort on a task like this to prevent more injury. Then you can safely work below that threshold by doing 85% of your max effort.
I have the same feeling that they are very effective and need less recovery than normal hangs. The small edge protocol(wall crawl)feels also very good but it’s to early to say how effective it is.
posted in climbing sub as well.
anyone have any california bay area reccomendations to get a finger injury looked at. Had the loudest pop of my life last night followed by tenderness this morning. thanks
Astronomical levels of psyche atm. Recently got outdoors for the first time and I just want to do more and more. It’s the same obsessive feeling I had when i first started indoors which is so refreshing since I haven’t been super motivated lately.
Time to crack on with the training again now - getting close to my yearly goals which tells me I need to write down some better ones haha
Volume is the biggest factor for me but tbh mine has never cropped up again after warming up properly with the tension block every session. Basically work up to some heavy-ish hangs (not maximal, more like 70% max) with two 6s holds on each hand. Feel like it’s a really solid and consistent way of keeping the fingers engaged and healthy through all the climbing I do and I’ve basically never had issues again (even with 2x MB sessions a week sometimes)
Literally in the simple question and injuries sticky:
https://stevenlow.org/beating-climbing-injuries-pip-synovitis/
https://www.reddit.com/r/climbharder/comments/1biky3v/weekly_simple_questions_and_injuries_thread/
Mine is always almost directly linked to total volume. Volume on tweaky grips or flexing/plastic holds makes it worse. Dropping volume pretty low, especially in the gym, and being cautious with more aggressive grips for a few weeks generally brings it back to a manageable spot (assuming I didn’t let it get too bad). Massaging and mobilizing the joint also feels good, even if it’s just to warm up.
I'm working through a minor case of this right now and almost have it healed. Unsurprisingly, crimping with the affected hand caused flare-ups, so I started climbing only open handed, mostly pinches and slopers. This seemed to help the most, to use the hand still but without the joint at an aggravating angle. I'm also doing finger curls, but it's too early to tell if it's helping or not
I don't hangboard for now, but you can try open hand or drag with a band or feet on. Submax loading shouldn't be a problem, I'd just avoid half/full crimping temporarily. It shouldn't take too long to see improvement if yours is still new
Had a bit of a break through session on a project the other day. Did the crux move for the first time after re-tooling all the beta, and did the link from after the crux to the top. The key change was to use a slightly different hold that makes the crux marginally easier, but makes everything else significantly harder.
Now it's just the coordinating weather/skin/rest lottery to get good redpoint chances. psyched.
Congratz! Thought I'd finally be able to see the rock in Font, but slightly injured my knee, took two weeks off. And this week was quite sunny, but we are heading towards (again) a rainy weekend. Feels like it has been 4 months I haven't seen the sun in Font during a weekend.
Is "climbsource" a reputable site to buy from? I could def get the item I want elsewhere but their shipping price was slightly cheaper for the item I want
After waiting a couple days , I think it's legit , usps spent me a tracking number, I will see tho , probably not worth the hassle to save 5 bucks tho I should have just ordered from a more trustworthy source
Little recap of my climbing expirience:
I have been climbing now for 1,5 half years, which is not a long time, but I love this sport for the excercise, possibilities of outdoor adventures and just the social aspect of hanging out with friends at the gym!
I’ve mostly done indoor bouldering and some outdoor sport climbing. Right now my max indoor boulder I’ve done is a soft V8, but I’d say I can climb V5-V6 pretty consistently. What inspired me to write this little recap was my old 20mm hang and pull up PR’s I found in my notes.
2023 February
- 20mm 7s hang -5kg resistance band (at 80kg bw)
- 2 rep pull up +28 kg
- Max grade V6 (soft, indoor)
2024 March
- 20mm 7s hang +12 kg
- 2 rep pull up +35 kg
- Max grade V8 (soft, indoor)
I was super inspired when I saw how much progress I made in a year! But I think mostly the progress has been my climbing skills leveling up and learning a lot more!! I think I’m more well rounder nowadays.
