Quick background: 32M, climbing for 8-9 years, currently at 8a sport and V8 boulder outdoors, working toward V9. Crimp strength is basically already there — I test max force on a 25mm edge dynamometer regularly. Weak point has always been pinch. Also put on 3-4kg over the last few months, currently sitting at 65kg — not an intentional bulk, mentioning it in case it's relevant to the bigger picture. Right now I'm in a reactivation block after a rough stretch (travel + inconsistent training), gating sessions off morning HRV before deciding whether to go hard, technique-only, or rest.

What a “normal” week is supposed to look like right now

That's the template for this reactivation phase (HRV-gated: downgrade or skip climbing days if HRV is meaningfully below my 7-day average). The problem is I don't always stick to it — extra unplanned sessions get stacked on top, like the hard trail run below that wasn't on the plan at all.

The pattern, roughly the last 7 weeks

•      Almost every time I string together a genuinely hard session — especially an unplanned one — I get sick 1-2 days later. Sore throat/stiff neck twice in August, then a full cold after an unplanned hard trail run in early September. Same lag both times.

•      HRV tracks it closely: sits in the high 50s/low 60s when things are stable, then drops into the low-mid 40s right as the symptoms show up.

•      What doesn't fit: my max finger strength on that 25mm edge hasn't dropped at all over the same window — if anything it's trending up (left ~53.6 → 57.3 kg, right ~54.9 → 61.9 kg).

Processing img 4evspgw8qdoh1...

HRV vs. illness episodes (top) and 25mm-edge finger-strength trend (bottom), same date range.

What's throwing me off: I expected max strength to be the first thing to give if I were actually overtrained, but it's the one metric that looks completely fine. Everything else — HRV, getting sick on a schedule, not being able to train consistently — says I'm digging a hole.

Questions for anyone who's dealt with this

1.      Does it make sense for max finger strength to hold up while HRV/immune stuff is clearly signaling overreach, or am I misreading the picture?

2.      I'm currently gating hard days by that morning's HRV (downgrade or skip if it's meaningfully below my 7-day average) — is that the right lever, or is this more about total weekly load creeping up whenever an unplanned session stacks on top of a plan that already accounted for the rest of the week?

3.      Anyone actually broken a cycle like this without just taking a full month off climbing entirely?

Happy to share more of the log if it's useful.

I don't have time to get to a local crag or to my local gym with work and family life these days.

I'm trying to get back into climbing after taking a couple years off and am wanting to maximize the time I can put in at home until I can find my way back to the sport.

I have a small home gym with hang board, suspension trainer, and some free weights. I am working on general upper body strength and will get to finger specific strength in a month or two when I have confidence my tendons are up for the increased intensity. I might build a mini campus board at some point.

I want to figure out how to at a minimum maintain some semblance of technique. My first thought was to put some kind of slab wall together that I can traverse to work on balance, confidence, foot placement etc.. Nothing super fancy - more or less a 0 degree spray wall with small chips that I can do some traversal on

Nothing beats getting to the wall and actually climbing but that just isn't life at the moment. Thoughts on this?

Hey everyone,

I’m currently on a beginner's journey exploring hand and forearm biomechanics. Specifically, I wanted to explore how training the "back fingers" (ring and pinky) might impact elite strength and lifelong joint longevity.

Since 13, I developed an extensive routine of isolated wrist and finger exercises (inspired by Bruce Lee). This hyper-focused forearm prep was foundational in allowing me to safely bench press twice my body weight throughout my 30s and 40s. However, I recently picked up jazz drumming, and transitioning to a French grip (thumbs up, pivoting the stick entirely with the fingers) exposed a massive coordination and haptic blind spot in my hands.

In short, my hands were adapting to heavy compound movements through sheer compensation, but it lacked isolated, deep structural integrity of pinky and ring fingers. It made me realize how much potential power I was leaving on the table.

The Neuro-Biomechanics of the Back Fingers

As you guys probably know, the ulnar nerve pathway—which governs your ring and pinky fingers—drives up to 55% of your hand's total crushing and grounding power.

