For more of our top climbing gear recommendations, check out the Best Climbing Hangboards. 

Reviews - The Best Climbing Grip Strengtheners

Metolius Grip Saver Plus

Specs

• Material: Foam & Rubber
• Movement Type: Squeeze & Stretch

Features

• 3 Levels of Resistance
• Works Both Flexion (Bending) and Extension (Straightening) of Fingers
• Lightweight & Portable

BEST FOR: VERSATILITY

The Metolius Grip Saver Plus not only trains the flexor muscles that strengthen your grip, but also targets the extensor muscles that provide balance in your forearm to prevent injuries. The Grip Saver works both sets of muscles through a foam ball that you squeeze and attached rubber loops that you extend with your fingers.

The Grip Saver Plus comes in a 3-pack which includes a soft, regular, and hard version, so you can train at different levels. These options make it an excellent choice for rehabbing from an injury. Although it is lightweight so you can carry it with you, the ball shape makes it too bulky to fit in a pocket.

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Metolius Rock Rings

Specs

• Material: Polyester Resin
• Movement Type: Hanging

Features

• Comes in a Set of Two So You Can Work Both Sides at Once
• Easy to Set Up & Move to Different Locations
• Has Several Different Climbing-Specific Grips From a Jug to a Flat Edge

BEST FOR: HANG TRAINING

If you want the benefits of hangboard training in a more portable package, the Metolius Rock Rings are the solution. You can hang the Rock Rings up at home or take them with you to the crag to use as a warm up. They feature a jug, a small edge, and pockets, so you can build both finger and full grip strength.

An extra benefit of the Metolius Rock Rings is that, because each one hangs independently from a single point, it allows the joints on your elbows, wrists, and shoulders to rotate in a healthy way to prevent injury.

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Gripmaster Hand Strengthener

Specs

• Material: Plastic & Metal
• Movement Type: Squeeze

Features

• Separate Levers To Train Each Finger Individually
• Comes In Different Levels Of Tension Levels
• Pocket Size To Easily Use On-the-Go

BEST FOR: FINGER STRENGTHENING

The Gripmaster Hand Strengthener is a classic grip strengthener that can target each finger individually as well as the whole hand. It works by pressing down on buttons which are spring-loaded, and it comes a variety of different tension levels. This allows you to easily see improvement and continue to challenge your grip strength.

Since you’re meant to grip it in your hand, the Gripmaster is small and portable enough to easily fit in a pocket to use on-the-go. One drawback to the Gripmaster is that it doesn’t work your antagonistic forearm muscles, so you might want to use another method to do that in order to provide balance and prevent injury.

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DFX Sports & Fitness Sports Pro Gyro

Specs

• Material: Plastic & Polycarbonate
• Movement Type: Stabilizing

Features

• Increases Blood Flow Which Helps You Warm Up
• Provides a Range of Motion Options
• Fun to Use

BEST FOR: IMPROVING DEXTERITY

The DFX Sports Pro Gyro Exerciser Hand & Arm Strengthener spins in your hand and produces up to 35 lb of rotational force. As you work to stabilize it, the muscles in your hands and forearms get a good workout. The Gyro Exerciser feels kind of like a toy, which makes it a fun way to build grip strength. It lets you use a natural range of motion to control it, and is a great way to improve dexterity and control in your hands and fingers.

However, getting the Gyro Exerciser to actually start and stay gyrating can be a bit of a challenge requires a learning curve.

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Keepafit Finger Exerciser

Specs

• Material: Rubber
• Movement Type: Squeeze & Stretch

Features

• 3 Different Resistance Levels
• Extremely Portable So You Can Have It With You All the Time
• Useful for Preventing and Recovering from Injury

BEST FOR: INJURY PREVENTION

If you want to prevent injury, the Keepafit Finger Exerciser & Hand Strengthener is the perfect grip strengthening tool. Designed specifically to target the extensor muscles, which are the opposite of the flexor muscles you use while climbing, this tool can help relieve elbow tendonitis and other overuse injuries by providing muscle balance, while the ball in the middle also lets you squeeze to target the flexor muscles and work your grip.

To use, stick your fingers through the holes in the rubber disc, then open and close your hand. Keepafit Finger Exerciser & Hand Strengthener comes in three color-coded resistance levels, so you can progress as your grip strengthens. They are small and lightweight, so you can toss these in your bag and take them to the gym or the crag.

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Escape Climbing Wood Power Balls

Specs

• Material: Wood
• Movement Type: Hanging & Holding

Features

• Allows for A Wide Variety of Exercises That Work Grip As Well As Other Muscle Groups
• Sturdy Hardware Makes It Easy & Secure To Hang Up
• Made Of Smooth High-Quality Ash Wood

BEST FOR: ADVANCED CLIMBERS

The Escape Climbing Wood Power Balls allow experienced climbers to train grip strength while also performing exercises that target other muscle groups. Simply hanging from the wooden balls works your grip and forearm strength, and by adding in pull-ups or core exercises, such as leg lifts, knee tucks, and twists, you can get a full body workout that will help you on the climbing wall as well.

The balls feature industrial grade metal hardware for installation, so you can hang them from chains, webbing, or carabiners without worrying about them falling apart when supporting your weight. Also, the balls are made of ash wood which is hard to hang onto without being hard on your hands.

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TheraBand FlexBar

Specs

• Material: Rubber
• Movement Type: Twisting

Features

• Comes in Several Color-Coded Resistance Levels
• Ridged Texture is Easy to Grasp
• Easy to Toss in a Pack for Using On-the-Go

BEST FOR: ELBOW PAIN

Climbing can be extremely hard on the elbows, and the Theraband Flexbar helps alleviate elbow pain while also improving grip strength. Twisting and bending the bar works different muscle groups, and a variety of resistance levels allow you to progress as your grip gets stronger. Instructions are included with the Flexbar for the proper method of performing twisting exercises that specifically reduce elbow pain.

Though the Flexbar is convenient to travel with in a pack, it is bigger than some pocket-size grip strengthener options, so you probably won’t want to bring it with you everywhere.

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IronMind Captains of Crush

Specs

• Material: Aluminum & Steel
• Movement Type: Squeeze

Features

• Simple And Intuitive To Use
• 11 Strength Levels To Continue Your Progress
• Tough And Durable Metal Construction

BEST FOR: QUICK PROGRESS

The IronMind Captains of Crush Hand Grippers are a good way to quickly improve your functional grip strength. Made of high-quality, durable, metal, these Hand Grippers work like a nutcracker that you squeeze to strengthen your grip. They come in a range of 11 resistance levels (the top of which are fairly ridiculous except for professional weight lifters).

The Captains of Crush Hand Grippers can provide fast results in general grip strength, but this kind of grip strength doesn’t directly translate to climbing. However, when combined with climbing training, it will give you some improvement.

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THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING A GRIP STRENGTHENER

When you’re looking to strengthen your grip, it’s important to consider what your goals are. Are you trying to specifically work your fingers or do you want to target your forearms more? Do you want to prevent injury by working opposing muscles? Rock & Ice explains why targeting antagonistic muscles can help your overall grip strength by keeping your forearms balanced. You can also complement a grip strengthener with some simple exercises from farmer carries to using a rice bucket.

PORTABILITY

A big factor in choosing a grip strengthener is where you plan to use it. If you want something you can carry in a pocket and use discreetly at your desk, a small, portable option like the Gripmaster is a good choice.

If your plan is to use your grip strengthener at home, you can try a setup like the Metolius Rock Rings or the Wood Power Balls from Escape Climbing.

VERSATILITY

Some grip strengtheners only train very specific movements and muscles, while others allow for more of a range of workouts. If you know exactly what you want to target – for instance, if you’re recovering from an injury – it makes sense to get a grip strengthener that focuses on that. Otherwise, you could benefit from choosing a grip strengthener that will work your fingers and forearms in different ways.