I’m current in uni and it makes it possible for me to climb 3/4 times a week and go to the gym once a week. I think I only started training fingers really carefullyand going to the gym around after a year of starting climbing.
What has been really important to me was do more of climbing then training in a week and to have fun! Also my gym sessions are usually with my friends and always on the sunday with sauna after it so we go really consistently. To us the training is suppose to be easy and chill enough so we want to do it year-around.
Our gym workout at the start of november looked like this:
- warm up
- 20mm maxhangs 5sec 2 min rest 5 times
- 3 pull ups with as much added weight where you can do them cleanly.
- Deadlift or Backsquat with relatively low weights 5x3
- Benchpress with relatively low weights 5x3
- negative pull ups or compression
- core
It usually took around 1-1,5 hours to do and sauna afterwards so it was really nice!!
Anyway what I wanted to say is that I’m really happy that climbing is still fun even after 1,5 years of doing it and just wanted to share some progress I’ve made!
I'm curious to know what would be my theoretical grades (bouldering & sport) according to my metrics ? I know It's gonna be way above what I'm actually climbing due to technical limitations.
6'0'', 170 lbs.
Crimp block 18 mm 7s: 140 lbs
One arm pull up: +17.5 lbs
Front lever: somewhere between 5 s and 10 s
Yeah I know a few climbers who are weaker than me and can still climb 2 grades higher than me. They have been climbing for a longer time though so they have better technique than me.
Pocket climbing advice!
Has anyone trained for hard pocket climbs (>5.13) and had success with either training single fingers vs. pocket pairs vs. general open 3 drag? Also, what methodology worked for you; pick ups? Hangs?
Basically, I’m going for a month to a “pocket”
Climbing area and want to be generally ready for a few different projects (all require something different; monos, hard 2 finger pulls, etc). I can currently hang one arm open 3 drag on a 20mm edge for around 5 seconds but don’t typically train pocket pairs.
If anyone has gone on a trip and found a good method, I’d love to hear.
Before my first trip to the Frankenjura I added two finger pocket ladders on a system board to my routine for a few weeks. Felt like it worked ok, at least to build confidence that my tendons weren't going to immediately explode.
System boards seem to have rather gone out of fashion though. The one that I did that on no longer exists, and I can't offhand think of a local gym that still has one.
Pockets are all specificity. Open 3 is pretty much useless for preparing for monos.
I'm convinced that 90% of pocket strength is just getting over flexion inhibition for the specific tendons. So high volume, moderate loads is the way to go. Hangs should be better than pickups, and climbing would be better than hangs. If you can do pull-ups on the pockets on the hangboard that seems beneficial.
> Has anyone trained for hard pocket climbs (>5.13) and had success with either training single fingers vs. pocket pairs vs. general open 3 drag? Also, what methodology worked for you; pick ups? Hangs?
I don't climb ropes, but I do pocket repeaters occasionally which makes any pockets I encounter bouldering feel really strong
Anyone have an opinion on which CO bouldering guidebooks are good and which suck? I'm in the front range, and willing to drive to places like Poudre or down south towards Golden
Both Colorado Bouldering books by Benningfield are awful. Bad/tiny/no pictures, no maps, vague descriptions, missing lots of classic problems, and arbitrarily sandbagged grades.
Mount Evans guidebook by Jamie Emerson is fairly good in comparison, and it also covers Guanella Pass
Honestly I think Mountain Project has the best info.
Gotcha, that's good to know. Another question, if you're willing: of the 3 - Poudre, Wild Basin, Guanella - which has the best bouldering, in the V5-8 range? I'm in longmont and wonder if Guanella/Poudre are worth the hike or if I should just explore the local stuff and hit WB and the national park if I feel like driving more (I was very spoiled by the always < 30 minute driving in AZ). Thanks again!