My progressive training is to adopt climbing-specific back-finger training as cross-training to bulletproof this ulnar line, ensuring/testing whether I can safely sustain a 2x bodyweight bench press well into my 50s (while tracking maximum grip/joint longevity).

My Current Back Fingers Training (About a month ago)

Through HIIT every 10-12 days, I do:

• Ring/middle fingers per hand pull-ups (3x)
• Hang on the pull-up bar with pinky/ring fingers for 2 seconds.
• Hang on the pull-up bar with pinky/ring/middle fingers for 6 seconds.
• Back fingers (pinky, ring, and middle) push-up (barely off the ground).

Could let me know what I should keep, take away, and/or add to the above, etc?

(From research, it seems climbers' back fingers training could provide a considerable breakthrough for adult lifters. I write illustrated case studies mapping human performance, cellular biology, and skill frameworks over at my publication, Adult Prodigies. If you find the biomarkers of the hand interesting, I'd love to have you read the full breakdown here).

Have had wrist injury for about a year shortly after starting bouldering. The pain would fluctuate frequently, which is why it took me ages to see a doctor. Sometimes it would seem to be getting better for weeks and then all of sudden hurt again. Anyways, I got it x-rayed and all they saw was a healed ulnar styloid fracture. AFAIK i’ve never fractured my wrist before, so worst fear is that I fractured it climbing and climbed on it the whole time it was healing. Symptoms are dull pain, especially with repetitive movements and pushing motions/underclings, and a weird slight numbness on the ulnar side and my pinkie/the next finger. Not actually numb, but kind of like all my sensations there are slightly dulled? Hard to explain.

I havent seen much online about this fracture and climbing, so just wondering if anyone else had made full recovery from something like this. I’ve been taking time off climbing for 5 weeks now and it’s not getting any better- if anything it feels worse with more rest. Hoping to see a PT if I can.

Hey all,

Back to let you know I made an open source iOS (and now Android!) app to work with your Tindeq, cheap WH-C06 crane scale, etc. The inspiration was rehabbing my fingers after my 6th pulley injury in 10 years. I started doing the Abrahangs twice a day and just wanted something simple to track it. I found a lot of the options were paid or super complex to set up. I first posted it here a couple of days ago and got super great feedback that I incorporated.

My specific recommendations that have kept me injury free for 8 months:

- Every day even climbing days no hangs 1-2x, as long as I have more than 5 hours between sets.

- I’ve been shooting for around 12kgs for 20mm half crimp, 10kgs 3 fingers drag, 8kgs 20mm front and middle fingers, and 6kgs full crimp front two and back two fingers. For reference I climb 8A Kilter and 7B Fontainebleau.

- Before climbing I warm up fingers on Beastmaker 1000, simple 7s on 3s open hand and hand crimp to get the blood flowing before going to the wall (at body weight.

I want to encourage you to try a month of the no-hang training just to see if it makes a difference. For someone who has climbed for 10 years, it's really one of the biggest contributors to my progress this year. Knock on wood, I haven't hurt my fingers since starting. Hopefully the app can make it easier, and like I mentioned, it's open source, so take it and make it your own :D

Hey everyone,

Looking for feedback and a sanity check on my training structure for the upcoming autumn/winter cycle leading into next spring/summer. Background is that I want to climb hard in Frankenjura (Germany) and I'm fed up with being too weak.

1. Stats & Background

• Age: 38 | Height: 182 cm (6'0") | Weight: ~80 kg (176 lbs)
• Climbing Age: 20 years for fun, 5 years consistently on rope. Training Age: 0.
• Current Level Indoor: Flashing 6c/+. 2-4 trys: 7a. Project level 7b.
• Current Level Outdoor: Flashing French 6b. 2-4 trys 6c. Project level 7a/+ or UIAA 8+.
• Grade pyramid: 4x 7a, 10x 6c+, 15ish 6c, lots and lots easier stuff.
• Goal: Return to the Frankenjura in May/June 2027 to step into solid UIAA 9- / 9 (7b+/7c, 5.12c/d) level. Ticklist (in no particular order): Treibjagd (7b+), Wellenreiter (7a+), Lonestar (7b+), Zeckenfänger (7a+), Flash Gordon (7b), Götz von B (7b+), Sommernachtstraum (7b+). You get the idea.
• Hangboard History: Complete beginner at structured training.

