Metolius has a really cool, informative brochure about the campus board on their website, metoliusclimbing.com.
It talks a little bit about the history of the campus board- the first one was installed in 1988 by the late Wolfgang Gullich. His intent behind designing the campus board was to build his finger power, and it worked (he sent Action Directe in 1991, a route that stood as the hardest in the world for years).
The brochure covers design and construction of a campus board so you can build one of your own. It discusses the board framework itself and the rungs- including why wooden rungs are used as opposed to plastic.
Then this Metolius brochure covers training and exercises to do on the campus board and the importance behind the training….
“The principal reasons for “campusing” are to train upper-body power and muscle fiber recruitment. To understand what we’re talking about, let’s make a few distinctions. While strength is the ability to maintain muscle contraction against a maximum load, power is the ability to generate a maximal contraction rapidly. Strength, then, is more of a static force, while power is dynamic.
A campus board is an excellent tool for training strength, but its greatest asset by far is its ability to train power. If a hold on a climb can’t be reached under static strength, you need to move towards it explosively and that’s where power comes in.”
The exercises discussed are power throws, doubles and plyometrics, static moves and lock-offs, and variations that can be used.
Learn more about the campus board and how to use it here…..
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