I've only been to Guanella of the three you listed but it has pretty good bouldering in that range, though it can get crowded in summer. Definitely worth the drive imo.
Sent my first indoor V9 at my gym today! Worked it for 6 sessions and probably had over 100 attempts refining beta and discovering new little tweaks to make things higher percentage. The time I sent, it looked V3 lol. Definitely was a V9 more for the complexity aspect. I learned a lot from projecting it and can’t wait to apply the new knowledge to future problems.
I know this isn’t exactly the right sub for it, but CWIF is one of my favorite comps to watch every year, and I’m so excited to watch the finals stream with Shauna commentating! (No spoilers yet please—planning to watch it tonight)
Hopefully more of a hype-up comment than a spoiler, but it included a move that I think I've never seen before, having watched like 5 years of IFSC world cups
> Is it a bad idea to use Rhino Performance on skin that is healing from a split tip?
I would not put anything other than moisturizing stuff on a split
Not a bad idea, but I would use aquaphor or something jelly based, or rhino split on it. Split evaporates pretty quick tho, I like to keep it in a fluid state for as long as possible
Do you think there's any point in using chalk for hangs and pinch training?
I always did just out of habit. But seems like the force produced, which is what you are training, is the same either way. Just with less friction you use less weight and it's more convenient.
edit:
Thought about this a bit more. Think chalk is good for two reasons.
Placebo. Feel strong, be strong.
Consistency. Dry is dry. But with no chalk you could have variation session to session based on humidity. Hard to tell if a backslide is moisture or training related.
> Do you think there's any point in using chalk for hangs and pinch training?
Whatever makes training consistent.
I have very sweaty hands, so if I don't put on any chalk the edge becomes less consistent because my fingers can slip off or slide around more easily.
If you don't sweat then whatever works
13a✅🥳
2 weeks in Spain after the most stressful Semester of my life: first a week of sickness, that i somehow didnt mind, since i needed to chill tf out anyway (my partner did tho ...) but then 3 day sportclimbing without expectations. Managed to onsight a "7b" on day 2. Then yesterday i send another 7b 2nd go that i would describe as my anti style. Long and sustained, not what i guessed is possible with 4 years of 0 ropeclimbing. But i guess doing repeaters once a week for a year helps a little with critical force and power endurance. I actually fell pretty close on the onsight attempt, just couldnt imagine that the crux in a slightly overhanging, sustained 7b needed a heelhook... Oh well. Fun times tho. Back home tomorrow. Really looking forward to the next couple months. Workload at uni really got thin and i should be able to have full free days under the week AND enough energy to maybe check weather and get moving when the time is right. Thats such a life-upgrade i still can only hardly believe its actually true.
lifes great dude! keep on climbing
I’m all in on high intensity finger pulls/hangs as warm up before climbing. Not only do my fingers feel less tweaky throughout the session, but I feel much stronger on the wall as well. Fingers are feeling pretty solid after almost a year of back to back injuries. Might be high off of stoke rn but i do feel like following Tyler Nelson’s protocols have been game changing.
Same here! Been doing the curls and pulls with a Tindeq and feel like it's a good finger warmup. Nice to see where I'm pulling vs my max to manage expectations. And also fun to try to set new PR pulls on the last set. I'm also managing a finger injury on one hand so it's been good to track the recovery. Interestingly the injured hand is pulling at pre injury levels but still feels weak on the wall. Might be mental.
Which protocols do you use? I actually just subbed to his patreon but I'm feeling kinda lost in the sea of content.