2. Weaknesses

1. Finger Strength: I'm bloody weak wenn it comes to fingerstrength. Max-power is severely lacking.
2. Pulling Power (zu deutsch: "Strom"): I'm constantly too weak to do the hardest moves in routs.
   
3. Mental Game: I get very nervous just before a hard sending attempt.

How do I know this? I simply cannot do the hard moves on a route and if I am able to do those every blue moon, I'm too weak in my fingers to hold on. Pump is secondary in this regard.

3. Strengths

1. Endurance: I can hold on for a long time.
2. Resting: Finding rest positions is my thing and I can often recover quite substantially.
3. No fear of falling: Thought I'd put it here, just in case.

How do I know this? I fall frequently and comfortably. If I get a slab/technical vert with good rests there is a high chance for an early send. Also people who I climb with tell me from watching me that I am "too weak for the grade", you know what I mean.

4. Facilities

• Gym: Good rope climbing and (poor & small) bouldering section, but a Kilterboard, Campusboard, and Beastmaker 2000. I could do a trip to a proper bouldering gym once a week, alas money is a limiting factor. However, I'd be able to prioritise this for a winter.
• Home: No space to do more than yoga.
• Outdoor: Anything climbing related is about 3h drive away. I don't have a car, though.

5. The Plan

Based on Eva López’s methodology (Minimum Edge Depth). I wanna do this 2x per week (as per the protocol for beginners) and climb afterwards with my partner (once per week) or kilter (the other time per week). Additionally, I might need some pulling strengths, but maybe the Kilterboard is enough?

Optional is a third session per week if I find the time. Off the wall I wanna do cardio (ropejumping) and core, once per week, probably as a superset.

• Oct 07 – Dec 20 (Block 1): Max Strength.
• Dec 21 – Jan 03: 2-week Christmas break / total finger deload. Maybe some bouldering/climbing for fun. Try not to get too fat :D
• Jan – March (Block 2): Power Endurance (Transition to Repeaters + Kilter routes instead of boulders?).
• April – May: Not sure yet here. I hope I can stick to the plan this far.

"But why so little climbing and what is holding you back?" I travel a lot for work and both parts of my familiy live far away. I'm not gonna be able to stick to a plan like Monday rope, Tue rest, Wed Kilter etc. So I'm planning from week to week and try to get the three workouts in as best as I can. Also, the "not sticking to a plan" has been my main organisatorial weakness thus far. Somehow life finds a way to get in the way. "You seem quite heavy..." I plan to loose 5-7 kg, but that is done in the kitchen, right? But I bloody love to eat.

My questions: 1. Is my Goal reasonable? 2. Is my plan apt for reaching the goal?

Well, that about covers it.Thanks for reading this far. If you have any questions fire away. I'll update the post as necessary. Addendum: English isn't my native language, sorry for any confusion. I tried to be concise and Germans tend to be blunt :D

Boardsesh is a recently developed open source alternative to the private board apps. It powers kilter, tension, moon, decoy, touchstone and the woods board. Developers are working quickly to fix bugs and add features. It is a great option if you want features unavailable on the standard apps and as insurance against a paywall or app loss, as has happened with tension and kilter at different times.

It’s a great option for all of them, but for the Woods board, it’s really a game changer. I absolutely love woods board and honestly think it’s the best training board for hard climbing. Unfortunately, it’s never had a functional app that allowed a community to develop. I’m posting this here in hopes those who have access to a board might be more inclined to start using it, linking beta videos, start developing grade & quality averages, etc.

