How to train grip strength for bouldering reddit. What other exercises can i do to improve my grip strength?' Archived post. First of all, raw strength isn’t as big a concern for most climbers since bouldering is more about relative strength, but training for raw strength - usually weightlifting- still has its place. What equipment do you use or what training methods to improve especially finger power, without actually climbing (like I said I go to unregulary to make it count) thanks beforehand Specific exercises will newrly always beat out non specific exercises for the specific thing they train. Any tips or little things you could make/buy as a tool to increase this? I've thought about using some old 2x4's to hang weights from so I can use it around the house when not at the gym. As you begin to This would result in increased muscle mass, which sounds great, but for a climber isometric strength gained from increased connective tissue throughout the forearm is preferable, which is gained from static holds. Time and easy climbing will help. However, I'd say your statement is rather true in the reverse way: If you want insane grip, you need to train specifically that. Hӧrst encourages climbers to focus on 6 different grip positions: the half/open crimps, open hand, wide pinch, and three 2-finger pocket positions. I like the idea of hypertrophy training using whatever you want, but the published data indicates that gripper training is at best tangentially beneficial to climbing. I have a conventional pull-up bar and was wondering whether doing finger hangs is an effective way to develop finger strength (rather than using a hangboard)? Thanks! The Problem: There are static moves you can’t do because you can’t grip the holds. Some of the training exercises require rock-climbing grip training equipment or other exercise tools but most of them can be found in your local climbing gym or inexpensively online. Top rope and lead climbing requires a partner to belay. Built a little routine to train it, want some critique. So I've bouldering for two years and only started sport climbing recently. Translates into contact strength, slopey crimp strength, and big boi sloper strength. 53 votes, 46 comments. Oct 18, 2024 · Learn why strength training is great for climbers, with a complete 14-week training program to improve your climbing performance. Currently climbing V4 consistently, did my first v5 recently, and can flash most V3s. trueHi, So I’ve been climbing pretty regularly for about 2 years now. Any recommendations for wrist, grip, and finger exercises to get a better hold? Specifically exercises I can do on days off from climbing, with little to no equipment (unless there’s something so awesome that you can’t not recommend it) (Also I can’t put a hang board in my apartment) Thanks y’all! Your wrist strength will improve with more sloppers. Will rock climbing instead of gym grip exercises produce similar results for general gripping strength and endurance? Reddit's rock climbing training community. Useful in sports like climbing and martial arts, grip training will carry over to many aspects of every day life. Stronger fingers mean you can use smaller holds—and holds that felt unhangable before will feel more manageable. Anything related to indoor (and outdoor) goes. Also, pinch strength is quite width-specific, so I'd have to train multiple different widths to get better at all of them. I found hanging onto slopers with only the first pad of your fingers to be great training. You want to spend every ounce of your training capacity climbing, which will improve your grip strength, but also your movement vocabulary and general technique. The pain is more likely because you’re trying too hard. See if there are any bouldering gyms near you, and give it a shot! I started bouldering, indoor only, in January and have been hooked ever since - averaging 3 sessions a week 2. Incorporate various grip types, such as open hand, crimp, and pinch, to target different muscles. 9, I struggle to see a lack of grip endurance as being a significant obstacle to further progression. I'm hanging a tension block and a resistance band from a gymnastic ring and doing Reddit's rock climbing training community. When I started I could do v2 and muscle through some v3s Now my technique is vastly improved but I’m still climbing v3s and can barley do some v4s. In this video we cover 5 ways to maximise your grip without hangboarding or increasing finger strength. Jan 19, 2024 · Climbing strength vs climbing resistance When talking about building climbing strength, we are basically talking about a whole lot of specific exercises that will help grow our overall performance. Learn about gear, nutrition, hangboarding, on-the-wall workouts, and more! So I recently picked up a set of pinch blocks, and after the initial excitement of converting my weak flesh mitts into hardened lobster claws subsided, I got to thinking: Are pinch blocks actually a good way to train pinch strength? Firstly, a pinch block is typically attached to a weight on a rope by an anchor point