The pegboard is one of those movements that takes hard work and dedication to master. In climbing, pegboards are used to develop upper pulling strength, power, speed and accuracy and in other functional fitness programmes it's used as an upper pulling movement, rivalling rope climbs and muscle ups in difficulty.
What is a Pegboard?
A pegboard is often a sheet of plywood or plastic with holes where dowels can be used to climb the board, often with minimal use of the feet or legs.
The pegboard is usally used to strengthen the lats, biceps and shoulders in an elite upper body movement that rarely comes up in your usual functional fitness workout or CrossFit wods.
What are the benefits of using a pegboard for CrossFit?
There are so many reasons that a pegboard should be included in your next workout, whether its for fitness or fun!
• Forearm & Grip Strength - Using a pegboard in your next fitness workout at the gym can massively help strengthen your forearms and your grip too, both an essential ingredient in CrossFit, climbing and functional fitness.
• Coordination – Placing the dowels in higher or lower holes when climbing or descending is ALOT harder than it looks. It takes a great amount of coordination to place the dowels whilst holding your body weight on one awkwardly placed hand.
• Sustained tension – As you move to place one dowel on your pegboard, your other hand/arm is holding your weight and the longer you climb the longer your muscles are under tension.
• Because it's there – George Mallory, the famous climber that tried to climb Mt Everest for the first time is immortalised by his quote to reporters when they asked why climb the tallest mountain on earth: "Because it's there". Although not as high as Everest, the pegboard is one of those movements that looks cool and if you have pull ups nailed, is certainly a movement you want to do just because it's there. It's also great for strength and fitness too.
What are the best pegboards for Home Gyms?
So you're building your home or garage gym and you want to include a pegboard. Another benefit to using pegboards in your gym is that it doesn't actually need that much space. All you need is a wall!
There are many different types of pegboards for gyms to choose from. Do you go for plywood, plastic, coated wood? Do you install your pegboard vertically or horizontally? How do you install a pegboard in a gym?
We have scoured the many different options out there to find our top picks for pegboards for home gyms that can be used for CrossFit, functional fitness or climbing training too.
Best overall pegboard for gyms
My top pick for the best overall pegboard for fitness, CrossFit and climbing is the Ultra Fitness Gear 51 inch peg board. The Ultra Fitness Gear peg board is made of high quality birch plywood, 51.3’ Length x 12’ Width that includes standard climbing dowels and concrete mounting hardware.
This peg board is the perfect hieght to get in peg board climbs in workouts and if you have the space you can fit two, one above each other, to make a longer, harder climb for your workouts.
Designed to be mounted on a wall to allow you to practice ascending and descending movements and exercise different pull-up variations, making an excellent exercise to develop upper body strength. It works by removing the dowels one at a time and place it in a different hole so momentarily the body weight falls on one hand.
Material: Birch Plywood
Two Standard Climbing Dowells
Dimensions: 51.3” Length x 12” Width x 1.5” Thick
Hardware Included: Concrete Mounting Hardware
Best value for money peg board for gyms
My top pick for best value for money peg board is the Synergee Peg Board from Synergee. With a similar style to the Ultra Peg Board, the arrow shape enables the stacking of the pegboards to increase the size from 4ft to 8ft.
The main two differences from this to the Ultra Fitness Gear peg boaard is the rounded finishing to the Synergee ensures that you're less likely to catch on the edges and of course the main difference, the price.
At around $10-$15 cheaper (depending on location) than the Ultra Fitness Gear Peg Board, which is better for those watching their budget whilst creating their home gym or to put in their commercial gym too.
Material: Birch Plywood
Two or Four Standard Climbing Pegs
Dimensions: 51.3” Length x 12” Width x 1.5” Thick
Hardware Included: Drywall & Concrete Mounting Hardware
Pegboard That Can Be Mounted On Variety of Surfaces
For those who have odd surfaces that they are attaching their pegboard to, you need a pegboard with mountings that are solid and secure. Our top pick for the best mountable peg boards is the Plyobox Wharehouse 12"x48" Climbing Pegboard.
The main difference with the other two pegboards is that this pegboard is a rectagular shape with mounting brackets which means you can install your pegboard on uneven or difficult to mount walls.
At a similar price the Plyobox Wharehouse Pegboard is a great option with Plyobox Wharehouse based in the USA, in a veteran, family owned shop with the option for custom engraving too,
Material: Quality Grade Plywood
Two 1-1/4" Standard Climbing Pegs
Dimensions: 48” Length x 12” Width x 1 - 1/2” Thick
Hardware Included: 18" Mounting Brackets
Pegboard Workouts for CrossFit
If you already have your pegboard and you're looking for workouts to increase your pulling strength, fitness and shoulder stability,
Pegboard Workout 1
AMRAP 12
1 Pegboard Ascent
12 Dumbell Snatch
21/15 Calories on an Erg (Bike, ski or row)
Pegboard Workout 2
4 rounds of:
1 Pegboard Ascent
3 Cleans (Medium Weight)
1 Pegboard Ascent
15 Toes To Bar
1 Pegboard Ascent
15/12 Calories on an Erg (Bike, Ski or Row)
Pegboard Workout 3
For 20 Minutes, every 4 minutes complete:
20/15 Burpees to a target
3 Pegboard Ascents
Things to look for when buying a Pegboard
Make sure that your wall mounting is secure, ensuring that you use the correct mounting for the type of wall you have.
Don't forget to also ensure that you have a safe space to fall if you come off during your Pegboard Ascent. A crash mat or rubber matting should suffice if you've not placed your Pegboard to high.
In addition to this, it might be a good idea to purchase extra dowels for your peboard as if you break or lose one, a different supplier may have different dowel designs.