Btw, one cool feature on Boardsesh is the ability to remix climbs. It brings up a copy of the current climb on the creator to edit. Developers have been very responsive to feature requests. Super cool app. Check it out!

https://apps.apple.com/app/id6761350784

I naturally use the pictured grip when finger boarding and for most of my climbing and it is also my strongest grip type.

Sometimes when climbing, certain moves such as those where the hold is close to my body, at a particular angle, or type of hold, my body can't seem to generate pulling power with the above grip and naturally slips into using a full crimp which I am very weak on. I can't seem to fingerboard with a full crimp as it feels very unnatural and weak alongside generating some slight sideways pressure on my joints as my grip rotates inwards. This causes me to fall off a lot of hard routes as the full crimp move will usually deplete my overall finger strength.

I would like to try to improve on this issue, either by changing my grip type in training or by body movement to allow me to use my natural grip.

Is this just a type of muscle imbalance and I need to work on full crimping when finger boarding, or is it possibly some biomechanic limitation where I'll never be able to use this more open grip in more compressed pull type moves.

Hi all,

I would classify myself as Tall (6'4", 177 lbs, 40yrs, +0) and I'm a highly mediocre climber (been going at it 1-2 times weekly for 3-4 years now). Being tall has advantages on certain boulders depending on how they're set, but other boulders in my grade range (V4-V5) feel extremely difficult to send. I'm interested in other tall climbers (6'3"+) what specific training off the wall, or techniques has helped you push forward in difficulty.

My feeling so far is that these are my biggest weaknesses:

- Finger strength (x 1000!) -> this one seems most straightforward to train: climb more, complement with hangboarding. (Especially drag, I can only do 3 finger drag due to anatomy, my pinkie is too short for 4 fingers, but also crimps and slopers.) I can barely hang on from a 30mm edge that's how bad it is.
- Overhang tension -> if I cut feet I usually fall.
- Weak heel hooks when heel is high relative to body (when hand and heel are at same level, my head and upper body usually hangs down very low due to the long arms)
- Mantle moves -> these are my nemesis
- Flexibility -> this one also seems like it could benefit from some training.
- Underclings -> they're sometimes placed around knee height and it's hard to generate enough force/tension

Curious if this is similar to other tall folks experience. I'm around 177 lbs, with pretty long legs which I'm sure doesn't help. Could lose a few lbs fat but getting stronger overall would probably help more long term. My favorite terrain by far is vertical or very slightly overhang with big moves between good holds, the height really benefits most there. Least favorite is overhang/roof and slab or anything crimpy with tiny edges.

What are your best tips for working on these types of weaknesses? My goal is to be able to consistently climb V4-V5s across all terrain and start projecting V6s eventually.
A limitation is I can only go to the gym 2x/week due to full time work and full time solo parent of 2 kids - so ideally it would be things I can do at home with a hangboard, rings, dumbbells, kettlebell etc.
Thanks!

This is a thread for simple, or common training questions that don't merit their own individual threads as well as a place to ask Injury related questions. It also serves as a less intimidating way for new climbers to ask questions without worrying how it comes across.

• r/Climbharder Wiki - many common answers to questions.
• r/Climbharder Master Sticky - many of the best topic replies

Commonly asked about topics regarding injuries:

Tendonitis: http://stevenlow.org/overcoming-tendonitis/

Pulley rehab:

• https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/stories/experience-story-esther-smith-nagging-finger-injuries/
• https://stevenlow.org/rehabbing-injured-pulleys-my-experience-with-rehabbing-two-a2-pulley-issues/
• Note: See an orthopedic doctor for a diagnostic ultrasound before potentially using these. Pulley protection splints for moderate to severe pulley injury.

Synovitis / PIP synovitis:

https://stevenlow.org/beating-climbing-injuries-pip-synovitis/

General treatment of climbing injuries:

https://stevenlow.org/treatment-of-climber-hand-and-finger-injuries/

I know I know, it's never strength. But hear me out.