around which the pinch block has a high degree of freedom to rotate and or I understand that grip strength and finger strength are important for bouldering, and mine is pretty weak right now. I recommend you try and get an experienced person to watch you climbing, and see if they can identify any technique problems that are holding you back. To enhance grip strength rapidly, beginners should implement two distinct workout routines emphasizing different grip techniques. Therefore I've got some pretty good grip strength but just after a challenging route or two I'm seriously out of power and struggling with the easiest of routes. Hangboarding will be better for training crimp strength than climbing. Hand Exercise Tools Are you looking for tools to enhance your finger strength, endurance, dexterity, and muscular tone? About a year ago, I began indoor bouldering (rock climbing) and coming from a swimming/lifting background my grip strength is severely lagging. Use our weekly Q&A posts for your questions, routines, exercises, reviews of equipment you use, grip accomplishments, technique/training tips, grip sport news, grip videos/articles, etc. The most precise definition of strength in rock climbing or bouldering is the ability to hold on to various holds, but a strong rock climber doesn’t only have a great grip. I think the priority goes something like this: Finger strength. A hang board allows for a well structured workout, practical climbing grips, and allow for more weight. Hi guys, as the title asks, does anyone have any tips on how to improve my finger strength? I love climbing but my fingers… Obviously, early on you want to take it easy because you haven't built up the foundation strength, but even pros hurt tendons. My weight is probably the biggest issue, I am 210 lbs @ 5’9 but a lot of it is muscle (powerlifting background). However, some users suggest incorporating additional exercises or routines to complement the climbing experience and achieve a more complete workout. However, there are great forearm exercise that you can do that are low impact and great for endurance training. But it transfers well. I have a good back and pulling strength but lack of grip strength is holding me back. 62x BW 1rm chinup and working on OAC) ? Reddit's rock climbing training community. So just have fun and get up as many routes/boulders as you can. Sep 23, 2022 · The Importance of Lock-Off Strength Why improve lock-off strength? The ability to hold a lock-off allows for a slower pull toward and grasp of your target grip. If it’s simply about strength, hangboarding is probably the fastest and safest approach. As for off-the-wall strengthening you can hangboard, to reduce the load initially you could use a rubber band or use a bigger edge, although if you struggle with hanging Redditors generally agree that bouldering can be a great workout for overall strength, particularly targeting the back, shoulders, and core muscles. These may include functional strength training, antagonist training, and exercises targeting the I said it a million times and I'll say it a million times again: pick up bouldering as an additional sport! It strongly improves your core, you get insane grip strength, and it teaches you to use momentum, and how to actually hold on to something while moving in space. My buddy just started and he did a v5 first day without r/climbharder climb harder - ideas and structured training to get better at climbing Reddit's rock climbing training community. However, I've always felt as though finger strength is disproportionately Has anyone trained wrist or forearm strength in particular and noticed useful carry over to improvements in climbing? Has anybody has success with training this longer term? I recently see increasing content online relating to isolated training of the wrists via forearm training inspired by forearm training tools and drills with the wrist wrench and heavy roller style exercises from the likes A tennis ball grip workout is an excellent form of training. Reason I am interested in training it is because Im fairly weak at that style (which I put down to strength not so much technique), and my winter climbing area (which Im training for now) is stacked Dec 6, 2021 · Thanks for your support! Best Grip Strengthener for Climbing: Reviews In today’s list, we’ll discuss two different types of grip strengtheners: those that focus on fingers and those that train the whole hand. MembersOnline • cytopia ADMIN MOD A subreddit for the indoor bouldering community. . Use our weekly Q&A posts for your questions, routines, exercises, reviews of equipment you use, grip accomplishments, technique/training tips, grip sport news, grip My local bouldering gym has a group of HUGE body builder-type dudes who climb together one night a week, specifically to work on grip strength and strength-to-bodyweight ratio stuff. I typically use a hang gripper for thumb strength (pinches) and for warm up. What exercises would you recommend to train muscles specifically for compression climbing? Im thinking of wide- to medium-, full-hand sloper