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Wooden hangboard with a top jug and edges of several depths

Hangboarding for Beginners: First 8 Weeks

Plan your training • • Félix Bourassa-Moreau • Updated

There is no validated cut-off, but a practical rule is to start hangboarding once you have climbed regularly for at least a year, climb two or more times a week, have no finger pain and are no longer growing. Then train twice a week, at least 48 hours apart, with feet-assisted hangs and small load increases over 8 weeks.

A hangboard is the most efficient way to build finger strength, and finger strength is the strongest single predictor of climbing grade. It is also the most direct way to overload fingers that are not ready.

When are you ready?

There is no validated cut-off, so use these practical signs:

Before that point, climbing itself will build finger strength faster than it can adapt your tendons to extra load.

What can first-time hangboarders expect?

A 2021 randomized trial recruited intermediate to advanced climbers (UIAA VI to VIII) with no previous hangboard experience. Over 8 weeks, the group that trained on a hangboard two to three times a week, adding a little weight every week, improved grip strength significantly more than climbers who only climbed. A group that progressed by moving to smaller edges instead did not differ from the climbing-only group.

Two lessons for beginners: short, structured sessions work, and progressing with small load increases on a comfortable edge beats chasing smaller and smaller edges.

What should your first 8 weeks look like?

Equipment: a hangboard with a comfortable 20 to 25 mm edge, and a way to take weight off: feet on a chair, a pulley with a counterweight, or a force plate so you can pull from the floor.

Grips: open hand and half crimp. Leave full crimps, monos and pockets for later.

Frequency: two sessions a week, at least 48 hours apart, at the start of a climbing session after a full warm-up.

WeeksSessionLoad
1 to 2Learn the position: 6 hangs of 7 s, 3 min rest, half on open hand, half on half crimpFeet assisted: about 50 to 60% of bodyweight, easy
3 to 46 hangs of 10 s, 3 min restAbout 70% of bodyweight; finish every hang with a few seconds in reserve
5 to 66 hangs of 10 s, 3 min restRemove assistance gradually; still 3 or more seconds in reserve
7 to 86 hangs of 10 s, 3 min restBodyweight if it is comfortable; otherwise stay assisted

After week 8, test yourself and move to a structured protocol such as max hangs or repeaters.

A gentler alternative: no-hangs

If full hangs feel like too much, start with no-hangs: feet stay on the floor and you pull to a set fraction of your strength, around 40%, for 10 seconds at a time. They are easy to scale and hard to overdo, and you can build the habit of daily finger loading before adding heavier hangs.

Form

When should you stop?

Stop the session and back off for a few days if you feel sharp pain, a pop, or pain at the base of a finger that is still there the next day. If it persists, see a physiotherapist.

Take the guessing out of the load

The hardest thing for beginners is knowing how much weight is actually on their fingers when their feet are helping. A force sensor removes the guesswork. On a ground force plate like Entralpi, you stand on the plate under your hangboard and see exactly how many kilograms your fingers are holding, so “about 60% of bodyweight” becomes a number on the screen, and you can raise it in small, safe steps.

More in plan your training: how often to hangboard, a hangboard routine and max hangs.

Do this in Entralpi

The max strength test measures your max (Take a test). Type it in Settings (Profile, then Settings, under Physical profile), then choose a workout from the Train tab or build your own with loads in % max: the workout shows what each hang asks, so the load does not rely on feel alone. Without the plate, the timer runs the session but measures no force.

Sources