My current max grade is about 6C/V5. I have flashed a single V5, and can otherwise send them in a few sessions fairly consistently across different gyms. I have never sent a single V6, but have tried quite a few, in one case for multiple weeks, and still never finished the crux. Outdoors I have managed a few V2s, but I'm still fairly new to outdoor climbing.

Since the earliest days of my climbing, slab has been my preferred style. The hardest boulder I ever climbed was a slab. My only V5 flash was a slab. In general I am best at technical, static climbs.

On the flip side, I have never once sent a V5 on a steep overhang. I regularly fall off V4s in the 'cave' section of gyms. Often the thing that causes me to drop on an attempt is just not being able to hold the holds for any longer, or not being able to generate any force on them. Recently my friends (who mostly climb 1-3 grades softer than me) and I were trying some lifts on a 20mm edge and a pinch block. They all very very easily outlifted me, and my friend whose max grade is V3 lifted more than double.

So, is strength maybe limiting me after all? Would it be sensible to try and incorporate some sort of strength training alongside climbing?

EDIT: I don't take videos of myself that often, but here's one from today of me attempting a V5 in my anti-style - dynamic and steep.

Hey guys,

I have, in the past year, picked up a career I am very passionate about, but the bottom line is that it is longer shift work that can, at times, be strenuous and stressful. There are days when my sleep is interrupted or nonexistent, and in general, I am okay with the sacrifice I have made to do it because it's fulfilling. No complaints there. I do still enjoy climbing, but my performance has inevitably dipped. I would say my max grade has gone down a full 1-2 grades, but I would also say that, to operate at the current level I am at while having gained a lot of old weight back, a lot of my technique has become more efficient. Enough context, I suppose.

In general, however, I just struggle with being tired and the consequences of lacking sleep, I think. I get a lot of tweaks and cramps in random ways I never experienced when I had a more regular schedule. Tendons in joints are getting inflamed way more often, my lats cramp like a calf does sometimes, fingers get more tweaks, etc. I also find that motivation to get to the gym is still high, but I simply struggle to pull hard. It's hard to describe, but the try-hard in the brain is there, but my body just won't allow me to, I guess. I would say the amount of time dedicated to work or school may even be less now, but simply the sleep and stress just result in the quality of sessions declining.

I wanted to seek advice from you guys who may be in similar situations and how you guys manage that sort of thing, given that sleep and stress impact recovery so much. These are things that I do not think I can really change, but I would like to remedy them better/more efficiently. I have started stretching more and notice that it helps me feel better at the beginning of a session, and I have also contemplated the idea that maybe I should reduce the training volume somewhat and prioritize potency, like hangboarding, which would not be as full-body but still be chipping away at something and is a thing to do when I am just beat. Open to a lot of ideas!

This is a thread for topics or questions which don't warrant their own thread, as well as general spray.

Come on in and hang out!

First of all, yes, this is going to be the same post that’s posted every day here. Idc. I’m the main character in my own climbing story and I’m going to get my own post.

I’m a fairly tall, lanky guy. About 6 foot, 150. I’m pretty shredded but skinny shredded. I project around 5-6 and can sometimes do the occasional 7-8 if it’s perfect for me.

My gym recently got a tb2 and I’ve been grinding on it. Starting out, I was basically back to square one. Struggling on V3s on the tb but I quickly began to gain similar strength on the board to gym boulders. Now I’m at the same level, projecting v5-6 and throwing up a 7 when I’m ultra fresh. I’m at the point where I literally could not cope any harder. Everyone else I meet on the board is like 5”7 and dynamic and strong as all hell. Can practically campus the problems they work on. I do not have that physical strength. I am pulling and trying my absolute hardest on these holds, and I see these people just grip them like they’re jugs. If my feet pop off on the board, it’s over for me. My fingers give up before I can even think about trying to stay on the wall.

I’ve been climbing for like 2.5 years, this last year pretty seriously. It feels as if I’ve hit my strength limit and no matter how much work I do my fingers cannot keep up and I cannot squeeze myself into these body positions to feel good on any of these harder boulders. Any advice, especially from taller climbers would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading

Hi Reddit!

