How Strong Are Your Fingers? This Is Our Testing Method Explained

[@alexaverbuch1]

How important is the 1:30 minute rest? In particular, what are the reasons for not extending that until you feel "fully recharged", e.g., 4 minutes?

[@TheFreddyloin]

Really awesome that you bringing out soo much information for free! Thankful and keep going! Love your content!!

[@xalingding]

Is there anywhere we can compare results against other climbers at our grade? Great video as always!!

[@boulderfighters2590]

Awesome video as usual! I plan to do a video about such a testing session (and in general the Lite plan) soon :) One question though: You mentioned in the video 1 1/2 minute rest and 5 second hang. In the app and the PDF I have it says 2 minutes rest and 7 second hang. Did you change that in the meantime?

[@LatticeTraining]

Boulder Fighters No, we just use slightly different methods for different tests. On the whole, we use 7 sec hangs for the vast majority of hangs. There is some lattice board testing we do at 5s as well 😊

[@boulderfighters2590]

@@LatticeTraining Thanks for the explanation. I was just wondering as I plan to do such a session today ;) Thanks again, really enjoying your content.

[@MarkCatherall]

Minor technical point; the weight of the handle for the pulley set up should be subtracted from the weight on the other side of the pulley set-up if you want to know (exactly) how much assistance you're getting. Alternatively you could use a very light handle and forget about it. Using a heavy handle and not taking its weight into account is a (minor) problem. To see that this is the case, imagine a 10kg assistance weight on one side of the pulley and a handle to pull down on that itself weighs 10kg - that setup would be balanced without anyone pulling on it and would offer no assistance at all. More realistically, if you've got 10kg of assistance weight and your handle weighs 500g, you're only getting 9.5kg of assistance.

[@bransch]

Thanks for all the great advice in these times 👌

[@sethgilbertson2474]

For hanging the weight, I use a 12 inch length of pipe with a floor flange screwed onto the end and an eye hook on top. It’s cheap and hangs waaaaay better than putting the chain through the plates.

[@_idunnodavy]

Something you should talk about is the transition point from single arm assisted to single arm with no assistance/added weight. Previously training on the lattice edge I have passed this point with my right side and played around it with my left. However I seem to get a huge amount of "stabilisation" using the pulley for assistance. Going from 2kg of assistance to 0kg is a massive step. I trained through it by adding weight to me and removing the same weight using the pulley. I found I needed to be able to hang around +3.5kg to me (2.5kg on pulley 6kg added to me) before I was able to get a quality unassisted hang on my right side. Have you got any tips for improving this training progression dead spot?

[@_idunnodavy]

Also, turning this into a data question. Do you see a "clumping" of test results around this 0kg assistance point? A lot of people who fail just as you get to 0kg then a break through where they are able to start hanging one arm with added weight? Would this indicate that finger strength is not the limiting factor and the, shoulder stabilisation, core or something else is a decisive factor when transitioning to unassisted hangs?

[@DonQuiKong]

1 thing i took from this video that failure is not failing to hold on, failure is leaving the halfcrimp position.

[@LatticeTraining]

DynoSour correct in this case. Well noted! 🤓

[@frankheiser2775]

Great video thanks! One question I have is, I see you using your thumbs on the bottom of the rung, I always assumed that is incorrect since we do not want to als use a pinch to help us hold on?

[@yogyclimbs]

DIFFERENCE to crimpd.com / your app: There you define 7sec hangs and 2 minutes rest. 7 vs 5 actually makes quite a difference... What is the "truth" ;) ? Apart from that, thank you for the video, I learnt something again.

[@LatticeTraining]

Yogy W-man both the truth. Tom’s demoing a 5s hang for 5 second testing. If he was doing it from Crimpd (used in our Lite plans, critical force testing etc) it would be a 7s hang 😊

[@dark-o]

For the one arm test: How does hanging compare to pulling weight from the ground?

[@Drinkyoghurt]

Hi guys, just a question about the Crimpd app. I used to be able to customize my workouts in the past but it seems like that functionality got removed. It would be really great if it could be added back in there.

[@LatticeTraining]

Drinkyoghurt how do you mean?

[@Drinkyoghurt]

Lattice Training it used to be possible to change the length of the exercises or rest and add reps or sets. Maybe I’m just going crazy, but I remember specifically showing it to a friend who was concerned he wouldn’t be able to do that and I remember being able to edit those values. Now it’s all fixed and can’t be changed. Maybe I’m going crazy

[@DanielSmith-nw3yy]

I can unfortunately only use the metolius wood rings as I'm in rented accomidation. I know it's not ideal but is it safe to perform exercises from your crimped app on these?

[@Fartfordaze]

I am renting too but I got 2 3/8 inch eye anchors and found a joist In the ceiling and have my hangboard set up between those and I can hang anything on them. Including hammocks, rings, my daughter's rope swing, clothesline...all sort of useful stuff. When we get ready to move put some wood filler in there and mud it like you would mud drywall and then paint over. waaay worth the extra effort to get it back into "rental" shape.

[@AbsolutelyDiabolical-d5v]

Tom; Iggi here I use a 5mm cord with 2 pulleys 18 inches apart so that the weights aren't getting in my way. Is this good or does it skew the results? I'm worried now lol. I see Eric and others using a 2 pulley system... what's best?

[@frankheiser2775]

Curious about this too.

