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Partial Hangs

Partial Hangs

training • • Félix Bourassa-Moreau

Partial hangs isolate climbing movements and let you train thoroughly with almost no equipment. The method is simple, unconventional, and better suited to our sport than conventional dead hangs with your feet off the floor.

Preparation for climbing

Body tension is critical in climbing. When your feet come off, you’re either holding a dyno or you’re done. Training conditions your body for that, and partial hangs build the habit of holding tension between the tips of your toes and the tips of your fingers while also developing strength. That’s closer to climbing, and it transfers better.

Adjusting intensity easily

Keeping your feet on the ground is what lets you dial in the intensity you’re aiming for. When you have the load you’re putting through the holds in front of you as a number, you can adjust naturally, directly, and precisely.

You can measure progress exactly, back the load off to avoid discomfort, or drop the intensity mid-exercise so you can keep going once you’d otherwise have to stop. Marginal gains in strength can have a large effect.

Targeting specific movements

My goal in training is still to climb better — more boulders and routes within reach, more out of a trip, or simply climbing longer without fading. Goals that vague don’t translate into a training plan on their own.

A little analysis pulls out the specific aspects of finger strength you can train individually to see quick progress on the wall:

Partial hangs suit all of that varied training well. It’s easy to get lost in the range of exercises available. A simple practice is to keep the focus on one or two of these for a few weeks, measure your progress, and change focus when it stalls.

So who is this actually for?

Partial hangs are simple exercises that suit climbers who are new to training, and their intensity, form and specificity can be adjusted to anyone’s needs.

Training is more fun when you play with it.