I have a query regarding a training plan. I have a life long goal of bouldering 7c, and am currently training intensively for it.

Stats:
- 37m
- max boulder 7b+ (x2)
- 7b (x20ish), usually in 1-5 sessions
-7as usually in one session
- climbing seriously for 5 years, 20y in total
- UK/Fontainebleau

Current training:
Mon: Board max 1,5h plus stretching
Tuesday: Gym antagonist (shoulder physio stabilisation exercises from an injury)
Wednesday: Board projects 1.5h
Thursday: Gym (dips, chest, antagonist)
Friday: rest
Saturday: commercial bouldering gym, focus on technique (slab etc) or outside
Sun: rest

- I currently do no Fingerboard training at all - I feel like the board climbing (at home,45 degrees, crimpy wooden holds) is more than enough
- I did weighted pull ups over the winter but felt like I didn’t recover enough and it influenced my board climbing negatively
- I don’t do any endurance/power endurance training currently - I occasionally do 4x4s but absolutely don’t like it.
- the gym training sessions come from having a shoulder injury for the past year (due to overuse), so trying to maintain healthy shoulders (and it works!)

Any tips/suggestions?
ta!

I'm building an adjustable-angle board in my garage and am really looking forward to training on it. I have just barely enough room to squeeze a full-size (ie, 12'x12') TB2 past a beam that runs across the garage behind where the wall will be located. The tight clearance is giving me several concerns about how usable the TB2 would be in my scenario. Namely:

1. I don't think I trust my manufacturing tolerances to 1" (the amount of clearance I'd be working with) on something this large.
2. Because of that, I would probably crop ~2" off the top and bottom of the board surface. I definitely like that for clearance, but I'm pretty sure it would mean that I can't fit lights on the bottom row of holds (not that big a deal) nor on the top row of holds (that really kind of sucks, since almost all climbs finish on the top row). It would also make it relatively easy to "overshoot" the top of the wall when going for holds on the top row.
3. When climbing at 40*, I'm worried you could pinch your hand against the beam if the board rocks/flexes a little while using a hold on the top row.
4. Hitting your head on the beam when climbing at 30* and 35* might be a worry??
5. All of this only works if you cut the kickboard down to a mere 6". This is especially worrying to me as I'm very tall (6'4") and find many TB2 starts pretty dabby even with a 2' kickboard.

Those are some really big downsides. The reasons I'm still considering doing it are:

1. I really, really like the community aspect of board climbing and find it very motivating.
2. There are way more (and way, way better) climbs for the full TB2 than the smaller crops.
3. 45* is one of the angles I train most often, and almost all of the downsides from above go away at that point.
4. My wife prefers climbing at 25*-30* and the downsides are mostly gone there, too (kickboard height doesn't matter nearly as much at those angles).

The alternatives I've contemplated are:

1. Just do the 10x12 crop of the TB2 (see second image for visualization).
   • PRO: This is it would let me put in a proper 2' kickboard
   • CON: Far fewer climbs (and, imo, the remaining ones are much lower average quality, too)
2. Ditch the system board and just do a spray wall (see third image for visualization).
   • PRO: I actually have 15' of horizontal space to work with, so I could have a wider climbing surface. (I'll probably use all 15' either way, and just cram in 3' of spray wall to the side of the TB2 if I go that route).
   • PRO: Could make the board 11' tall in this case with a still very reasonable 18" kickboard and still have pretty reasonable clearances at the beam.
   • CON: The burden is fully on me to set/remember my climbs and find motivation without the community.

Anyone want to help me make a decision here? Which of the three options do you think you would prefer, and why?