compression, fridge style. A lot of the strength and endurance required for climbing is unique to climbing and difficult to get from other sports. Jan 12, 2022 · Pinch strength is hard to gain and easy to ignore until you need it. If you identify a specific weakness, programing in 15 minutes to address that weakness Feb 8, 2022 · Complete beginner's guide to bouldering training. Just be careful, and recognize the best strength training exercise to improve bouldering is bouldering. AND that climbing with compromised grip strength leads to injury. From tufas to aretes and even crack climbing, it pays to pinch. There have been a half dozen climbing specific studies that indicate grip trainer strength does not correlate to hangboard strength or to on-the-wall performance. You can do all those without any speciality equipment! If your ok spending a few bucks, you can buy special grip training cable attachments or pulleys. I'm not doing any fingerboard or anything like that for several months, but I am doing hangs and farmers' walks to increase grip strength + the other benefits they have for shoulder mobility/strength and tension for heavy farmers There are a pleitora of grip strength equipment to train with. If you want to improve your grip strength I would reccomend a lot of projecting, this will force you to use your grip, leading to strengthening and improve your technique (which is arguably more important than grip strength). Bouldering does not use a harness or ropes, you climb down or fall onto crash pads instead. I'm already looking for ways to increase my grip strength to advance my climbing. As long as your body stays under the plane, it is easy to stay on the slopper. Of course holding a tough crimp requires a lot of forearm activation but more likely you are more limited by what your fingers can support. Long story short, grip strength will not come quickly, it's built over time, and even further climbing grip strength specifically is all over the place, the best way to train it is on the wall. Jan 1, 2025 · To increase grip strength for rock climbing, focus on exercises like hangboard training and wrist curls. 8. I used wrist straps as needed (not sure if there is a rock climbing equivalent), and then threw a ton of different grip training exercises at them as well. Bouldering only requires shoes, chalk and a chalk bag. I have been training open hand strength with an Atomik Cannonball XXL and sloper holds. Maybe spending too much time looking for a good spot or trying to grip it. It is a ton of fun, a great full body exercise and excellent for building grip strength! You can boulder solo or with friends. It's not worth taking so much time/effort away from other climbing/training. but the guide will have you work pinching and curling your wrist (in both directions) as well, which are obvious functions of grip but i never thought to really work them. Working on making my pinch grip stronger. If you are genuinely interested in training your grip for BJJ, your best resources are one of the routines on r/griptraining, or Dan Strauss has a grip training for BJJ instructional available, that is specifically tailored for BJJ athletes. If not all our effort to try and crush the candle for a few seconds at each time. Also notice how the excersises work the antagonistic (opposing) muscles in your hands and forearms, this helps to prevent repetitive strain injuries. They are shaped like wedges or cones and are great for grip training also Your grip is giving out because you need to improve your technique, not because you need to improve your grip. i always see recommendations that train crushing, like making a fist tighter. after the workout my forearm pump makes me feel like popeye Grip trainers are effective at what they're meant to/able to do, which is train some of the muscles involved in gripping. Before obtaining that You have plenty of finger strength to hoist your entire body up at 10s, haha, I don't think it's a finger strength problem, although more finger strength can help you get away with more climbing mistakes. 5hrs each. I wouldn't do much direct grip training though. You'll find that it's much better training just to 14 votes, 14 comments. Here is what he told me: When you put your hand on the slopper in the sweet spot, imagine a mathematical plane extending from your hand in the same angle as your hand. As much as people hate to hear it, when it comes to grip strength in the early years of climbing, climbing is the best training for climbing. Use our weekly Q&A posts for your questions, routines, exercises, reviews of equipment you use, grip accomplishments, technique/training tips, grip sport news, grip You can still build grip strength without a hangboard. For example, take the intermediate slopers on the BM2000 and hang at the edge with an open grip. The Solution: Train finger strength by hangboarding. I attended a Dave Graham bouldering clinic a few years ago and I asked him a similar question. What is the optimal way apart from climbing "pinch" routes to get the tendons / muscles stronger in this