An example of those views: “Personally, if I’m climbing well, that’s when I enjoy it the most. So I train a bit, get a little better, and enjoy it more.” Cons: There are some minor technical issues with the app’s design, such as a muddled filter feature that sometimes makes it difficult to find problems, and slightly awkward navigation functions.

The author regularly uses examples from his and his partners broad experience to demonstrate a range training ideas. Both the ideas behind the training methods, and example workouts are clearly presented. The author is not prescriptive, but provides a starting point and suggests ways to induce variation in the training, and to maximise "gains". The writing feels like talking to a knowledgeable friend, informative and informal in the perfece balance. It is jargon free, meaning both a relative beginner and experienced training hero could read this book and get useful information from it. Build your ascent pyramid, and review your past climbing sessions. KAYA is loaded with over 200 gyms and 100k outdoor climbs. One thing I missed was an in-depth discussion of periodization and strength training. Feehally does touch on some of those aspects, briefly, but not as much as some of the nerdier training enthusiasts (me) might want. To be fair, Feehally purposely left all the nerdier stuff out. The book distils a lot of information that's out there into a usable format, giving suggestions whilst leaving the fine tuning to the user depending on their aspirations and experience level. With such a variety of differing ways of training the book is certainly for those who have built a solid base of climbing experience, it is not a 'how to climb' but is no worse for that.With a standardized progression of hold sizes, unmatched comfort, and space saving design, this board is an excellent home training tool

Overall: If you’re a fan and a user of the Moon Board, this app is stellar. It’s interactive, immersive, and well-designed. Once you figure out the setup, icons, and search features during your first session, it becomes a breeze to use. For many, this list of accolades and accreditation would be enough to pretty much write whatever he likes but Feehally really doesn’t seem that sort and while he states that he never intended to write a book filled with academic citations, it is clear he’s done his reading. Take the History section in Chapter 1 for example, where Wolfgang Gullich gets equal billing alongside the academic studies of Eva Lopez. This book goes beyond the obvious yet never forgets it.Overall: Mountain Project is a must-have app. As far as free online climbing guides go, there’s nothing that even comes close. KAYA

Overall: If you're an expert, or just getting into hangboarding this app is for you! It’s extremely simple and easy to use, with a range of hangboard workouts. 27Climb Most of the exercises are sitting or squatting and they don't all need to be done at once, they mostly work isolated bits of you. Work out a basic set of them and squeeze them into normal life. Squat while the kettle boils, find a couple of sitting stretches you can use while reading to the kids... As would be expected from a dedicated boulderer and co-founder of 'Beastmaker' the authors focus is as the sub-title says 'a fingers-first approach to becoming a better climber' the book however offers much more than that with chapters on tactics, flexibility and core amongst other things. For those less concerned with standard training metrics, this is a good alternative to some of the pricier models At the end of the book, there are interviews with Alex Puccio, Adam Ondra, Jerry Moffat, Melissa Le Nevé, Tomoa Narasaki, Alex Megos, Alex Honnold, and Coxsey. Questions range from “What is your five-second maximum one-arm hang on the Beastmaker 2000 middle edge?” to “What is your advice for climbers who want to improve?”Using a campus rung or lattice rung will get you most of the benefits of a fingerboard. If you add a good hold to warm up on and a smaller edge, that is pretty much all you need. By the time you add those things though, you will probably have spent about the same as on a fingerboard anyway. The overarching theme of the book, as the subhead suggests, is on fingers. “Finger strength is basically what sets people apart from others,” said Feehally. “I think all the best climbers in the world have really strong fingers.” (Photo: Beastmaking Collection) Cons: At this point in the life of Rakkup, there simply aren’t enough guides available, though this will surely change over time. The app’s design is also a bit bland, with a dark blood-red strip at the top; it leaves a bit to be desired. Some users may also find the guide prices too steep for their taste. Keep in mind, however, that these prices are on par with the cost of any physical copies you’d find. And as any experienced climber knows, the price of a good guidebook is well worth it. Plastic boards tend to have more creative shapes and holds, but they are rougher on the skin due to the added texture needed to create friction. Boards that are rough on the skin can be helpful for building calluses but also require some healing time after a workout. If you are warming up for your climbing day on a hangboard, consider wood over plastic to help keep your skin in top shape for the day. If you value variety in your holds, plastic boards may be worth the cost of some skin.

Cons: Unlike other climbing apps, MyClimb doesn't hone in on one particular area (guidebook, training, community). If you want a guidebook for one particular area, this may not be your app of choice. The training potential of the Moon Board and its app is vast. Many climbers have used the app to train almost exclusively on the Moon Board, and most have become stronger for it. The social aspect of the app is fun as well––climb classic problems set by Ben Moon himself and many others, or create your own and watch as they are climbed, graded, and rated by your fellow climbers around the world. It’s like a video game for climbing! On a similar note, if you have the option, put the fingerboard somewhere easily accessible to make sure you actually use it. Ideally close to the TV, not in a cold garage and preferably not in the kitchen due to constant changes in humidity and temperature. As such, Feehally has eased the ingestion of dense training material into a small number of words written in a comfortable tone. While this has obvious usage, the question of methodology remains: why not make it researched? Feehally said that a hyper-detail-oriented approach does not work for the average person. “The whole purpose of the book was to give your average person a decent set of training knowledge to use. The book doesn’t point you in any direction. Hopefully, it lets you figure out what you need to do. It’s not a training plan, but it’s a sort of guide. Basically, I just, I think if anything’s too prescriptive, in the world of climbing, it doesn’t really work.” He puts his experiences within the context of these high-end athletes and reduces the information to its most essential characteristics. From the foreward, Feehally admits that he will leave the citations out of this book and recommends your following up with additional reading if interested. Chapter 5 of BeastmakingThe book feels nice, is scattered with inspiring photos of climbers doing their thing on boulders across the world on some really aesthetic problems. The text, formatting and chapters feel well done, intuitive, good for browsing or for finding some dedicated information. I never wanted it to be too prescriptive. Everyone is different,” said Feehally, of his new book Beastmaking : A fingers-first approach to becoming a better climber. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!