FEATURES EXPLAINED

ANTAGONISTIC TRAINING

Working the opposite muscles from what are normally used in climbing (e.g., push vs pull).

FLEXORS

Muscles that bend a joint inward.

EXTENSORS

Muscles that extend a joint outward.

The post Best Grip Strengtheners of 2022 appeared first on The Adventure Junkies.

We’ll show you what the options are, how they work, and what muscles they target. That information combined with comprehensive buying advice will arm you with all the tools you need to pick out the very best grip trainer for you. So let’s get started!

For more of our top climbing gear recommendations, check out the Best Climbing Hangboards. 

Reviews - The Best Climbing Grip Trainer

Metolius Grip Saver Plus

Specs

• Resistance: No Exact Poundage - Easy, Medium, Or Hard
• Focus: Finger Strength And Muscle Balance
• Movement Type: Flexion And Extension

Features

• Works Finger Extension And Flexion For All-Inclusive Grip Training
• Different Difficulties Available For Training Or Injury Recovery
• All Three Levels Can Be Purchased Individually Or All Together

BEST FOR: COMBINING EXTENSION AND FLEXION TRAINING 

Nip muscle imbalance in the bud with this effective training tool from Metolius. The GripSaver Plus features a central stress-ball ringed by rubber finger slots providing finger extension resistance. This results in a very effective training tool that improves your strength for both grip (flexion) and finger extension. 

For as complicated as this grip trainer may sound, the exercises themselves are actually quite straightforward. Simply slide your fingers into the rubber slots and squeeze the stress ball to improve your grip, or try to extend your fingers out (the ball will stay suspended in your hand) and work your muscle balance. The GripSaver comes in three different resistance levels from easy, to medium, to hard and these can be purchased individually or as a pack.

We climbers often forget that we need to work our overall muscle balance to prevent overuse injuries and reach our full potential of crushing ability, and that’s why we have the GripSaver. Blending grip strength with extension training is a stroke of genius that makes the Metolius GripSaver one of the best grip trainers out there.

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Gripmaster Pro Hand Strengthener

Specs

• Resistance: 11 lbs Per Finger
• Focus: Individual Finger Strength
• Movement Type: Flexion

Features

• Wide Range Of Motion For Well-Rounded Training
• Targets Each Finger Individually To Build Strength
• Recommended Exercises Provided On Company’s Website

BEST FOR: INDIVIDUAL FINGER TRAINING 

Almost every climber has seen someone working a GripMaster at the local climbing gym. These tough little grippers have nearly cornered the market on training each finger individually, and have thus found many loyal followers amongst rock climbers. 

The GripMaster Pro features a spring-loaded design, with an individual spring for each finger pad. This means that no matter how strong your other fingers are, your weakest link will stand out and receive the training it needs. Our recommended model for climbers applies 11lbs of resistance per finger, but there are different models out there using 5, 7, 9, and 13lbs for folks of any strength level. The catch, however, is that you must purchase a new GripMaster to graduate up to more resistance.

This is definitely one of the best grip trainers on the market thanks to its ability to highlight which of our fingers are the weakest and strengthen them directly. We do wish that the GripMaster was adjustable, as each individual model is a little pricey. Nevertheless, we’re pleased with its performance and recommend it for all you crag-hoppers.

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Captains of Crush

Specs

• Resistance: Varies By Model - 60 to 365lbs
• Focus: Overall Grip And Forearm Flexors
• Movement Type: Flexion

Features

• Burly And Durable Design
• Ergonomically Fits In Most Hands
• Very Helpful Training Programs Available

BEST FOR: OVERALL GRIP TRAINING    

While this grip trainer from IronMind has a devoted following amongst heavy lifters, the benefits can certainly be extended to the world of rock climbing. The design is brutally simplistic. Two knurled metal handles connected by a beefy curled spring. The goal? Simply squeeze those two handles together as much as possible. Easy, efficient, and a killer grip workout. 

IronMind produces the Captains of Crush (CoC) with a wide range of resistance values, ranging from 60lbs all the way up to 365lbs. However, they are unfortunately not adjustable. This, combined with the fact that each individual model comes with a comparatively hefty price tag, means that the CoC Grip Trainer is an investment for climbers absolutely committed to improving their grip strength. 

Price aside, this is undoubtedly one of the best tools on the market to improve your grip strength. We’re also very pleased with the training materials provided with your purchase and on the IronMind website. All these items combined easily make the Captains of Crush one of the best grip trainers for rock climbers.

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The Friendly Swede

Specs

• Resistance: 20, 30, Or 40lbs
• Focus: Hand And Grip Therapy
• Movement Type: Flexion

Features

• Low Resistance For Injury Recovery Or Beginners
• Different Sizes Available To Fit Every Hand Size
• Very Reasonably Priced For A Set Of Three

BEST FOR: GRIP TRAINING AFTER AN INJURY 

It comes for every climber at some point, that overuse or tendon injury to the hands or fingers. We know just how frustrating it can be to wait on that healing process and feel your grip strength slowly ebbing over time. But The Friendly Swede Hand Grip Trainer can be your perfect avenue to keep that hand limber and slowly rebuild strength after that injury! 

The squishy egg-shaped balls come in packs of three, and feature resistance levels of 20, 30, and 40lbs. This is typically the perfect lower resistance level to get back on your feet, or hands, after a long break from the wall. These balls, however, won’t help to significantly build strength after your recovery; remember that some trainers start at 60lbs! 

The natural shape/grip of these colorful little eggs combined with a low, entry-level, resistance definitely make the Friendly Swede the best grip trainer for injury recovery. What’s more, you get all three resistance levels for one very reasonable price.

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Keepafit Hand Exerciser

Specs

• Resistance: Light, Medium, And Hard
• Focus: Muscle Balance And Extension Training
• Movement Type: Extension

Features

• Three Difficulty Levels To Progressively Up Your Training
• Excellent Training For Overall Muscle Balance And Injury Prevention
• More Durable Than Comparable Grip Trainers

BEST FOR: OVERALL EXTENSION TRAINING  

Keepafit has provided climbers with an excellent option to ensure those muscles behind their iron grip are perfectly balanced. These rubbery discs have holes for your fingers, and all you have to do is try to extend your hand like you’re trying to signal the number 5 for an awesome extension workout. 

The rubber discs come in packs of three for easy, medium, and hard resistance ratings. We definitely recommend getting all three if you’re just beginning to work your extensor muscles, as you’ll need to start light and slowly work your way up. But for all that work you have in your future, you can rest assured that these grip trainers will stay with you and not break – which is a common problem for most extension trainers of this type. 

But that’s not to say the Keepafit Hand Exerciser is not without its flaws. The gel ball in the center of the disc – intended as a grip strength trainer – is too small for a natural grip. Many users also report that the finger holes are often too small for larger hands, so take this into consideration with the Keepafit.

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IronMind TUG Gripper

Specs

• Resistance: 7 Different Levels Sold Separately
• Focus: Individual Finger Strength
• Movement Type: Flexion

Features

• Allows You To Focus On Individual Finger Grip Strength
• Very Simple And Robust Design
• Can Be Used To Train Thumb Strength

BEST FOR: ISOLATED THUMB TRAINING  

While IronMind’s Captains of Crush focus on overall grip strength, their smaller TUG takes aim at your individual fingers. The TUG features two squat handles that sit comfortably against one or two fingers and are connected by a single metal spring of varying resistance. The goal is to squeeze the two handles together using only your target fingers, resulting in excellent strength building for that climbing pinch!  

We’re particularly fond of the fact that the TUG allows you to specifically target your thumb, a feature that most grip trainers lack. In terms of difficulty, IronMind provides 7 different iterations of the TUG but unfortunately does not include any poundage measurements to help in your selection process. We recommend exploring the IronMind website for more information on these difficulty levels and recommended exercises. 

