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macc
Jul 27, 2002, 2:20 PM
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I've been climbing a few weeks (indoor toproping) and getting frustrated by the fact that my hands just cease to grip after a short while. I've heard that training should focus on the legs and back, but are there any tricks to stengthen the hands/fingers?
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aelita
Jul 27, 2002, 2:56 PM
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Actually, your finger cease to grip 'cause your forearms get really tired... The only remedy I found was to keep climbing. Your forearms AND your fingers will get stronger over time. Besides, if you climb a lot, doing specific workouts on top of that might just over-strain your muscles.
There are lots and LOTS of posts on the forum on these topics though so you might want to look around.
Climb hard!
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need_for_climbing
Jul 27, 2002, 5:24 PM
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i agree wif aelita. The best remedy is to just keep climbing. Do it for 2 months or 3 months. After a period of time u will get stronger in the fingers. But u wont see it. But other pple can tell that u grew stronger. Dun try the finger boards cause your fingers are not up to that strength level capable of supporting your whole weight yet.If u find climbing still a bit too hard for ur fingers then i suggest u train on ur techniques. Dont get discourage if u cant climb well. It part and parcel of climbing.
p.s hope these words of advise can help u
Rock On
Chris
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climbingaddict
Jul 28, 2002, 1:49 PM
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i agree with both of these guys. Keep climbing and always, i mean always.. climb. Anyways, what you can do is get one of those hand gripper thingy and use them daily. It helps building your finger strength. And for your legs, what I do is jog around cause I think it helps to build my leg muscle and improve my stamina and breathing. But, that's just my advice. Others might disagree, so, do what you think will help you.
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jammer
Jul 28, 2002, 3:13 PM
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Finger strength will come in time ... be patient. As your fingers get stronger through climbing, so will your confidence and technique. Don’t push your training to a point where your damage your fingers. Like all things in life that are worth having, it takes time to acquire.
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col_sanderz
Jul 28, 2002, 3:58 PM
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Yup, lots of intesne climbing combined with strength training may not be a good combo. I spent a 2 months doing this and I just couldnt keep it up. After giving up the weight training I became a stronger climber, without a doubt. Just stick with some good ol bouldering, thatll get ya in shape for climbin.
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fitz
Jul 28, 2002, 5:50 PM
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One thing to keep in mind is that, when you are just getting started, strength is only part of the problem. Your hands may not just be giving out because of strength, you may very well be over gripping holds and under utilizing your legs and using poor body position.
As the other posters recommended, keep climbing. Not only will tendon strength increase, your technique will also improve, giving you more mileage from what strength you have.
Elite climbers do use sport specific training (campus boards, etc.) but, trying to rush things, especially when you are just starting out, can lead to injury, which will set you way back.
Keep putting the miles and rock and the improvements will come.
-jjf
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sparky
Jul 28, 2002, 9:29 PM
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the more you climb the longer you'll be able to climb
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laurams01
Jul 29, 2002, 12:25 AM
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for martial arts they have things to improve grip they helped me
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likethegoddess
Jul 29, 2002, 4:28 AM
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Yeah, the inside muscles of the forearm are partilcularly important. Finger strength is too. I climb with a friend who's way fit. I'd say we have comparable strength in general. But I'm a bodywork, using my hands intensely for 15-30 hours a week. I can do things she can't do, like I can pull myself up on much smaller crimps than she can. If you don't do things in your daily life that increase hand strenght, pick up whatever grip builders you can find and work those in your spare time. And by all means, climb, climb, climb.
[ This Message was edited by: likethegoddess on 2002-07-28 21:30 ]
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petelasko
Jul 29, 2002, 4:50 AM
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Something else that might let you get a little more out of you climbing workouts is
1) Take your time warming up, that way you don't get flash pumped (prematurely weak becasue you worked them too hard too quickly, can ruin a good day of climbing)
3) Breathe! The more oxygen you can get into your blood (read: forearms), the longer your muscles will hold out.
2) Stay hydrated. That should help you last a little longer too.
Just keep trying!
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sharmagod
Jul 29, 2002, 12:56 PM
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Quote:
Don’t push your training to a point where your damage your fingers.
This dude/dudette said it right....when I started noticing I had finger strength I kept on going on the routes where it was needed.I went on those just to improve it but noticed that I did too much and started getting a ache in the fingers.
If you want to improve finger strength....like all of them have said....work on technique and keep on climbing.Finger strength will come....that I promise you.
Beware once you do get some to not stress it out too much.
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spank_spank
Jul 29, 2002, 1:07 PM
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As a beginner, you should just worry about climbing. Finger strength will come, but more importantly, technique will come also. But to specifically train fingers shouldn't come till at least after the first year of climbing, generally the second year. You really need to build up the tendon and ligament strengths in you fingers and the best way is through climbing. If you are a beginner and training fingers, you will have a greater chance of blowing a pulley and injuring yourself seriously.
Be careful.
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sharmagod
Jul 29, 2002, 2:37 PM
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You may find this thread of use Finger Strength
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likethegoddess
Aug 5, 2002, 7:29 AM
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A few weeks, bro, give yourself some time. I know it's frustrating, but you will get stronger with practice.
As far as training focusing on back and legs, I think that depends on what your personal strengths and weaknesses are. I've found that my legs strength is pretty good whereas my arms need a little more help. My legs needed more flexibility.
Figuring out what you personally need to work on may not be easy, but you already know it'll be worth it, right?
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scotia
Aug 10, 2002, 4:38 AM
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Climbing is the best training of all but if you can't get to the gym all the time I would reccomend getting a hangboard to train your fingers. Check out www.metoliusclimbing.com to look at their selection of hangboards.\
Be Safe, Have Fun
-Scott-
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barney_89012
Aug 10, 2002, 7:12 AM
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when i first started climbing i would try to hang, or do a pull up in a door frame every time i walked through one. that got my fingers preety strong. i open crimped by the way. i heard that gets your hands stronger.
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Phsycology
Apr 19, 2008, 1:00 PM
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Hey!
I'm new here and have been climbing seriously (almost every day at my school's indoor climbing wall) for around three months now, and enjoy it a lot! I love the adrenaline and excitement if climbing a new rout, and then the satisfaction of completing a climb or problem.
So, the problem I have is that I keep being told that I need to improve and strengthen my fingers, though I cannot realize a way to do that.
I've been using the door frame as a fingerboard lately, though it is really hurting because of the sharp edges, and my dad won't let me file any of them down. So we are looking at making our own fingerboard like the one on http://onlineclimbingcoach.blogspot.com/2006/09/fingerboard-choices.html. Until then, I've been using a stress ball regularly, and that seems to have had an affect.
Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Phsycology
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rockforlife
Apr 19, 2008, 2:32 PM
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I hate what i am about to say but we all need it even people like dave gram....REST .
PS stay away from finger boards and door frams for now.
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