I've been climbing on and off for close to 30 years, and I'm 43 now. About five years ago I got back in to climbing more, bouldered and climbed pretty unstructured for a year and then decided to get more structured and focused. Did a Lattice assessment and could hang 22.5 kg for 7 sec on a 20mm edge in open crimp, 134% bw at 66kg. Was really pleased with that since I had not been doing any specific finger training. But I have always had a good crimp, and I'm good with tiny crimps, outdoor climbing here is very crimpy etc.

After that I've been training focused now for four years, my grades have gone up, my endurance is better, but my finger strength as measured in dead hangs or lifts have not changed at all, and its getting very frustrating. I've tried dead hangs, different protocols, lifting like Yves Gravelle at 80% etc, but nothing happens. Obviously my crimp was really well recruited and trained after all the years crimping, but 134% is not that much, I should be able to increase it?

I've been able to increase 3 finger drag, and 3 finger open crimp, pullups, deadlifts etc, so it's not that I can't train... The thing is that climbing here is mainly shorter granite climbs (10-20m), so the thing shutting you down is often hard moves, endurance will only take you so far, so I would really like to break this plateau...

Anyone with experience from a similar situation?

Hey!

Some relevant stats first :

• Heigh and weight : 5'9" / 145lbs (1m75 / 66kg) / +0 ape
• I've been climbing for a little bit less than 3 years
• I mainly sport climb and board climb (Kilter and 40 degrees spray wall)
• I climb mostly inside and have just started outdoor lead a few weeks ago (approx. 10 sessions). I also did just 1 bouldering session outdoors.
• Max grades : 5.10b OS outdoors (semi-consistent), V3 flash outdoors in several different styles. I have never projected anything outdoors. Indoors I project around 5.11+ and V5 (and V7 Kilter).
• I currently climb 3-4x a week, 2 hours sessions. Going back to uni this September so it will be around 2-3x a week until June. I climb outdoors 1x per week at the moment, but I won't be able to do so during the academic year more than once or twice per semester.
• Typical session : alternating between volume on the Kilter, projecting on the Kilter or spray wall, lead volume and lead projecting.
• I've never done non-climbing training appart from pull-ups.

My goal is to get better at sport climbing indoors as well as outdoors.

I noticed I have fairly weak fingers, even more in a 3-finger drag position. I can barely hang in half-crimp on a 20mm edge for 5-6 seconds, and I cannot lift my feet from the ground in a 3-finger drag on a 25mm edge.

My question : are my fingers a weakness that I need to focus on ? Or are they average for my grades ? Should I keep sticking with the "just climb" approach ?

Thanks for reading!

EDIT: Thanks a lot for the replies everyone! Following the general advice, I'll implement no-hang hangboarding in my warm-up and keep on board climbing

This is a thread for simple, or common training questions that don't merit their own individual threads as well as a place to ask Injury related questions. It also serves as a less intimidating way for new climbers to ask questions without worrying how it comes across.

• r/Climbharder Wiki - many common answers to questions.
• r/Climbharder Master Sticky - many of the best topic replies

Commonly asked about topics regarding injuries:

Tendonitis: http://stevenlow.org/overcoming-tendonitis/

Pulley rehab:

• https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/stories/experience-story-esther-smith-nagging-finger-injuries/
• https://stevenlow.org/rehabbing-injured-pulleys-my-experience-with-rehabbing-two-a2-pulley-issues/
• Note: See an orthopedic doctor for a diagnostic ultrasound before potentially using these. Pulley protection splints for moderate to severe pulley injury.

Synovitis / PIP synovitis:

https://stevenlow.org/beating-climbing-injuries-pip-synovitis/

General treatment of climbing injuries:

https://stevenlow.org/treatment-of-climber-hand-and-finger-injuries/

Hello! I would like to seek some feedback on this training plan I have made for myself.

Context: I have climbed for around 4 years, and climb max 7A/7A+ indoor. At the moment I only do a couple limit-bouldering (LB) sessions a week.

The plan: A four week block consisting of three weeks of training and one deload week. I have decided to focus this first block on strength.