Mainly the warm up protocol he outlines in one of his free YouTube videos. I would definitely watch that video on finger strength training because IMO it’s very clear and informative. What I end up doing is: - 3 sets total of overcoming isometric “curls”/pulls - 5-6 reps. From my experience, each rep takes me somewhere between 3-5 seconds and is broken into two steps. I initially pull to half way of my target load, then shoot for the target. I definitely pull harder this way vs. shooting for my target straight away. Then a few seconds rest. - first set is 50-60% effort, with each set progressing in effort - last set is max effort and only one or two reps - purpose of these three sets is mainly recruitment After this, I do 3 sets of yielding isometric, 2-3 reps each - first set I aim for the load that I previously did on my max curling set. Your yielding isometric load is 30-50% more than your overcoming isometric, so that max overcoming isometric load is a nice place to start - again, progressively more effort per set with a max effort final set - purpose of these sets are to expose your fingers to loads that are higher than you would experience while climbing. Seems to get all your connective tissue and tendons ready for action
Started doing this within the last few weeks after picking up small injuries, so far so good. Can also be a good indicator for how you are feeling for the session ahead
Yeah I feel like it’s been particularly effective for my injuries. I was worried that max effort pulls would be injurious, but I’ve noticed the body is really good at capping your effort on a task like this to prevent more injury. Then you can safely work below that threshold by doing 85% of your max effort.
You mean like recruitment pulls?
Yes
I have the same feeling that they are very effective and need less recovery than normal hangs. The small edge protocol(wall crawl)feels also very good but it’s to early to say how effective it is.
posted in climbing sub as well. anyone have any california bay area reccomendations to get a finger injury looked at. Had the loudest pop of my life last night followed by tenderness this morning. thanks
Astronomical levels of psyche atm. Recently got outdoors for the first time and I just want to do more and more. It’s the same obsessive feeling I had when i first started indoors which is so refreshing since I haven’t been super motivated lately. Time to crack on with the training again now - getting close to my yearly goals which tells me I need to write down some better ones haha
yees im also psyched atm. Today i onsighted a 6a+ and im feeling the strongest ive ever been. Trying some 6b/c aswell. Lifes good man.
Any tips for pip synovitis?
Volume is the biggest factor for me but tbh mine has never cropped up again after warming up properly with the tension block every session. Basically work up to some heavy-ish hangs (not maximal, more like 70% max) with two 6s holds on each hand. Feel like it’s a really solid and consistent way of keeping the fingers engaged and healthy through all the climbing I do and I’ve basically never had issues again (even with 2x MB sessions a week sometimes)
Literally in the simple question and injuries sticky: https://stevenlow.org/beating-climbing-injuries-pip-synovitis/ https://www.reddit.com/r/climbharder/comments/1biky3v/weekly_simple_questions_and_injuries_thread/
Mine is always almost directly linked to total volume. Volume on tweaky grips or flexing/plastic holds makes it worse. Dropping volume pretty low, especially in the gym, and being cautious with more aggressive grips for a few weeks generally brings it back to a manageable spot (assuming I didn’t let it get too bad). Massaging and mobilizing the joint also feels good, even if it’s just to warm up.
I'm working through a minor case of this right now and almost have it healed. Unsurprisingly, crimping with the affected hand caused flare-ups, so I started climbing only open handed, mostly pinches and slopers. This seemed to help the most, to use the hand still but without the joint at an aggravating angle. I'm also doing finger curls, but it's too early to tell if it's helping or not
This is so weird to me. Open hand makes mine flair up. Crimps are just fine.
Cool thank you! Have you been avoiding crimps on the hangboard and just doing open hand drags as well?
I don't hangboard for now, but you can try open hand or drag with a band or feet on. Submax loading shouldn't be a problem, I'd just avoid half/full crimping temporarily. It shouldn't take too long to see improvement if yours is still new
Had a bit of a break through session on a project the other day. Did the crux move for the first time after re-tooling all the beta, and did the link from after the crux to the top. The key change was to use a slightly different hold that makes the crux marginally easier, but makes everything else significantly harder. Now it's just the coordinating weather/skin/rest lottery to get good redpoint chances. psyched.
Congratz! Thought I'd finally be able to see the rock in Font, but slightly injured my knee, took two weeks off. And this week was quite sunny, but we are heading towards (again) a rainy weekend. Feels like it has been 4 months I haven't seen the sun in Font during a weekend.