The tough side to most IronMind products is the price, and the TUG is no exception. Every individual version of this grip trainer comes at a significant price, and you’ll need to purchase multiple resistance levels in order to continually improve. We therefore only recommend this option for regular climbers who are seriously invested in improving their finger strength. If this sounds like you, then the IronMind TUG is just right for you!

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Luxon Hand Grip Strengthener

Specs

• Resistance: 22-110lbs
• Focus: Overall Grip Strength
• Movement Type: Flexion

Features

• Wide Range Of Adjustability For All Fitness Levels
• Easy To Use
• Excellent Price

BEST FOR: ADJUSTABILITY     

So many of the best grip trainers out there lack adjustability. Meaning you must purchase a whole new device to take your training to the next level. Not so with this hand grip strengthener from Luxon! 

Luxon starts out with an entry-level resistance of 22lbs and progresses all the way up to the serious crusher level of 110lbs. The adjustability itself is also easy to operate. A few turns of the prominent screw on the device body is all you need to increase or decrease the tension. Remember that this type of trigger-grip trainer doesn’t offer any workout for your thumbs, but it’s a powerful grip strengthening tool regardless. 

Our one wish with this device is some more cushioning on the handles. Most users report that the thinly padded handles tend to bite into their hands and fingers. But it may well be worth it for such a wide range of adjustability and awesome price.

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FitBeast Hand Grip Strengthener

Specs

• Resistance: Grip Trainer: 22-132lbs, Grip Ring: 50lbs
• Focus: Overall Grip, Individual Finger Strength, Muscle Balance
• Movement Type: Flexion And Extension

Features

• Includes Hand Grip Trainer, Finger Extension, Ring Grip, Finger Exerciser, And Therapy Ball
• Excellent Tools For Both Beginner And Experienced Climbers
• Comes With A Carry Bag To Keep Everything Together

BEST FOR: COMPLETE GRIP TRAINING KIT  

So many grip trainers out there focus on just one muscle group but leave out another. Or lack adjustability. Or are only for beginners and therapy. Well, how about a grip trainer kit that includes all of the above? That’s right, with FitBeast we can take the very best grip trainers available, and pile them all together! 

FitBeast has produced their own version of the best grip trainers; including a finger exerciser, 22-132lbs trigger-grip hand strengthener, and finger extension tool. These three tools are combined with a therapy ball and a 50lb ring grip to create an incredibly powerful training tool for any climber. 

We’re very pleased that all five of these training tools come for about the price of one. An excellent bargain to jumpstart your grip training. It’s for that exact reason the FitBeast is our top recommended training kit for the best grip training on the market.

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THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING A GRIP TRAINER

TYPE

There are more types of grip trainers than routes at your climbing gym. It’s therefore very important for you to recognize those types, and what they train.

Trigger-grip is one of the most common. It features two handles connected at the top by some time of resistance mechanism and is gripped in one hand trying to pull those two handles together. Ring grips are another common trainer and are a simple rubber ring with a certain amount of resistance. Therapy balls are yet another type of grip trainer that, like trigger and ring grips, work your flexion strength.

Working your individual fingers is just as important as your grip, however. You’ll consequently find several grip trainers that focus solely on individual fingers by providing independent spring pads for each finger to work. There are also mini versions of the trigger grip trainer that are designed to be held by only one or two fingers at a time.

Lastly, we have grip trainers that focus on finger extension rather than flexion. These trainers have loops or holes for each individual finger, and provide resistance as you try to extend your fingers out as if signaling ‘stop’.

ADJUSTABILITY

What’s our goal in purchasing some grip trainers? To get stronger! But as your strength increases, so to must your grip trainer’s resistance or you risk your strength plateauing. That’s where adjustability comes in.

Several of the best grip trainers offer some method to increase or decrease their resistance. Most often in the form of a tensioner dial. These trainers can progress with you as your grip develops or be dialed down to accommodate an injury. Adjustability, however, most often comes at the cost of durability. More moving parts mean more things that can break, whereas non-adjustable grip trainers are burly and designed to take a beating.

PROPER TRAINING ROUTINES

27 bones and 6 different types of tendons help form your hand. That’s a lot of pieces that can be hurt with improper training! Especially your tendons. It’s therefore absolutely pivotal for you use proper training methods and a little common sense when utilizing grip trainers.

Luckily for us, manufacturers make this very easy. Most grip trainers will come with a little exercise guide to ensure you’re using the trainer properly. Otherwise, manufacturers’ websites often include exercise suggestions and training guides.

But injuries happen, either on the wall or from overtraining. If that happens, listen to your body and take a break! When it’s time to start working again, check out this guide to training with a finger injury from Rock And Ice.

FEATURES EXPLAINED

MOVEMENT TYPE

There are two primary types of movement associated with grip-trainers: flexion or extension. Flexion refers to squeezing or gripping your hand into a fist. This is the most common type of grip trainer movement and will help you strengthen your overall pinching and gripping power.

Extension, conversely, refers to extending out your fingers and hand like you’re trying to signal a car to stop. These types of grip trainers don’t strengthen your overall grip strength, per se. They instead strengthen the extension muscles that are often underused amongst climbers. This, in turn, helps to balance your overall muscle strength. Balanced flexion and extension muscles will keep your hands healthier in the long-run, and assist in preventing certain types of injuries.

RESISTANCE

The value for resistance is most often defined in pounds. Meaning that your fingers or hand will need to apply that poundage in order for the grip trainer to close completely. On the other hand, some grip trainers – often extension trainers – do not have a published force required. They instead market easy, medium, and hard versions of their product.

It’s important to consider your strength level when choosing a grip-trainer. Pick too low, and the workout will be too easy. Too high, and the grip trainer will be too difficult to strengthen your hands effectively. Most manufacturers, therefore, publish a selection guide next to their product in order to help you make the right decision.

TRAINING FOCUS

There are three primary training focuses amongst grip trainers: hand, finger, and extension strength. Let’s be clear, everyone’s training needs are different and no single training focus is guaranteed to make you a better climber. But there are steps you can take to get you on the right path.

At this juncture, it’s absolutely crucial for you to take a hard look at yourself and identify the parts of your grip that are weakest. Do you seriously struggle with crimps and pockets? If that’s the case, then consider focusing your training on individual finger strength.

If your hand as a whole tends to tire out too quickly, then a handgrip trainer may be more up your alley. But regardless of your choice, train smart and widely. A healthy balance of multiple training techniques is often your best avenue to overall grip improvement. Along those same lines, remember your crushing level at the crag depends on several factors outside of your hand strength! Check out this article from REI for overall climbing strength training advice.

The post Best Grip Trainers of 2022 appeared first on The Adventure Junkies.

In the following article, we’ll discuss ways to work through mental blocks and how to train your mind to perform alongside your body.

It may initially seem frivolous to spend time to train the mind when the benefits of physical training are so obvious. In reality, however, mental training can lead to substantial progress among all climbers from beginners to those climbing at an elite level.

FEAR OF FALLING

It is an instinctive human response to have an aversion to falling. Hurling one’s body through the air off the edge of a steep cliff may not be natural, but that doesn’t mean that falling in rock climbing can’t be safe.

There are inherent risks to falling such as hitting ledges or receiving a “hard” catch. But, careful risk assessment can significantly minimize the dangers.

When facing the fear of falling on lead, my partner used to encourage me gently by saying: “What’s going to happen? You’ll go for a fun ride and it’ll be over before you know it.”

He was right, and I came to realize this over time through positive practice. Taking frequent falls can be scary. But after several with no negative impact, the fear of falling can be diminished via positive reinforcement.

It is best to learn to take safe falls gradually. Begin by falling on top rope to get comfortable with the feeling of a rope catching your weight.

