Sloper hang strength

6 hangs of 10 s on a sloper, 2 min rest. Stop if skin or wrists hurt.

Slot: Strength
Focus: Finger strength
Time: 11 min
Intensity: High
Injury risk: High
Intervals: 6 × 10s on, 2:00 off
Equipment: Sloper, Hangboard, Timer

How to do it

On a sloper hangboard hold or a large sloping hold, hang with both hands for 10 seconds with your shoulders engaged, wrists in the same position every time, and hands open. Rest 2 minutes. Do 6 hangs. Put a foot on a chair to take weight off if needed. Stop if your skin tears or your wrists hurt.

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.

Who it’s for

Climbers who fall off slopers and blame the conditions. Sloper strength is partly skin and partly a wrist and shoulder position you can train, and this trains it.

Common mistakes

A different wrist angle every hang. Same position each time. Wrist angle changes a sloper hang more than load does.
Fingers curling. Hands stay open and flat on the hold. Curling turns it into a crimp on a bad hold.
Training on shredded skin. Slopers eat skin. If your fingertips are raw, this session will make them worse and you won’t hold anything.
Chasing max effort. Six hangs of ten seconds with the shoulders engaged. Take weight off with a foot on a chair rather than fighting.

How to progress

Warmer, more humid conditions make slopers harder, so compare like with like. Progress by taking away assistance rather than adding weight, and stop the session at the first sign of wrist pain.

When it fits

The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.

Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.

Start with a ready-made block

A six-week strength plan with a deload, as a file for the app, and seven short emails on how to run it.