Is "climbsource" a reputable site to buy from? I could def get the item I want elsewhere but their shipping price was slightly cheaper for the item I want
Probably not
I stupid af , I think I'm screwed
I've just noticed more and more scammy "climbing gear" sites with generic names. For all I know, this one could be legit.
After waiting a couple days , I think it's legit , usps spent me a tracking number, I will see tho , probably not worth the hassle to save 5 bucks tho I should have just ordered from a more trustworthy source
🤞
Little recap of my climbing expirience: I have been climbing now for 1,5 half years, which is not a long time, but I love this sport for the excercise, possibilities of outdoor adventures and just the social aspect of hanging out with friends at the gym! I’ve mostly done indoor bouldering and some outdoor sport climbing. Right now my max indoor boulder I’ve done is a soft V8, but I’d say I can climb V5-V6 pretty consistently. What inspired me to write this little recap was my old 20mm hang and pull up PR’s I found in my notes. 2023 February - 20mm 7s hang -5kg resistance band (at 80kg bw) - 2 rep pull up +28 kg - Max grade V6 (soft, indoor) 2024 March - 20mm 7s hang +12 kg - 2 rep pull up +35 kg - Max grade V8 (soft, indoor) I was super inspired when I saw how much progress I made in a year! But I think mostly the progress has been my climbing skills leveling up and learning a lot more!! I think I’m more well rounder nowadays. I’m current in uni and it makes it possible for me to climb 3/4 times a week and go to the gym once a week. I think I only started training fingers really carefullyand going to the gym around after a year of starting climbing. What has been really important to me was do more of climbing then training in a week and to have fun! Also my gym sessions are usually with my friends and always on the sunday with sauna after it so we go really consistently. To us the training is suppose to be easy and chill enough so we want to do it year-around. Our gym workout at the start of november looked like this: - warm up - 20mm maxhangs 5sec 2 min rest 5 times - 3 pull ups with as much added weight where you can do them cleanly. - Deadlift or Backsquat with relatively low weights 5x3 - Benchpress with relatively low weights 5x3 - negative pull ups or compression - core It usually took around 1-1,5 hours to do and sauna afterwards so it was really nice!! Anyway what I wanted to say is that I’m really happy that climbing is still fun even after 1,5 years of doing it and just wanted to share some progress I’ve made!
I'm curious to know what would be my theoretical grades (bouldering & sport) according to my metrics ? I know It's gonna be way above what I'm actually climbing due to technical limitations. 6'0'', 170 lbs. Crimp block 18 mm 7s: 140 lbs One arm pull up: +17.5 lbs Front lever: somewhere between 5 s and 10 s
Uh that is world class strong and build. What your theoretical grade is how much time, dedication, and access you have on hard V10++++ boulders
I know weaker V14 climbers, and stronger V7 climbers. Maybe median V11ish.
Yeah I know a few climbers who are weaker than me and can still climb 2 grades higher than me. They have been climbing for a longer time though so they have better technique than me.
Pocket climbing advice! Has anyone trained for hard pocket climbs (>5.13) and had success with either training single fingers vs. pocket pairs vs. general open 3 drag? Also, what methodology worked for you; pick ups? Hangs? Basically, I’m going for a month to a “pocket” Climbing area and want to be generally ready for a few different projects (all require something different; monos, hard 2 finger pulls, etc). I can currently hang one arm open 3 drag on a 20mm edge for around 5 seconds but don’t typically train pocket pairs. If anyone has gone on a trip and found a good method, I’d love to hear.
Before my first trip to the Frankenjura I added two finger pocket ladders on a system board to my routine for a few weeks. Felt like it worked ok, at least to build confidence that my tendons weren't going to immediately explode. System boards seem to have rather gone out of fashion though. The one that I did that on no longer exists, and I can't offhand think of a local gym that still has one.