When you’re ready to proceed to taking lead falls, start with small falls from below your bolt (or good trad gear), and work towards larger falls from at your bolt and then above it.

Ensure that you have a belayer you trust and communicate well with, and that you are taking your practice falls in a safe space where you will not hit features when you fall. It is safer to practice taking lead falls on steeper rather than slabby terrain.

FEAR OF FAILURE AND SUCCESS

Fear of success and fear of failure are not mutually exclusive. Climbers can develop a fear of either or both. These fears can become limiting to one’s progress in the sport.

FAILURE

A fear of failure is fairly self-explanatory. Perhaps you always like things to turn out perfectly and the possibility of that not occurring is daunting to you.

Maybe you’ve been criticized for failing in the past. Maybe you associate your self-worth with your ability to perform.

In fact, failing does not need to be negative at all. Growth, learning and eventual success are all born out of taking risks and allowing ourselves the possibility of failure.

You will never redpoint that next hard route if you don’t step out of your comfort zone and take a risk by trying. Remember, climbing is mostly failing with only a little bit of success mixed in. But, that is a beautiful part of the process.

Also, remember that failing at something does not automatically brand you as a failure.

SUCCESS

Fear of success is more of an abstract concept. If you are plagued by feelings of self-doubt or if you worry about perceptions your partners might have of you, you may suffer from a fear of success.

Perhaps you don’t like being the center of attention? Maybe you fear your climbing partners will be jealous if you succeed and it will strain your relationship? Maybe you are worried that succeeding feels boastful?

Any of these feelings may indicate that you have a fear of succeeding and the expectations placed on success. Unfortunately, a fear of success can greatly limit your potential in climbing.

Try to remind yourself that climbing is an individual sport. No one really cares what you are or aren’t climbing. Besides, comparing yourself to others is a fruitless activity.

PERFORMANCE TRAINING

SEPARATE SELF-WORTH FROM PERFORMANCE

Our self-worth is essentially how valuable we feel. A common trap that climbers fall into is allowing their self-worth to be dictated by their successful performance on a route.

When climbers connect their self-worth too strongly with climbing, the need to succeed becomes overwhelmingly great to validate their self in the sport. This association decreases the inherent joy that climbers get from the sport and can lead to anxiety and let down at the crag.

Basically, if a climber has a great day and succeeds, they feel uplifted and elated. But if the climbing goes poorly, they feel bummed out about climbing and even other aspects of their lives.

It is very important to remember that it is the process of climbing, not solely the outcome, that brings us joy as climbers. Remember the love of the movement, problem-solving and overall challenge. Work on appreciating the inherent joys of climbing without letting the outcome of a day validate your self-worth.

VISUALIZATION AND BETA MAPS

There are many strategies that can help bring you closer to sending that next big route. Visualizing yourself climbing a route can be a very powerful technique you can employ no matter where you are.

When on the rock, take the time to memorize the beta so you can run through hand and foot moves, body positions and breathing even when you’re away from the wall later on.

Refining this technique can reduce the time it takes to send a route and will help you climb with more focus and efficiency when you are back to your project.

Beta maps are a similar technique. With this strategy, you draw out the route you are trying to send by illustrating the moves, features, cruxes and rests.

Try to include as much detail as possible in your beta map. Consider adding notes on what to think about when you’re in various sections of the route. Use your beta map to help with your visualization practice.

POSITIVE SELF-TALK

Believing in yourself can have an immense impact on your climbing. Even if something looks or feels impossible, you are very unlikely to climb it unless you believe it might be possible.

Add positive mantras to your climbing self-talk. Examples include “You’ve got this,” “You are strong and brave” and “Stay calm.” Remember that no one else is privy to your self-talk, so use whatever phrases you want to motivate you.

Try to remove negative words and phrases from your vocabulary. Avoid words like “can’t”, “not”, “won’t” and “don’t”. Change your mindset to recognize it’s not that you “can’t do a move”; you just “haven’t done it yet”.

STAY IN THE PRESENT

Learning how to be present is very important when climbing. Staying in the moment enables you to focus on what is required, reduce distractions and stay tuned in to risks or potential dangers.

Try to prevent your mind from wandering. Thinking about something you did earlier today will not help you execute moves in the moment.

Also, be wary of getting ahead of yourself. If you successfully pull the crux on a route, avoid celebrating early. You don’t want to break your focus in the home run before reaching the anchors.

REDPOINTING TIPS

Redpointing a route at your physical and mental limit requires a multitude of specific strategies and approaches. Climb like you’re trying to send the route, not like you’re attempting to avoid falling.

Stay focused. Control your breathing. Learn something new every time you go up the route.

THE EGO

Learning to separate oneself from the ego is one of the most important mental training tips. This takes into account all of the aforementioned mental strategies.

When the ego becomes too powerful, climbers become dependent on the outcome of their climbing and tend to associate their self-worth in the sport with their performance and how others perceive them.

By evaluating your experience based on external factors, you deny yourself the opportunity to reflect on how you are really climbing. Every climber has different strengths and weaknesses as well as advantages and disadvantages to their body type.

Remember that each climber has a unique personal history with the sport. Comparing yourself to others’ performance or their external conditions is like comparing apples to oranges.

When a climber learns to truly value the process of the climbing itself rather than the outcome, there are often significant unanticipated gains in performance, in the appreciation for movement and in the overall experience.

The post Rock Climbing Mental Training – A Practical Guide appeared first on The Adventure Junkies.

Climbing is a versatile sport that demands more than just strong fingers and forearms. In fact, only doing pull-ups will often give you muscle imbalances that could lead to injury. In this post, The Adventure Junkies will walk you through the best exercises for rock climbing, including workouts that will not only improve your climbing, but also help to maintain good balance and flexibility.

PULL UPS AND DEAD HANGS

Climbing starts with you fingers, forearms and shoulders, which all flex and strain to pull you up a route. The classic exercise is doing sets of pull-ups with your palms facing away from you. Do sets of five (or more, if you’re more advanced), with a short rest in between. This mirrors a climbing route, where you pull hard for a short period (through a crux, perhaps), and then reach a resting point.

If you’re just starting, then you don’t want to pull too much, too soon, as this could lead to injury. You could try assisted pull-ups, starting with your feet elevated on something, such as a chair. After a week or two, if you can feel the difference in your strength, then start to graduate slowly to more weight.

If you have a hangboard, you can use it for specific pull-ups and dead-hangs (static hanging, without pulling up) to work on your fingers, arms, shoulders and core. If not, you can do pull-ups using any horizontal bar that you can hang on to, or a solid door-frame. Make sure what you’re using is strong enough, and isn’t going to leave you with an ugly household repair bill.

Door-frames can also be used for stronger fingers. It is best to strengthen your fingers through isometric training, which means dead-hanging with a set weight for a short period of time – usually five to 10 seconds – without trying to pull up.

Make sure you hang correctly – squeezing your shoulders inwards to engage the muscles – to minimize the chance of injury. If you are dead-hanging, your elbows should be slightly bent.

LEGS

Good climbing technique dictates that you use your legs to push yourself up, rather than your arms to pull yourself up. Your leg muscles are much larger than your arms, so having stronger legs will also improve your climbing.

Try doing a series of single-leg squats. Standing up with your hands on your hips, raise and straighten one leg as you lower your weight onto the other, going as low as you can before standing back up. Try to take 30 seconds to lower and then raise yourself, and then swap legs.

If this is too difficult, do sets of basic leg lunges. Again, this will improve your climbing because the action mirrors a common movement on a climbing route: pushing your body up with your legs.

CORE

A strong core is great for any climber, as it allows different muscle groups to take some of the weight off of your arms. It can be particularly useful on horizontal roof climbs, or tough boulder problems where you have to tighten every muscle in your being to prevent popping off the rock.

