Forearm Hypertrophy on a Campus Board

[tetrault]

Assume that TUT, rep and rest times are adjusted, would it be possible/useful to create a hypertrophy workout on the campus board?

This is assuming NOT simply dead hanging on a single rung, but incorporating a single move.

For example, one rep would consist of the following:
Hang with hands matched on rung 1 for 3 seconds,
Then move a hand to rung 1+X and continue hanging for 3 more seconds,
Then drop off the board and rest for 3 seconds.

Then,
Repeat for however many reps you feel is best for hypertrophy, and call this a set.
(don't want to start an argument here, but 6-10 as an EXAMPLE)

Then rest for 1-2 minutes and perform 3+ sets.
(Again, these numbers are examples)


Would incorporating a single move still allow for an effective forearm hypertrophy workout as compared to the dead hang?

Would the addition of a sport specific movement water down the forearm hypertrophy potential? Or does it increase the potential as the exercise is no longer isometric?

Is this complicating the simple RPTM philosophy of isolating forearm hypertrophy, then developing maximum strength and power through limit bouldering and "standard" campusing?


What other pros and cons would there be to this vs dead hangs?



Thanks

[erick]

It's an interesting idea and I say you should try it. Do a baseline set of repeaters to find your PR, then do a cycle of proposed hangs and test again.

My concern would be as you stated that its overly complicating the standard method. If its an idea for breaking through stagnation or something to do if you hate standard HB workouts than maybe. Adding movement just creates another point of failure that is not your fingers.

[Chris W]

My assumption would be that you're training two different systems at the same time and the results would be less improvement in each.

[tetrault]

Jan 11, 2018 5:57:15 GMT -7 Chris W said:

My assumption would be that you're training two different systems at the same time and the results would be less improvement in each.

Energy systems?

[aikibujin]

Jan 10, 2018 11:07:07 GMT -7 tetrault said:

Or does it increase the potential as the exercise is no longer isometric?

I assume you're talking about the small contraction in the fingers when latching a rung. It's an interesting thought, but I don't know if that small amount of movement would be enough to say that the exercise is no longer isometric. My biggest concern would be injury potential, since you're loading the finger dynamically in an increasingly fatigued state.

[Charlie S]

This sounds like a good question for Steve Maisch. Except it looks like his website is down.

[Lundy]

I think it's important to remember that there's pretty good research that shows that even hypertrophy protocols work your CNS, and CNS/power protocols lead to hypertrophy, it's just that different exercises land you at different points on a continuum. So my question is, given that you're already getting hypertrophy effects from whatever HB protocol you're doing (there's some research that even 1RM max efforts promote small amounts of hyp), why the need to do an hyp-specific workout?

As Erick noted, if you're looking for a way to mix stuff up, as you're stagnating with whatever your current program is, then cool. But if the idea is just that you think you need to add some hyp-specific training into your program, it's unlikely that that's the case, or that it'll promote a greater return on your time investment.

[Chris W]

Jan 11, 2018 6:15:36 GMT -7 tetrault said:

Jan 11, 2018 5:57:15 GMT -7 Chris W said:

My assumption would be that you're training two different systems at the same time and the results would be less improvement in each.

Energy systems?

Sort of. Strength is strength. Power is work over time. The way I see it, hangboarding is about building big strong dumb muscles. Campusing is about teaching those big strong dumb muscles how to fire appropriately. I'm not trying to gain any strength while campusing. I'm trying to utilize that strength as efficiently as possible. 

Just hanging a rung may not be enough load to build strength. Moving between rungs after hanging on them may leave your muscles too fatigued to develop power appropriately. 

I hope I'm correct and not misleading you. 

[tetrault]

Not willing to forego the usual RPTM hangboard cycle in order to experiment with something that is likely not as effective, I decided to try dropping the usual "pull" supplemental exercises (such as pullups or 1 arm inverted rows), and messing around with longer duration campus hangs/movements.

I attempted what I was calling 3/3/3:
Hanging 3 seconds
Making 1 move with 1 hand
Continuing the hang 3 seconds
Rest 3 seconds, calling this 1 rep.
Repeat

I would rest 2 minutes and perform the exercise with the other hand leading and call this 1 set.

My goal was to perform 5-7 reps with each leading hand and 3 sets of this exercise.


I alternated between 2 different moves with each subsequent workout. Hands starting on rung 1 and 2, with the low hand pulling through to 3 for Move "A", and starting on 1 and 3, matching on 3 for Move "B"


I was initially attempting larger moves and slightly longer hangs.


This is probably all moot though, as the workout turned out to be too hard for me after my hangboard session to reliably get into the hypertrophic zone, if there really is such a thing. I was only able to consistently do about 3-4 reps for each set once I settled on the workout, not seeing any trackable improvement over 8 sessions.


I think the most important thing this exercise has shown me so far is how difficult it is for me to maintain stability in my shoulders. Once my hands are vertically offset, I find it very difficult to maintain tension in my shoulders for more than a couple reps whether I am making a move or not.

Failure to complete a move seemed to always be from an inability to control my shoulders from shrugging and blowing the latch. I am not even aware enough to say for sure if this is ultimately a shoulder strength issue or just how the body works when it doesn't have enough finger strength.

I also found out that I can't statically pull up on campus rungs with hands offset on 1 and 3 (moon spacing) to the point where my shoulders are coming at all close to my high hand. Though, during a typical max ladder exercise, I have performed 1-3.5-6 and 1-4-6. Not that those are necessarily impressive, but I am now wondering if I should be stepping back a bit and developing other strengths before trying to push bigger moves on the campus board.