One arm hangs advice

[alexandra]

Hi, 
I want to experiment with the MAX R protocol mentioned in the book, hanging with one arm from different grips on the hang board. I am doing this for reasons that have to do with getting used to hanging with one arm. I am confused on two points: 1) when I perform a set with 1/2 baseline weight, does baseline mean bodyweight plus or minus whatever weight I add and subtract on the standard repeater protocol? so 1/2 baseline means 1/2 bodyweight plus minus 1/2 whatever I add or subtract? As an example, say on the small edge, baseline for me is to add 40 lbs. So I perform a two arm hang repeater protocol with bodyweight  plus 40 lbs, which for me is around 155 ( I lost some weight). so 1/2 baseline for the one arm hang will be 155/2 about 78 lbs. This means, that if I want to perform a set at 1/2 baseline, I would have to subtract 37 lbs from my bodyweight, so that I end up performing the set in total weight 78 lbs? Is that correct? In general, how does one calculate baseline for the one arm hangs? 

Also, the rests mentioned in the book between sets seem pretty weird. It looks like one rests 1:05 after the first set then rests 1:25 after the other sets of one arm hangs?

Anyone that can clarify those points and give advice on one arm hanging?
thanks!

[hmarcroft]

When it comes to One arm dead hangs I have only done them using a rope hanging from either side of the hangboard to hold onto with my non hanging hand to take some weight off of the hanging arm. So as far as +/- weight goes I honestly have no advice for you. What I will tell you though is that the rope set up actually worked perfectly for me personally(Just got done with STR Phase being able to Comfortably hang on a 1.25 digit slightly sloping edge with either arm consistently which has been a goal of mine for years). Obviously doing it this way essentially makes tracking and recording data difficult if not impossible, but at the same time it provides more stability for you to keep your shoulder safer while it is getting used to one armed hangs and the high amount of stress they put on them. What you could do is +/- the weight and have a rope handy on either side just to keep your shoulder stable while hanging. Also I'm sure you know this already but make sure you are already warmed up

As far as baseline weight goes I have no idea, I would use your first day to find where you are at and where a comfortable starting point is as far as +/- weight goes. I wouldn't base it off of what you can do with both arms engaged because one armed hangs are a lot different and take time to get used to. Just find a good starting point where you can feel your tendons getting worked but not too much, give it a few weeks at this weight then start fiddling around with the weight to see what you can really do.

For sets and rests I did the following.

WEEKS 1&2...
4 sets, 3 minutes rest between sets
Set Structure- 6 alternating Reps(hangs) 3 per arm.
(example)
10 second Rightarm hang
5 second rest
10 second Leftarm hang
5 second rest
10 second Rightarm hang
5 second rest
10 second Leftarm hang
5 second rest
10 second Rightarm hang
5 second rest
10 second Leftarm hang
3 min rest then next set starts

After I felt I was getting used to one armers I reduced the hang duration to 5 seconds, increased the rest between hangs to 10 seconds, and also increased the rest time between sets to 4 minutes. I made this change because I felt it would be more in line with bouldering which is what I mainly focus on.

Above all else make sure to keep your shoulders, elbows and pulleys healthy by providing good nutrition and plenty of rest between sessions. It's a good idea to include supplemental exercises(starting at a very light weight like 2.5- 5 lbs.) which target the smaller muscles surrounding the rotator cuff in your shoulder to keep it strong and stable. This video has a few great examples youtu.be/EY2tNBOmvGs.

To keep your elbows in check check this out www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=6156.

[alexandra]

thanks! I mostly want to try this on the hang board because some of the projects I am working on would benefit a lot from one arm hanging so I figured this type of hang boarding might be more relevant to my current goals... I already do some of the exercises in the video daily, but it looks like I need to spend more time on them