PLANKING

A plank is a resistance exercise where you engage your core as you hold yourself up on your hands or forearms, keeping your body as straight as possible. Holding a standard plank position for one minute intervals is a good core workout, but there is a variation that can also help with finger strength. Try planking on straight arms, with fingers outstretched.

Another variation is to hold yourself in a plank position on your hands, and then slowly, and in a controlled fashion, raise your left knee up to your chest, followed by the right knee. This is called the Mountain Climber Plank. For another variation, touch your left knee to your left elbow, and your right knee to your right elbow.

VIDEO: HOW TO DO A MOUNTAIN CLIMBER PLANK

LEG LIFTS

Using your core to lift your legs is another common movement in climbing, especially on overhanging or roof routes. To do hanging leg lifts, use a hangboard or a pull-up bar to hang from your arms, and then raise your legs so they are perpendicular to your upper body. Hold the position for 30 seconds, and then lower them in as controlled a manner as you can. Try to do this 10 times, with a short rest in between. If this is too difficult, you can ease the strain by bending your legs at the knee.

If you’re just starting out, or don’t have anything to hang off, you can still do leg lifts by sitting on the floor, leaning back slightly (and keeping your back straight), and lifting your legs to turn your whole frame into a ‘V’ shape. Start with bent knees for an easier workout. You can also swing your legs to the side in a windshield-wiper motion to work out your lateral abdominal muscles.

VIDEO: CLIMBING LEG LIFTS FOR BEGINNERS

ANTAGONIST MUSCLES

Climbers tend to pull a lot, and have hunched, imbalanced shoulders. This can be countered by doing exercises to develop strong antagonist muscles, which can help prevent injury.

PUSH-UPS

Great for chest muscles, as well as shoulders, arms and core, a good push-up starts with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders, and keeping your core engaged and your body straight as you lower your chest to just above the ground. Keep your elbows as close to the sides of your torso as possible, which activates your triceps and aligns your joints correctly.

TRICEP DIPS

These dips will work on your triceps as well as your chest, shoulders, and abdominal muscles. Take a chair or bench and lean on it, with your chest facing up and the palms of your hands on the bench, shoulder-width apart. In a controlled manner, lower your upper body until your arms are bent at right angles, and then push back up.

Keep your legs, head and back as straight as you can. Do three sets of 20 or more, depending on how comfortable you are with this exercise.
 

YOGA

It’s no wonder that many climbers also practice yoga, which not only improves their climbing, but also their longevity. It’s fun, and great for strengthening as well as improving balance and flexibility.

There are many yoga routines, some of which focus on strength, others on flexibility, or both. After a day of climbing, an evening yoga session based on stretching your muscles is an excellent way to ease the muscular tension of a full day of pulling on rock.

One sample session includes poses such as the eagle, warrior 1, downward dog, seated twist and bridge pose, which will stretch your shoulder, trapezius, calf, chest, hip flexor and lower back muscles, while also strengthening your leg and butt muscles.

You should try and do a full yoga session at least three times a week to keep your climbing muscles loose, which not only makes them stronger, but will also make them less susceptible to injury, and keep you climbing harder, for longer.

The post The Best Exercises For Rock Climbing appeared first on The Adventure Junkies.

Hangboarding is a training technique used to build finger strength, but hangboards can meet a multitude of training goals. Depending on the board you choose, you can train all sorts of grip types and track your progression.

We recommend finding a safe and applicable hangboard training program to get you started.

For more of our top climbing gear recommendations, check out the Best Grip Trainers.

Reviews - The Best Hangboards for Climbing

Metolius Rock Rings

Specs

• Construction: Plastic
• Customizable: Yes
• Dimensions: 7.25 x 5.75 x 2.5 inches

BEST FOR: BEGINNERS

PROS: Inexpensive, innovative, portable training device, friendly on skin, allows for rotation of joints because of free hanging design

CONS: Not for advanced climbers, very little hold variety

HOLD TYPES: Jug with slot pockets

View at REI

View at Backcountry

Metolius Project

Specs

• Construction: Plastic
• Customizable: No
• Dimensions: 24.5 x 6 inches

BEST FOR: BEGINNERS

PROS: Inexpensive, friendly on the skin, with a variety of holds that taper downward ergonomically

CONS: Additional board required for mounting

HOLD TYPES: Jugs, slopers, pockets

View at REI

View at Backcountry

Metolius Simulator 3D

Specs

• Construction: Plastic
• Customizable: No
• Dimensions: 28 x 8.75 inches

BEST FOR: INTERMEDIATE CLIMBERS

PROS: Number one selling training board in the world, board tapers for better ergonomic benefits to climbers, multiple grip options to ease progression

CONS: Additional board required for mounting

HOLD TYPES: Jugs, slopers, pockets of various depths and widths

 

View at REI

Trango Rock Prodigy

Specs

• Construction: Plastic
• Customizable: Yes
• Dimensions: 9.1 inch x 12.1 inch (Each half)

BEST FOR: BEGINNERS

PROS: Board designed by the Anderson brothers, covers most trainable grip positions including excellent pinches which orient thumb on bottom, texture is grippy

CONS: More difficult and involved to mount than other boards

HOLD TYPES: 15+ different grips

View at Backcountry

View at Amazon

Beastmaker 1000

Specs

• Construction: Wood
• Customizable: No
• Dimensions: 23 x 2.4 x 6.3 inches

BEST FOR: BEGINNERS

PROS: Comfy on hands, great for beginners looking to progress quickly

CONS: No pinches or small crimps, can be slippery

HOLD TYPES: 2 jugs, 35 degree slopers, 20 degree slopers

View at Amazon

Problemsolver

Specs

• Construction: Wood
• Customizable: Yes
• Dimensions: 15.75 x 6.3 x 0.95 inches

BEST FOR: INTERMEDIATE CLIMBERS

PROS: Portable and customizable hangboard that is great for traveling, comes with inserts to create variable depth holds, board can be tilted to change angle, holds can be added to the back of board to train additional grips positions

CONS: Requires a structure to be hung from every time, minimal grip variation

HOLD TYPES: Edges of variable depth

View at Problemsolver

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST CLIMBING HANGBOARDS

PURPOSE

Before purchasing a hangboard you need to assess your ability and consider your specific training goals. Hangboarding can be hard on the body and it is critical to pair your equipment with your current level. Some boards offer a friendly introduction to beginners whereas others are intended for climbers with extensive hangboarding experience.

There are many ways to train for rock climbing, but when it comes to hand and finger strength, hangboards are the way to go. Consider whether you want to train multiple grip positions using slopers, pockets and edges, or pure finger strength using an open hand or half crimp position.

HOLD TYPES AND SIZES

If you are aiming to improve your stamina in a variety of different hand positions, choose a hangboard with many grip types. Several hangboards offer an assortment of jugs, slopers, edges, and pockets. Boards with a lot of variation and positive holds make it easier to warm up before starting your actual work out. They are also beneficial for beginners.

If pure finger strength is the goal, there are two options for how to pursue gains. The first is to decrease the size of the edges the climber is holding, and the second is to add weight to the climber’s body as they hang from a given hold. To best approach finger strength gains it is important to have a board with a progression of holds that become smaller or less positive.

Take care to ease yourself onto smaller holds gradually to minimize risk of injury.

CUSTOMIZABILITY AND SIZE

Nowadays several companies produce hangboards that the climber can customize for their training. Some boards have a separate right and left side so they can be mounted at the perfect width for your body. Other boards come with inserts to change edge depths or built in rotation features to change the angle of holds.

It is worth considering the size and space required to hang your board as well. If you’re always on the road, check out the small, portable options that are hitting the market. Some hangboards take up very little space but can be customized to meet a progression of difficulties. On the other hand, if you have a full training space in your home you could indulge in a larger board that has a lot to offer.

