Campus board
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The campus board is a rock climbing training tool, usually made from thin slats of wood attached to a board in a ladderlike fashion, then hung at a less than vertical angle (around 20 degrees) somewhere with plenty of leg room. Climbers ascend and descend the board using only their hands, alternating the use of fingers to develop finger and upper-body strength. The implement was invented by Wolfgang Güllich in 1988 to help him train for a new route, Action Directe, which required extreme dynamic finger strength. The board was first hung at a university in a gym called The Campus Centre, hence the name of the board and the style of climbing, campusing, in which only arms are used to hold the rock.
Training on a campus board results in better performance due to the improvement of motor training, finger strength on various grips, power and lock-off strength. It is recommended only for climbers who are already strong, as it can easily cause injury. A general test can be the ability to boulder at least V5, or climb at least French 6c.
