The systems board nobody uses but should

In the corner of a lot of gyms there is a steep wall covered in matching pairs of holds, arranged in neat symmetrical columns. It has no app, no leaderboard, no glowing LEDs. Most climbers walk straight past it on their way to the Moonboard or the Kilter, and the systems board sits there largely ignored. Which is a shame, because for a certain kind of training it does things those flashy boards cannot.

The systems board is the unglamorous, unfashionable training tool that quietly makes strong climbers stronger. It is not exciting and it does not produce shareable sends. But if you actually want to improve specific weaknesses, it is one of the best tools in the building.

What a systems board actually is

The defining feature is symmetry. Holds are mounted in matching left-right pairs at set intervals up the wall, usually the same type of hold repeated in a column: a row of slopers here, a row of crimps there, a row of pinches over there. The wall is steep, often adjustable, and the whole thing is designed so you can do the same movement again and again on the same grip type.

That is the key difference from an app board. A Moonboard or Kilter throws you constantly varied problems that test a bit of everything at once. A systems board lets you isolate one thing, one grip, one body position, and drill it deliberately. It is the difference between playing a match and running a specific drill.

If you are weighing up the app boards too, our honest comparison in the Moonboard versus the Kilter, honestly is worth a look alongside this.

Why it gets ignored

Let us be honest about why it sits empty:

• There is no app telling you what to climb, so you have to bring your own plan
• There is no leaderboard or grade, so there is no quick hit of achievement
• It looks boring, because it is repetitive by design
• Nobody shows you how to use it, so most climbers genuinely do not know what it is for

That last one is the real problem. A systems board with no instructions is just a confusing wall of holds. Give someone a way to use it and it suddenly becomes obvious.

The systems board is not trying to entertain you. It is trying to make you better at one specific thing at a time, and that is exactly why it works.

What it is brilliant for

The whole point of the symmetry is targeted, repeatable training. A few things it does better than almost anything else:

• Grip strength on a specific hold type. Want to get better on slopers? Climb the sloper column up and down until your forearms scream. The repetition on one grip is the training.
• Symmetry and weaknesses. Because moves mirror left and right, you quickly notice if one side is weaker. You can then train the weak side deliberately, something varied problems hide.
• Body tension and positioning. Repeating the same move lets you focus entirely on technique, hip position and tension, rather than figuring out new beta each time.
• Endurance circuits. Traversing or climbing up and down on one grip type builds grip endurance in a controlled, measurable way.

This sits neatly alongside the case we make for these boards in why train on a systems board, which goes deeper on the principle.

A simple way to start using it

If you have never touched the systems board, here is a way in that turns it from intimidating to useful:

Pick one goal per session rather than trying to do everything. The strength of the board is focus, so use it focused.

A sample twenty minutes

Warm up thoroughly first, because steep boards load fingers hard and cold fingers get hurt. Then:

• Five minutes on an easy grip type, climbing up and down to get moving
• Ten minutes on your chosen focus, say the crimp column, doing controlled laps with full rests between
• Five minutes mirroring a couple of moves left and right to check your symmetry

Keep notes on what felt weak. That is the gold the systems board gives you that varied problems do not.

A word on going easy

Because the board is steep and the holds can be small, it is easy to overcook your fingers, especially on the crimp columns. Build up slowly, warm up properly, and stop before your fingers are wrecked rather than after. The advice in using a board without wrecking your fingers applies just as much here as on the app boards.

Give it a go

Next time you are at the wall and the systems board is sitting empty in the corner, walk over to it instead of past it. Pick one grip type, climb it up and down a few times, and pay attention to what your body is doing. It will not feel like a triumphant session, but the weaknesses it exposes and the strength it builds will show up in your real climbing within a few weeks.

The fancy boards are great fun. The systems board is where a lot of the quiet, deliberate work gets done. Use the tool everyone else ignores, and let it do its boring, brilliant job.