TEXTURE

There is no point in owning a hangboard if you find it too uncomfortable to hang on! We recommend testing the hangboards at your climbing gym, or feeling the surface of available boards in a local shop before making your purchase. Most hangboards are made of either plastic, typically a polyurethane or polyester resin, or wood.

Resins can be molded into any shape; thus plastic hangboards can offer many different hold types. The friction is greater due to the fine grained texture, but they can be uncomfortable on the skin. It is possible to sand down sharp edges on a plastic hangboard if they are too rough.

Wood can be more comfortable on the skin, but is not for everyone. Some people find wood hangboards difficult to grip due to reduced friction during grueling sessions. Wooden boards are also limited by the variety of grip types they are offered.

The post Best Climbing Hangboards of 2022 appeared first on The Adventure Junkies.

You may have seen hangboards at the local climbing gym, but how do you know the best way to use one? One of our big goals here at The Adventure Junkies is to show you how to develop the best hangboard workout for you. If you have the time to dedicate to some training, you’ll soon be breezing through the best hangboard workout, and eventually, see that translate to great gains in your outdoor climbing.

There are several ways to train for climbing, but hangboard training is one of the best ways to build specific strength in your fingers, upper body, and core. There are a number of different hangboards, but they all serve the same function – to allow you to work specific muscles by hanging or pulling on a variety of holds.

If you’re not careful, hangboard workouts can also leave you injured and out of climbing for several weeks. It’s important to know your level and stick to a routine so you’re not doing too much, too quickly, which is a recipe for injury.

WARM-UP

Many injuries can strike if you’re not sufficiently warmed up. Start by doing some dynamic stretching. If you’re in a climbing gym, spend about 15 minutes bouldering on easy problems after your warm-up stretches.

If you’re not in a gym, you can still do some push-ups, jumping-jacks, and easy pull-ups on the hangboard using the largest holds. Once you’ve got the blood flowing, chalk your hands up and you’re ready to begin.

DEAD-HANGS

Hanging on tiny holds puts a lot of pressure on your tendons and ligaments, as well as your muscles. A common mistake is to do pull-ups on holds that you can barely hold in the first place.

Isometric training builds strength by holding static positions and is less injury-prone. Dead-hangs are when you simply hang off certain holds without pulling up or down.

THE WORKOUT

There are different methods for hangboard training, but all of them are based on repeating a set of dead-hangs on small holds for around 7 to 10 seconds, and then resting for a similar number of seconds. Repeat on the same holds three to five times. This is one set.

Choose about seven different types of holds to begin with, from small crimping edges to pockets to slopers to pinches to jugs. Start on one of the smaller holds and do three sets, resting in between each set for two minutes.

After the third set, move onto the next hold and do three more sets. Continue until you have completed your circuit of about seven holds.

VIDEO: BEGINNER HANGBOARD WORKOUT

HANGBOARD TECHNIQUE

It is important to use proper technique to minimize the risk of injury. Engage your shoulders by squeezing them towards each other and your arms by bending your elbows slightly. Hanging on your skeleton may be easier on your muscles, but it puts a strain on your bones that they were never meant to endure.

Engage your core as well to try and keep your legs and lower body from swinging. This is also will help to keep consistent pressure on your shoulders, arms, hands, and fingers.

There are different schools of thought on whether to use an open-hand, half-crimp, or full-crimp position on small edges. An open-hand crimp puts less strain on your finger tendons, and is therefore less likely to injure you. Open-hand training will also strengthen your fingers for half- and full-crimp positions.

But climbers often use the full-crimp position on real rock, so some climbers believe it is important to train all three specific positions. If you do, take it easy and don’t put too much strain on the full-crimp position.

THE RIGHT WEIGHT

The holds you are using are about the right size if you’re near failure at the end of your last set. If they are too hard to hold onto, you can use a box to rest your feet on, which will take some weight off your arms. Make sure to keep your core engaged to prevent your body from sagging.

If the holds you are using are too easy to hold, you can move to smaller holds, or put extra weight on you, either by using a weight-vest or by putting on your climbing harness and clipping gear onto it.

PULL-UPS

Hangboards can also be used to build power by training pull-ups. We recommend you start with dead-hangs to build initial tendon strength, but as you get stronger – after a few weeks – you can begin to incorporate pull-ups into your hangboard routine.

A set of pull-ups starts on two holds. They don’t have to be the same type of holds, nor do they have to be level. Offset pull-ups are popular because they more closely mimic the movement of climbing on real rock.

Select two appropriate holds and do three pull-ups. Rest for 15 seconds, and then do another three pull-ups. Repeat until you have done a set of three or four laps on the same holds.

If you’re doing pull-ups, pay close attention to any pain in your elbows. If you feel any, cease immediately and return to dead-hangs.

CORE

Core strength is vital to strong climbing performance, as it allows you to take weight off your arms and fingers. Hangboard training also includes core workouts, including L-hangs, leg lifts and front-levers.

If you’re just starting, leg lifts are the easiest. Take the largest holds on the hangboard, and then lift your knees towards your stomach 10 times. Try to keep your back as straight as possible.

As your core strengthens, you can try hanging for 30 seconds with your legs bent at the knees, When that becomes too easy, hang with straight legs in an ‘L’ shape.

The most advanced core training is to front-lever, meaning to hang from your arms with your body completely horizontal. This should not be attempted unless you are at an advanced stage.

COMBOS

Now that you’re acquainted with dead-hangs, pull-ups and core training, try alternating between the three to get a more complete workout. Do a set of dead-hangs followed by an L-hang, and then a set of pull-ups followed by 10 leg lifts.

Remember to take a good rest in between each set, and monitor your body – elbows and fingers in particular – for any pain that might be a forerunner to injury.

GIVE ME MORE

After a few weeks, you will probably find that your last repetition isn’t bringing you as close to failure as it did in the first week. You want to increase the weight by about 5 per cent per month. Remember – doing too much, too soon, is a recipe for injury.

After several months, when your training becomes far more advanced, you can play with hanging off fewer fingers, or on smaller holds, or for more sets. The principles remain the same – look to be close to failure on the last repetition.

WARM DOWN AND REST

At the end of your hangboard workout, do some static stretching to help prevent your muscles from getting too tight. To make strength gains, a proper resting period after your training day is essential. Take two full days off before hitting the hangboard again.

BE PATIENT

Start off slowly. Tendons and ligaments take longer to strengthen than muscles, and going too hard from the start will likely leave you with injury-prone imbalances.

Improving strength is a long path with no short-cuts. In the beginning, you should aim to hangboard train twice a week, with lots of rest in between. Don’t expect to see immediate results, but if you persist, then you should be noticing solid improvements after four to six weeks – both indoors and outdoors.

The post A Beginners Guide To Hangboard Workouts appeared first on The Adventure Junkies.

Many strong climbers have been thwarted by the mental prison of fear. Conversely, moderately-strong climbers are often able to climb harder than those much stronger than them, simply because of their clearer head space. In this post, The Adventure Junkies will walk you through a number of ways to help conquer the fear of falling.

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF FEAR

When you’re scared, a part of your brain called the amygdala starts screaming at you. The amygdala is a finely-tuned evolutionary tool that activates in the face of an imminent threat. It’s what used to keep you alive if you were born millennia ago and roamed the African savannah among creatures that could eat you.

When alerted, the amygdala kicks the central nervous system into action. Your blood pressure, heart rate and breathing increase, and you are flooded with adrenalin and cortisol. The blood flows to your extremities as your body readies itself to survive either by fighting, if you think you can overcome the threat, or fleeing, if you think you can’t.

Often, however, there is a third response – freeze. This occurs if your have neither the strength to successfully fight, nor the ability to escape. This often happens in climbing: you’re pumped out of your mind, anxiously over-gripping, so you don’t think you can make the next move. You’re also terrified to let go and take the fall. So you just freeze.