[@jeffhussey8]

@@frankheiser2775 IMO. It's been a long time since I attended physics class but I'm pretty sure the way you are aligning the pulleys does not give a mechanical advantage over a single pulley. Most important factor is to ensure the testing and training methods are identical. If we get our comparative data to other climbers then we need other consistency but I think this is the same.

[@leonakadir3833]

is there a real down side to the over engaged position? I dont have the means to do a max strength test so been doing the varied grip hangs off the crimpd app. I find the back 3 hangs really hard (though I can complete them now!) but I cant hang as low doing them in half crimp, open I could but half crimp I am in the position you have called Over engaged. is that ok while im still getting stronger at it?

[@sammyrussek]

I have a question what is the broad in the middle with the plug in it? what does it do?

[@LatticeTraining]

Sam Russek it’s our digital finger strength testing rung. We use it for some of our elite athletes and also with a number of our research partners

[@sammyrussek]

@@LatticeTraining how does it work is it time based?

[@I_am_Spartacus]

Hey Tom,, I've read a few articles/interviews with you about the finger strength needed to climb 8a, is it 90%bw or 190%bw? Thanks!

[@danielsusser1]

Question! Climbing about a year and a half, V5 boulder, 6c+ lead, just trying to get generally stronger and more ready across the disciplines for post lockdown. I started hang boarding a month ago - max hangs every 3 days, I tested max hang today and I can do half crimp 7sec on a 2cm edge at 120%bw, or plus 13.75kg. Could I add more fingerboard sessions to my week safely if they are training different things? So instead of doing max hangs for strength every 3 days, could I do max hang, then 2days later do endurance, then 2 days later max hang repeat, 2days later endurance... Repeat? Thanks!

[@LatticeTraining]

Hi Daniel, that doesn't sound unreasonable. You body will soon tell you if it's happy or not! Keep tracking max scores to assess whether you're recovering adequately and gaining strength slowly.

[@danielsusser1]

Thanks guys! I'll let you know how I get on! I've been devouring your KZbin resources, so thanks for that it's really been a lifesaver. Well, a finger strength saver

[@mw5360]

When we’re talking about pulleys, what price range are we talking here for a decent one? £5? £10? £25? This is the only part that’s not really clear but it’s an important one. What exactly are we looking for given most of us would be buying one blind over the internet? Thanks.

[@bboyHarrypotter]

I'm in the US and I bought a decent one for about $5, so like £4.

[@LatticeTraining]

m w I’ve put an answer to this on our Instagram page in reply to your question over there. If you want to crowd source pulley info you’ll likely get some really good answers on our Facebook community group page 😊.... lots of people on there use our methods.

[@samframe3779]

Awesome video! I love your scientific approach to climbing, the data does not lie! Would you have any idea how much stronger an untrained 22 year old male's fingers could get? (Half crimp, 20mm edge). Is 20kg out of the question?

[@SoJuDaMaN]

in what time span?

[@samframe3779]

@@SoJuDaMaN If possible, as long as it takes!

[@adamborg1]

How about a micro traxion for a pulley? Too small? Efficiency is 91% Does that mean that when I do -10 kg hangs I'm actually getting 10*0.09+10≈11 kg of assistance?

[@LatticeTraining]

Micro traxion is great! 91% is right up there in terms of efficiency. This is a great pulley to use for training and assessment. Don't worry too much about actual load, as long as you keep the equipment the same you'll be able to track your training and progression.

[@adamborg1]

@@LatticeTraining Alright, cool! Thank you for the answer :D

[@hardrockxxl]

If I rest 1.5 minutes I get up to 30kg additional, if I rest 5min I get up to 37.5kg. My endurance isn't the best - which one am I supposed to take as my max? Im considering going for a light plan when shutdown is over but I'd like to train with the "right" amount of weight until then

[@hardrockxxl]

For both testing sessions I failed in the 4th try first time at 32 second time at 40

[@eduvanzeller]

You should rest as much as necessary to make a max effort every rep.

[@xjkdx]

how does he have a tan

[@t.m.4808]

does it make sense to train with 2 Hands if i can hold 60kg+ without really getting to my limit or should i go for only one arm in the future?

[@SimplyRockZone]

lol I weigh not much more than that. Definitely move to 1 hand, you'll be really surprised with your results.

[@BrunoAxhausen]

had a similar result plus bruises on my hips, definitely not doing two arms with 60+ kilos again😆 (except maybe for re-testing in a couple of weeks)

[@bboyHarrypotter]

If you're trying to assess your 2-arm 12-20mm half crimp strength, then add as many kilos as you can possibly hold! If you're trying to assess your 1-arm 12-20mm half crimp strength, then you will probably use less weight. If you're training your fingers (not doing a test), the it would be best to keep it simple and actually reach your max potential. Switch to 1-arm!

[@LatticeTraining]

T.M. Yes you should look at single arm work 😊

[@t.m.4808]

@@LatticeTraining Thanks a lot i wasnt quite sure and the weight got very uncomftable over time😀

[@chaosengine4597]

ok. right now my results should be somewhere between -2.5kg and -5kg... :(

[@MythAvatar]

I think you mean parallel, not perpendicular? Good video as always.

[@slushymow]

I found the drums in the background music at the beginning of the video pretty distracting.

[@LatticeTraining]

lordrecneps we’ll swap them out for some trombones next time 😊

[@sevs802]

Whomp whomp :)