area? I've been reading a lot about pinch blocks, my question is how do you train with pinch blocks, is it better to train really heavy (for optimal strength) or is it better to train mid weight and get some good endurance in those pinches? I feel my pinch is lacking compared to other areas From personal experience, getting stronger grip strength past a certain point is not going to better your technique overall unless you're planning to hit some v15s/9as in the near future. He needed technique training, not hangboard training! In summary, at 5. half-crimp, 3 finger drag), minimum edge hangs Equipment: hangboard, no-hang device, any sort of edge. I found wrist pain and grip strength were a limitation during strength training, particularly with pulling exercises. You can do Plate pinches, bar hangs, deadlifts where you hold for 10 seconds at the top, and reverse bicep curls. Any tips are great. Finger strength in climbing is often less about grip strength and more about how much force your pulleys and tendons can handle. It is possible to train crushing grip statically , I don’t believe it to be overly affective , but either a thick candle or if you can sacrifice melt a candle into a wax ball . How to incorporate grip strength into a training program How and when you train grip strength will depend on your level and your training goals. Due to the limited availability of hangboards and weights, you'll have to get creative with this one. Use our weekly Q&A posts for your questions, routines, exercises, reviews of equipment you use, grip accomplishments, technique/training tips, grip sport news, grip There is *some* overlap between grip training and finger training (climbing-specific) but, if you're looking to improve your ability to pull down on small holds, spring loaded grip training tools are likely a waste of your time/capacity to recover. This works both in bouldering and sport climbing and is especially useful for climbers Aug 14, 2021 · If you want to increase your grip strength, you’ll need to train on specific grip positions. Don’t add hangboarding on top of an already busy bouldering schedule. Recently got into rock climbing. Here's a question for yall. Fingers of steel are the foundation of harder climbing. - Even if your grip strength is absolutely terrible, static hangs aren't the ideal exercise right now (until you're really working on problems at the gym that require grip strength, avoid hang boards all together). 33 votes, 86 comments. In short the conclusion was, train isometrically (fingerboard) rather than with grip trainers if you want to climb better. Honestly, the grip strength that is practised in this sub is a little different from what you use in rock climbing in general. This is a list of 12 great training exercises that come from training books, interviews with professional climbers, social media, Reddit and some of my climbing friends. Use our weekly Q&A posts for your questions, routines, exercises, reviews of equipment you use, grip accomplishments, technique/training tips, grip sport news, grip /r/GripTraining is a resource for anyone wanting stronger hands, bigger forearms, or to compete in the sport of grip. g. All of your effort goes into maintaining a strict crimp, and that allows you to best overload the finger muscles that hold a crimp. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. From advice on which gym to visit to videos of world cup IFSC climbers, you can find it all here. Jun 3, 2025 · For climbers, grip strength types such as pinch grip and support grip are vital, with effective training routines focusing on these areas. /r/GripTraining is a resource for anyone wanting stronger hands, bigger forearms, or to compete in the sport of grip. truewhats great about the guide is it works all forms of grip. As long as you have a solid base of climbing experience (climbers just starting out How forearm training improves our climbing? I'll start that by forearm training I don't mean any types of static hangs/holds but rather exercises like dumbbell (wrist) curls , reverse curls, wrist rotation etc. e. Just make sure your training volume is not too high or you’ll get injured. Just don’t try to pull on a We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Thanks for your answers! Train your technique, not strength. They're super convenient, which is why they're useful and popular, but it's still just one exercise. Are finger rolls actually training finger tendon strength or just grip strength? I’m not an expert and I’m not trying to be a dick but that exercise looks more like it trains forearm strength than it would finger strength for climbing specific movement (holding onto smaller edges for longer). Mar 26, 2025 · The Problem: There are static moves you can’t do because you can’t grip the holds. Jul 8, 2024 · In order to increase your stats, you should include a rock climbing grip training routine that puts emphasis on grip and finger strength. As long as you have a solid base of climbing experience (climbers just starting out I don't bother training pinches at all, because I don't encounter them often climbing around here. Exercises: max hangs for multiple grips (e. It will help prevent injuries and also helps you later in your journey to get stronger fingers, because your tendons will only evolve until some point without training the You can do grip training by letting it roll down your fingers, then closing your hand shut. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Your grip strength is determined by forearm strength and the tendons in your fingers, hands and wrists. And work this throughout the day . How can I increase my finger and grip strength? So for that reason, the thing that actually progresses your climbing from season to season is an increase in grip strength and power, which is why you should constantly be training it in some way. Some of the best that worked for me: "Power fingers" -> antagonist trainer, simple, push out the rubber bands with your fingers and hold for x amount of seconds. Feb 25, 2025 · Boost your climbing performance! Learn how to improve grip strength for rock climbing with the best exercises, tips, and training techniques. My grip fails on certain holds. Dedicated to increasing all our knowledge about how to better improve at our sport. 8/5. Core strength is very important for climbing. I Boulder V2 and climb 5. Hand grippers do not build tendon strength or neurological at all. sets to failure). From what I've read, it's way too early (in terms of time spent climbing and grade) for me to start hangboarding. Your finger stress should come from climbing and over doing it is asking for an injury. I use both, but as for finger strength, all my gains have been from hang board sessions. Considering the number of joints involved in any given hold, that basically means you only really gain isometric strength for the exact hold being trained. But strength gains never hurt anyone either. Again gradually build up to holding your weight . Beginner climbers and even those in their second season would benefit more from bouldering since it allows them to also work on their movement technique. Is there any research if such type of training translates to improved grip or fingers strength? Have any of you found this exercises Indoor boulderer here. How do i improve my grip strength? So i wanted to improve my grip strength for a while and i finally got some adjustable grip trainers from MP and my final goal is to hang from one of the panels over my door. I currently weigh ~175lbs and deadlift 485 (455 with switch grip, no straps) which seems like reasonable grip strength for my weight. Training the claw grip adds tremendous power and is a stepping stone to ripping cards, folding frying pans etc. That is if they even train their hands at all. Meaning grip training for amateur/hobby rock climbers is mainly going to be endurance (I. Concentrate on climbing each problem with crisp technique and smooth execution. Reddit's rock climbing training community. Hi r/climbing, let me start by saying I am new to climbing (as in I've been bouldering for a week) but I love it. MembersOnline • crimpy_thang ADMIN MOD When training your grip strength (which is mostly reliant on isometric forearm strength), you only gain strength around ~15 degrees of the angles of the joints being trained. Is there a way t ease into training the end-of-finger grip? Also, for pinches, I looked on youtube for pinch grip training and I drilled some small 2x4 wood blocks together and added eye bolts to add weight. What is an efficient way to train finger strength for a climbing beginner who has a decent amount of pulling strength from Callisthenics (1. Also, reverse curls and reverse curls behind your back are fantastic for grip and forearm training. Grip strength helps feel safe and go longer, biceps strength at full extension helps on overhangs, but core strength (being able to keep tension throughout your body as you climb) constantly comes up as the #1 thing you will always use. It teaches you to grip properly and better yet it trains your claw grip which, frankly, many people neglect because its just too much effort. Mar 25, 2022 · Strap on a 10-pound weight belt and you’ll have a powerful grip-strength and power workout! After an extended warm-up, climb a circuit of five to 10 moderate boulder problems (a few V-grades below your limit). Which will make you better at rock climbing. You’ll get more used to the holds, and you’ll lose that grip for my life instinct that we probably all had at our individual slopper genesis. With that information in mind, when do you think I should train pinches or shouldn't I train them at all? It doesn't seem like a good idea to train grip strength on the days I don't climb, but the training quality would probably not be that good after 3 hours of climbing, either. I've been indoor bouldering for about 2 months and want to start developing my finger strength. Any training tips (aside from doing more climbing of course) ? Reddit's rock climbing training community. dyu eetpvj rwrx znchtvjl uzjl bpvf vxipps wbep ucimhy bhz
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