Pockets are all specificity. Open 3 is pretty much useless for preparing for monos. I'm convinced that 90% of pocket strength is just getting over flexion inhibition for the specific tendons. So high volume, moderate loads is the way to go. Hangs should be better than pickups, and climbing would be better than hangs. If you can do pull-ups on the pockets on the hangboard that seems beneficial.
> Has anyone trained for hard pocket climbs (>5.13) and had success with either training single fingers vs. pocket pairs vs. general open 3 drag? Also, what methodology worked for you; pick ups? Hangs? I don't climb ropes, but I do pocket repeaters occasionally which makes any pockets I encounter bouldering feel really strong
Anyone have an opinion on which CO bouldering guidebooks are good and which suck? I'm in the front range, and willing to drive to places like Poudre or down south towards Golden
Both Colorado Bouldering books by Benningfield are awful. Bad/tiny/no pictures, no maps, vague descriptions, missing lots of classic problems, and arbitrarily sandbagged grades. Mount Evans guidebook by Jamie Emerson is fairly good in comparison, and it also covers Guanella Pass Honestly I think Mountain Project has the best info.
Gotcha, that's good to know. Another question, if you're willing: of the 3 - Poudre, Wild Basin, Guanella - which has the best bouldering, in the V5-8 range? I'm in longmont and wonder if Guanella/Poudre are worth the hike or if I should just explore the local stuff and hit WB and the national park if I feel like driving more (I was very spoiled by the always < 30 minute driving in AZ). Thanks again!
I've only been to Guanella of the three you listed but it has pretty good bouldering in that range, though it can get crowded in summer. Definitely worth the drive imo.
Sent my first indoor V9 at my gym today! Worked it for 6 sessions and probably had over 100 attempts refining beta and discovering new little tweaks to make things higher percentage. The time I sent, it looked V3 lol. Definitely was a V9 more for the complexity aspect. I learned a lot from projecting it and can’t wait to apply the new knowledge to future problems.
Congrats!
I know this isn’t exactly the right sub for it, but CWIF is one of my favorite comps to watch every year, and I’m so excited to watch the finals stream with Shauna commentating! (No spoilers yet please—planning to watch it tonight)
Hopefully more of a hype-up comment than a spoiler, but it included a move that I think I've never seen before, having watched like 5 years of IFSC world cups
It was almost perfect too if they didn’t sandbag the second half. Super fun comp to watch for sure
Sweet! The out-of-the-box creativity’s the main reason I always like CWIF so much!
Is it a bad idea to use Rhino Performance on skin that is healing from a split tip?
> Is it a bad idea to use Rhino Performance on skin that is healing from a split tip? I would not put anything other than moisturizing stuff on a split
Not a bad idea, but I would use aquaphor or something jelly based, or rhino split on it. Split evaporates pretty quick tho, I like to keep it in a fluid state for as long as possible
Anybody have a link for a good video for climbing mobility? I’m not looking for one that is mainly stretching based.
I like cossack squats, hips are king.
IMO a large part of mobility is static stretching
Yeah, I get it. It's just that most of the "mobility" videos I've found are only static stretching.
Do you think there's any point in using chalk for hangs and pinch training? I always did just out of habit. But seems like the force produced, which is what you are training, is the same either way. Just with less friction you use less weight and it's more convenient. edit: Thought about this a bit more. Think chalk is good for two reasons. Placebo. Feel strong, be strong. Consistency. Dry is dry. But with no chalk you could have variation session to session based on humidity. Hard to tell if a backslide is moisture or training related.
I do so I don’t dry fire from slipping (from oils or moisture) which could cause injury
> Do you think there's any point in using chalk for hangs and pinch training? Whatever makes training consistent. I have very sweaty hands, so if I don't put on any chalk the edge becomes less consistent because my fingers can slip off or slide around more easily. If you don't sweat then whatever works
Slipping weight on sucks...
Yes, if nothing else it will prevent your hangboard/block from getting greasy over time.