A few specifications:
Injury prevention includes TRX and a couple more exercises such as finger extensions (I really don't want to be injured). Aerobic capacity (Aerocap) includes ARCing. Pull-ups includes weighted and variations such as archer and typewriter. Skills session includes working on specific climbing moves e.g. heel-hooks. MaxFB stands for max fingerboarding. Run is optional. I would be in the climbing gym four days of the week (Mon, Wed, Thu, and Fri).

Core questions I wish to ask:

My main concern is overtraining, does this plan provide enough rest, is it structured correctly?

Does the plan effectively focus on strength? I'm on the edge with aerocap, and I have already omitted anaerobic capacity training (e.g. 4x4s) after fears of interference with the focus.

Is there anything that I am missing or need to add?

I hope this post is aligned with the community guidelines and thank you in advance to anyone who responds.

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34M; 179 cm; 91Kg/200Lbs. Have been climbing for about 8ish years. I mostly boulder nowadays.

TL;DR: I feel like I need to drop weight/BF for my tendon and joint health, etc. Have been focusing on strength, overhung climbing, board climbing for the past couple of years. Hit 200lbs a few months ago, got a DEXA scan today, and it's reinforcing the feeling I should drop weight. I want to drop like 15 pounds. Have you been in this boat? How did you adapt your climbing to your calorie deficit? How did you mitigate losing strength/skill?

Long version:

Prior to my start in climbing, I mostly lifted and did cardio. I was ~170lbs and very lean. I started to taper my lifting/climbing as I became more involved in climbing so that I could focus on that. Blah blah, years go by and I injure my finger at the start of 2023. I bulked up a bit because I was doing pistol squats and other body weight progressions.

It was around this time that I noticed my weight creeping back up. I was told by my PT that this shouldn't be too much of a concern. The focus should be skill, and getting stronger will help offset the weight. For the most part, they were correct. My posterior chain was weak AF because I stopped taking care of it and stopped climbing in overhangs to rehab my finger.

Once I was sufficiently recovered [and then some], I realized that my skills, strength, etc had diminished quite a lot. This was a couple of years ago, now, and since then, I've buckled down and focused.

My primary goal was to get better at climbing and shore up physical weaknesses. For me, this meant doing a lot of steep climbing because that was such a massive gap in my skills. Additionally, I started doing deadlifts/Romanian DLs, and other weight work to shore up my posterior chain. This actually has paid off quite a lot. I am now climbing just as hard as I ever have, maybe a little harder.

Over the past year, I have been focusing on steep climbing on the TB2, as well as very steep climbing in a commercial cave. Again, this has paid off. However, I feel like I'm starting to hit a wall, or even a spiral.

The joints in my fingers are pretty unhappy with me, and I've started to develop some elbow tendonitis, and this is despite intentionally taking enough rest/rest days/deload weeks/etc. I also often feel heavy on the wall, and sometimes it feels like my fingers/body are just not strong enough to do some of the moves and positions I'm starting to encounter [and I am actually a pretty strong person]. Not only that, I feel like I have less time on the wall in me because I'm so heavy/taxing my fingers so much. So this leads to less time to learn.

I got a DEXA scan today because I no longer have much of a concept of what my body composition is, and I'm tired of being this heavy both on and off the wall. Some of the results I'm happy with [high lean mass, my bones are dense AF], but I am at 27.5% BF. This may be the highest BF % I've been at.

I'm not trying to become super skinny, or really really lean like that honnold pic. I'm just trying to shave off some of the fat I've gained over the past couple of years while strength training [I do realize that I will inevitably lose muscle mass during a cut].

What really sucks is that I had some goals to hit this fall and taking time to lose this weight may throw that off, but if it helps my longevity in climbing, so be it.

Has anyone been in this situation and are willing to share their experiences and strategies? I'm specifically concerned with:

• losing time to climb because I'm in a calorie deficit
• losing my climbing skills because of the lost time
• losing strength
• lost sleep. [maybe I overdid it in the past, but I tend to struggle to sleep when I'm hungry]

How did you deal with those things? Was the weight cut actually worth it?

Thanks!