Because you are not using the extra energy that your body has produced to fight or flee, you may start shaking. The part of your brain that reasons and judges (the cerebral cortex) shuts down, impairing your ability to look around for holds or sequences you may have missed. You simply hang on, gripped in terror, until you can’t physically hang on any longer.

WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOU CLIMB

GET LITERARY

There are a number of books about sports psychology and climbing in particular that looks into how to improve your mental game, including increasing focus and awareness, and making intelligent decisions about risk. The original textbook on this is The Rock Warrior’s Way, though there are now countless books written along the same lines.

DISTINGUISH FEAR AND RISK

Before you get on a climb, you can take a good look and judge how dangerous it might be. Are there any ledges that could make a fall potentially injurious? Is the lower protection easy to clip, or is there a risk of a ground-fall while trying to clip? Are there any traverses that could turn a fall into a pendulum? Are there any scary run-outs (where you have to climb way above your protection) and, if so, what is the climbing like in those sections?

If there are risks, then you can steel yourself for those moments, and communicate to your belayer about where they are, so your belayer can be extra attentive and encouraging. If you are in a dangerous spot, always remember that down-climbing might be the best option.

If the risks are relatively benign, then once you’re on the climb and feel gripped by fear, you can rationalize that the danger you are sensing is not actually real, and that falling will be relatively harmless. This may help you just go for the move, to fight, rather than to freeze or flee.

FALLING PRACTICE

Some falls can hurt, but many more are more or less harmless. If the idea of falling terrifies you, practice. If the fall in a particular spot on a particular climb terrifies you, go there and take that fall. Several times. The more familiar you are with the action, the less it will scare you.

After you take the fall, breathe, reflect on whether it was actually dangerous and, if you are still worried, climb back up and do it again. One method is the clip-drop technique, where you take a fall every time you clip a higher bolt on a sport climb.

GET EXPERIENCED

In the same vein as falling practice, the more you climb, the more familiar you will become with the various aspects of climbing that may scare you, whether it be a fear of heights, of overhangs or a roof, or traversing. A constant exposure to fearful situations is one of the ways that helped to explain the calmness of elite climber Alex Honnold’s amygdala – he had free-soloed so often that it didn’t phase him much anymore.

MENTAL REHEARSAL

If you’ve been on the climb before, or even if you haven’t, it helps to visualize the moves. That way, when you get to the hard section and have to try harder, you will be somewhat prepared for the mental and physical difficulties. Try to think about as many details as possible, from how the hold will feel on your hand, to how the sunlight might make you squint. Go through the moves and the body positions on the ground, before you start climbing.

VIDEO: HOW TO TAKE A FALL ON A LEAD

WHAT TO DO IN THE MOMENT

BREATHE

Slow, even breathing steadies and calms your heart rate and, as in meditation, aims to keep you present. This helps you stay focused and to concentrate, and not be pulled into that zone where you simply freeze and wither until you have no option but to simply let go.

SELF-TALK

Either out loud or in your head, self-talk can calm you down if you are gripped with fear. For example, if you’re on a climb and know that the risks are minimal, then you can tell yourself that your fear is natural, but you have no reason to be scared, and that the fall is harmless.

You can also tell yourself to stop negative talk such as “I’m gonna fall, I’m gonna fall”, and replace it with positive phrases such as “go for it”, “I am strong” or “I’ve got this”.

Knowing your ability is also useful, so you can tell yourself that the climb is within your capability. When you are pumped and scared, remember that you are almost always stronger than you think you are in those moments, and you almost always have more left in the tank than you think.

The post How To Conquer The Fear Of Falling appeared first on The Adventure Junkies.

But what is the best way to strengthen your digits, and not get injured? The Adventure Junkies is here to walk you through finger and hand anatomy, and tell you how to increase finger strength.

KNOW YOUR FINGER ANATOMY

There are no muscles in your fingers, only tendons that attach to muscles in the hand and forearms. This means that working on finger strength also works on the muscles and ligaments in your hands, wrists and forearms.

The tendons in your fingers are connected to bone via a series of connective tissues, known as pulleys. A pulley injury is one of the most common forms of climbing injury, as the tendons and pulleys try to hold a great deal of force, particularly when crimping. There are a number of pulleys, but the one that is under strain the most while climbing, and is injured the most, is the A2 pulley, located between the hand and the first knuckle.

It is important to remember that tendons, ligaments and pulleys take longer than muscles to adapt and become stronger, so slow and steady progress is the key. Trying to do too much, too quickly, is a recipe for injury.

GET STRONGER – CLIMB MORE

Especially when starting out, climbing at your limit and pushing yourself steadily will, over time, build muscle and tendon strength. The best initial strategy is to simply climb a lot, and boulder in particular. Bouldering is the discipline of climbing that focuses on hard problems, meaning that you are often pushing the limits of your strength.

As you progress, you might try harder problems and find that you simply don’t have the base strength to do certain moves. Then it’s time to look at hangboard training.

GET STRONGER – HANGBOARD TRAINING

Most forms of finger-strength training involve a hangboard of some kind. Hangboards have a number of different holds on which you can do pull-ups or dead-hangs, all designed to make you stronger. There are several different kinds of hangboards, and you’ll probably find a selection of them at your local climbing gym.

Different training programs exist, and you may find that some suit you more than others. The general rule is to start slowly, and add more weight over a period of several weeks. There are different thoughts as to whether to use a sloping open hand, half-crimp or full crimp position while training on small holds. The half- and full-crimp positions hyper-extend the fingers and put added strain on the tendons and pulleys, risking injury.

Some say you should train all three, because you will likely be using all three while climbing. Others say that training open hand will increase your finger strength enough for all three crimp positions, without unduly risking injury.

BUILD ISOMETRIC STRENGTH

Isometric strength is the kind that you build by holding static positions. Fingers tend to stay in the same place once you have gripped a hold, so finger-training tends to focus on holding dead-hangs for several seconds.

An important step in injury prevention is to ensure that you warm up properly – do some push-ups, jumping-jacks, and pull-ups on the large holds. If you’re in a climbing gym, do some gentle bouldering.

When you’re ready to begin, remember that it is important to be near maximum effort to build strength. Most training programs advocate doing several dead-hang sets with an open-hand position on a variety of small holds – crimps, pockets, slopers.

Choose a circuit of about 10 holds, and start on the smallest one. Dead-hang for five to 10 seconds, and then rest for a similar amount of time. (Some say hang for seven seconds, rest for three, while others say hang for 10 seconds, then rest for 30). Repeat, on the same hold, five or six times. You’re doing the right amount if you are close to failure on the last repetition.

After your first set, take a break of a few minutes before starting the next set on a different hold. Cycle through all the holds in your circuit, resting for a few minutes before moving on to the next set. When you’re done, stretch.

Do this twice a week, taking 48 hours to 72 hours in between workouts to ensure that your fingers receive adequate rest.

VIDEO: TYPICAL FINGER BOARD WORKOUT

UP THE DOSE

After a few weeks, you will probably find that that last repetition isn’t bringing you as close to failure as it did in the first week. If this is the case, it’s time to increase the weight, either by using a weight-vest, or simply by wearing a harness and clipping some heavy gear to it. You want to increase the weight by about 5 per cent per month. Remember – doing too much, too soon, is a recipe for injury.

When your training becomes far more advanced, you can play with hanging off three fingers, or two, or one. The principles remain the same – look to be close to failure on the last repetition.

CAMPUS TRAINING

This is a form of training using dynamic movement. It should only be considered if you are at an advanced level – if not, your body is likely to get injured. It is designed to develop raw power, using a campus board – a column of several horizontal wooden rungs on an overhanging wall.

There are many exercises, but the most common is “ladders”. Using an open hand position, start by hanging with both hands on the same piece of wood. Pull up and reach one of your hands to the next wooden rung, and then leap frog your other hand to the rung above it. Move up the board and then back down in one set, and then rest for a few minutes. Do three sets.

