Skin and finger ramp
3-4 rounds of easy climbing plus brief open-hand, half-crimp, and sloper holds. No max hangs.
- Slot
- Warm-up
- Focus
- Finger strength
- Time
- 15 min
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Injury risk
- Low
- Intervals
- 3 rounds
- Equipment
- Boulders, Edge 20mm
How to do it
Climb easy boulders, and between them spend a few seconds in each position: open hand, half crimp (fingers bent about 90 degrees), and slopers - on a board or big holds, well below max. Do 3-4 rounds, pulling a bit harder each time. No max hangs: this is to wake up skin and fingers, not to tire them.
Who it’s for
Finger-intensive sessions, especially on cold days or first thing. It wakes up skin and fingers across the positions you’re about to use, without spending anything.
Common mistakes
- Turning it into hangs. No max hangs. A few seconds in each position on big holds, well below max.
- Only using one hand position. Open hand, half crimp and slopers each load different tissue. Rotate through all three.
- Pulling hard early. Build across the rounds. The first round should feel like nothing.
- Doing it after the fingers are already tired. It goes at the start.
How to progress
Add a round rather than more load, and keep the last round below max. On cold days, more rounds at low intensity beats fewer at high, and that’s usually what people get backwards.
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.
- Power Endurance Keep your power through one hard move after another.
- Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.
Related blocks
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.