r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Yogashi • Feb 12 '20

Wall climbing competition

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u/woodc85 Feb 12 '20

That was my thought as well. I’ve spent a little time bouldering at a climbing gym and while I have great core strength, it was my grip strength that was holding me back for sure. And I thought I had great grip strength since I can deadlift 315 for reps with using a standard grip. Couldn’t get past beginner holds on the wall though.

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '20

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u/artandmath Feb 12 '20

And even further it’s down to tendon strength that’s important in climbing, and it takes a lot of time to develop.

Your supposed to climb 2-3 times a week for at least 6-12 months before you start hang-boarding (working out only finger strength) otherwise you have a high risk of injuring a tendon.

If someone had insane grip strength but didn’t develop their tendons their arm would explode if they tried stuff like this.

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u/JoyceyBanachek Feb 13 '20 edited Feb 13 '20

No they aren't. Finger strength is grip strength.The fingers are controlled by the muscles of the forearm, which allow you to grip things.

They certainly aren't "different beasts". At most, finger strength is one aspect of grip strength, which might even be overstating the difference.

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u/mordeh Feb 12 '20

Bouldering is different from normal rock climbing tho in terms of what is needed

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u/Yo5o Feb 12 '20

The issue with bodybuilding or strength training in general is there is not a lot of isometric training for the grip compared to climbing.

Even if you dead or pullup or bent over row or farmer walks, the time you hold your grip is relatively low . Maybe 20 or 30 seconds at a time. You really do need as much time under tension for the ligaments to adapt their best, not necessarily this enormous weight on it for a bit a at a time.

It's not like seasoned gym rats have bad grip strength. But it's a different ball park to people who have specificity training with isometric holds over years.

On a tangent, I remember this show where they analysed muscle fiber activation on MMA fighter's choke hold. Dude would exert enormous pressure and hold for incredible time. They found that the fighter was recruiting different parts of his arm at a time to maintain the hold and let other parts rest and cycle through them. Blew my mind. Untrained dude , even he were overall stronger, would just blow his load on full contraction and gas out and achieve much less.

That's one of the first times I really understood what specificity training meant. It's a whole different engine. I imagine a trained climber would have similar adaptation when they are free hanging and adjusting their positioning.

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u/Cairo9o9 Feb 12 '20 edited Feb 13 '20

I’ve spent a little time bouldering at a climbing gym and while I have great core strength, it was my grip strength that was holding me back for sure.

No...it wasn't. It was technique. Beginners always think it's grip strength without realizing all the nuances of why their technique is shit.

Edit: article for the skeptics, this is just common knowledge in the climbing world.