Campus ladder

Who it's for

Boulderers already comfortable on a campus board who want power endurance without a wall full of suitable problems. Feet stay on, which makes it far more forgiving than bumps or doubles, but it still loads fingers and shoulders for minutes at a time.

Skip it if you've never trained on a campus board, if you're in your first year or two of climbing, or if your fingers, elbows or shoulders are sore. For an existing injury, get a physio to look at it first. Always warm up fully before the first set.

Common mistakes

• Matching hands on a rung. Hand over hand, no matching. Matching turns it into a rest.
• Going until the arms fail rather than until the laps get ugly. Stop the set at the first lap you can't do cleanly, well before you'd fall off.
• Cutting the rest short. Rest as long as you climbed. Two minutes of work needs two minutes of rest, and the sixth set is the one that counts.
• Running it year-round. Power endurance is a short block. Keep this exercise inside it and drop it when the block ends.
• Taking the feet off. The feet stay on the footholds or kickboard the whole time. Cutting loose turns it into full campusing, which is a different load.

How to progress

Add time per set before you add sets: two minutes, then two and a half, then three. Once six sets of three minutes are solid, move to smaller rungs rather than longer sets.

How to make it easier

Use the biggest rungs and a shorter ladder, going up and down fewer rungs each lap. Keep the sets at the two-minute end, and push more weight through your feet by using higher footholds.

Where it fits in your week

The campus ladder belongs in a Power Endurance period only. Do it early in the session after a full warm-up, while your fingers are fresh enough to keep the laps clean. Keep it away from the day after max hangs or a hard bouldering session.

Questions

What is a campus ladder?

A campus ladder is climbing hand over hand up and back down a campus board's rungs with your feet on, for a set time. In this version you go for 2-3 minutes, rest as long as you climbed, and do 6 sets. It's a power endurance exercise that works the fingers and shoulders.

Is a campus ladder the same as campusing?

It's a lighter form of it. Classic campusing means feet off, moving between rungs with bumps and doubles. A campus ladder keeps your feet on the footholds or kickboard and moves one hand at a time, so each move is smaller and you can keep going for minutes instead of seconds.

How long should a campus ladder set last?

Two to three minutes, or until you can't do a clean lap, whichever comes first. Start at the short end and add time before you add sets. Rest as long as the set lasted, so a two-minute set gets two minutes of rest, and aim to keep the sixth set as clean as the first.

Who shouldn't do campus ladders?

Anyone who isn't yet comfortable on a campus board, anyone in their first year or two of climbing, and anyone with sore fingers, elbows or shoulders. Build up on the wall first. If something already hurts, get a physio to look at it before you go near a campus board.