Campus contact hits
4 sets of 3-4 fast, precise catches per hand on big holds, 3 min rest.
- Slot
- On the wall
- Focus
- Power
- Time
- 12 min
- Intensity
- Max intensity
- Injury risk
- High injury risk
- Equipment
- Campus board, Training board
High injury risk. Only do this fully warmed up, rested and injury-free, and stop at the first sign of pain in your fingers or elbows. Training is at your own risk.
How to do it
Contact strength is being able to grab a hold hard the instant you touch it. On a campus board or big holds on a steep wall, start with a bent arm, reach quickly to a target hold, and grab it precisely and quietly, then drop back or step down. Do 3-4 hits per hand per set, 4 sets, with 3 minutes rest. If you can't campus without your feet yet, keep them on. End the set as soon as a catch gets sloppy.
Run it now
The same timer as the app: a five-second get-ready, then every round and rest counted down with a beep. Keep this page open while you train.
Campus contact hits
0:00 / 12:05
Ready
12:05
4 rounds
4 sets of 3-4 fast, precise catches per hand on big holds, 3 min rest.
High risk: read the protocol, stop if anything feels wrong.
- 4
- rounds
- 3:00
- rest
- 12:05
- total
Done.
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Take the quizWho it's for
The moment of catching a hold hard. Most people train pulling strength and never train the instant of contact, which is what fails on a fast move.
Common mistakes
- Feet off by default. Feet on for most climbers. Footless contact work is for experienced campus users only.
- Slow, controlled reaches. The speed is the exercise. A slow reach trains something else.
- Loud, scrappy catches. Precise and quiet. When they get sloppy, the set is finished.
- High volume. Three or four hits per hand, four sets. It looks like nothing and it's enough.
How to progress
Slightly worse target holds rather than longer moves. Keep the volume low and the rests at three minutes: this is a nervous system session, not a conditioning one.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.