As you get stronger, you can skip two, three, or even more rungs in a single movement, and do as many as 10 sets. But if you feel any joint, tendon or finger pain during campusing, you should stop immediately. Like isometric training, you should campus-train no more than two times a week, and only after a thorough warm-up. Finish with stretching.

VIDEO: INTRODUCTION TO CAMPUS BOARD

EXTRA TIPS TO INCREASE FINGER STRENGTH

HANG PROPERLY

When dead-hanging, be sure to keep your core tight, elbows slightly bent, and shoulders engaged – squeeze your shoulder blades together slightly. If you don’t engage your shoulders, you are resting your weight on your skeleton and putting undue stress on the soft tissues that connect the bones in the shoulder, which could lead to tissue-related injuries.

EASING THE WEIGHT

If you’re just starting and find that you can’t hold a dead-hang for longer than three seconds, you can lessen the weight on your fingers by placing your feet on a box or chair. Remember to keep your core engaged and don’t allow your body to sag.

GO SLOWLY

As I’ve said many times, don’t try and become the Hulk overnight. Tendons and ligaments develop much more slowly than muscles, so trying to strengthen them too quickly is only going to lead to injury.

The post How To Increase Finger Strength For Climbing appeared first on The Adventure Junkies.

There is no one best way to train. You need to know your body, identify strengths and weaknesses, and be honest with yourself about goals and motivations. As an added complication, many experts differ on their opinions of how to train. To help you out, we at The Adventure Junkies have curated the most well-accepted training methods to get you on your way.

MAKE A TRAINING SCHEDULE

A common mistake that climbers make is over-training. Over-training can lead to injuries, particularly in the fingers, elbows, and shoulders. One way to prevent over-training is to design your schedule around an anticipated peak, such as time off in the summer or an upcoming climbing trip. Using a linear periodization is a great way to develop a training schedule, especially for beginners.

It’s important to lay out your goals to plan how best to meet them. Having concrete goals will help you to choose the length of cycles in your training plan. Identifying weaknesses can be extremely beneficial as well as that will help to target your training.

There are many great trainers and resources online that can help you to train effectively. Training Beta provides training programs for all sorts of climbers, and they are dedicated to assembling knowledge from experts in the field.

Finally, ensure that your training schedule incorporates lots of time for rest and recovery.

FOUR FUNDAMENTAL TIPS

TIP #1: WARM-UP

To prepare your body for any training workout you must first warm-up. Start with 10-15 minutes of light cardio to get the blood pumping. Follow your cardio workout with dynamic stretching. Finish your warm-up with at least 60 moves of easy climbing. If you are training at home or don’t have access to climbing terrain, you can modify the climbing-specific warm-up.

TIP #2: WORK ON STABILITY AND MOBILITY

Taking care of your body is a crucial component of climbing and training for climbing. It is important to ensure that your opposition muscles receive attention to remain strong and prevent muscle imbalances. Climbers can improve muscular balance by strengthening their shoulders and scapular region, leading to less strain on connective tissues and reduced instances of injury.

TIP #3: CLIMB OFTEN

There is no substitute for time spent climbing. It is well-accepted that one of the best ways for new climbers to improve is to spend more time climbing. While training will definitely provide gains in strength, power, and power endurance, building baseline endurance in conjunction with good technique will make you a better climber. Besides, climbing is what you fell in love with, so don’t lose sight of that by spiralling too far into the world of training. 

TIP #4: TRAINING PERIODIZATION

One of the keys to training is to shock the body by transitioning to new exercises, or phases of exercises, after a period of time. To eliminate the plateau that a body experiences after four to six weeks, climbers often apply periodization to their training.

There are four main physical training phases: Endurance, strength, power and power endurance.

PHASES OF TRAINING

A great way to put together your training schedule is through periodization. While we recommend a linear periodization program for beginners, non-sequential periodization training that may be more effective for intermediate and advanced climbers.

ENDURANCE

When you first start climbing you may find it hard to have a long session because of a burning sensation, known as “pump”, in your forearms. By building up your base endurance, you will improve your fitness and establish the foundation on which to build the next phases of your training. Endurance training is aerobic, as your muscles are using oxygen to complete repeated moves. There are lots of tips on how to train for endurance, but usually they involve a high volume of moves at relatively low difficulty. 

Your endurance training phase is a great time to focus on practicing climbing technique!

STRENGTH

There are multiple ways to train muscular strength for climbing. Recently, the training community has recognized the advantage of supplementing your strength workouts with functional weight training.

Hangboarding is another popular isometric training technique that is often used to target finger strength. By hangboarding you are training your body to recruit muscles fibers more effectively while strengthening critical connective tissue. There are two general strategies that climbers use for hangboarding: repeater style exercises and max hangs.

REPEATER STYLE

A repeater style hangboard workout aims to mimic the time you spend on a hold while climbing a route. Typically hangs are 5-7 seconds long with 3 second rests in between. A variety of hold types can be used in these workouts. This method was popularized by the Anderson Brothers.

MAX HANGS

For max hangs, you determine the maximum amount of weight you can add to your body to hang for 10 seconds on a large (18-20mm) edge. Hangs are done with hands in a half-crimp or open hand position, with long rests between only 3-4 reps. The benefits of max hangs are supported by research done by Eva Lopez, and one great tool for this type of training is the Transgression Board. 

POWER

Power can be defined as force over time. Strength is required to produce a force, and when this happens quickly you have power. In climbing, the term power is usually used to describe moves that are dynamic in nature, common in bouldering or climbing in steep terrain. There are many methods that climbers use to build power.

LIMITED BOULDERING

“Limit bouldering” involves attempting to do moves at or above your physical limits. Usually between one and three moves are attempted in sequence, and any set of moves may repeated multiple times.

SYSTEMS WALL

Some tools have been developed to help climbers execute super hard moves on steep terrain. A systems wall  is a board with holds set in mirror image of each other on either side of the center line, allowing the climber to recreate exact positions and movements for both sides of the body. The ideal angle of a systems wall is between 20 and 35 degrees, but many boards are adjustable so that the climber can choose their desired angle of steepness.

MOON BOARD

The moon board is 40 degree overhung with a defined set of holds that allow climbers to set boulder problems and then share them with the greater climbing community online. In order for a moon board to be beneficial, you should first be climbing at a minimum V5/6 level. 

CAMPUSING

Another strategy climbers often use to build power is campusing. Many climbing gyms have campus boards available for their clientele. Campusing is an advanced technique that can be extremely stressful on the body, but it is very effective.

STRENGTH ENDURANCE

Strength endurance training, commonly called power endurance, blends strength, power and endurance together, enabling the climber to execute many difficult moves in a row despite feeling pumped. Strength endurance trains the anaerobic system, which kicks in after the body has used up oxygen to the muscles.

4X4

One way to train for strength endurance is using 4x4s. Choose four boulder problems near your flash level and climb them all back to back without rest. Wait for at least five minutes and then repeat the boulder problems three more times for a total of four rounds. For best results, choose boulder problems in steep terrain.

INTERVAL TRAINING

Interval training is another effective training method for strength endurance. On an overhanging wall, climb continuously for one minute and then rest for one minute. Repeat the exercise with two minute intervals, then three minute intervals, and then work back down to one minute. Repeat as desired.

CLIMB HARD ROUTES

A third method of working strength endurance is by climbing hard routes. Pick a route just below your flash/onsight level and try to climb it three times back to back without resting. Routes on steep terrain are best.

MENTAL TRAINING

Many climbers believe that mental ability is nearly as important as physical ability. Fear is a very real emotion that climbers often experience and must learn to manage. The Rock Warrior’s Way is a great resource for any climber looking to strengthen their head game. Climbers must also learn the role of their ego in success and failure, and how to engage laser sharp focus when trying to send.

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