How to get STRONG FINGERS with Alex Megos

[@kurtrolfe]

8:55: "You stand on the ground - with your feet". Chris is a poet

[@duuplo]

A philosopher

[@kieransimmonds9264]

😂👍

[@oxman7]

I'm a farmer, not a climber, but love watching your stuff. Your video on one arm pullups was brilliant, even just for basic, good quality form. Thanks for it. Keep it up.

[@justiceclarke6185]

Can I ask if you can do a one arm pull up? I don't know any farmers despite being from a rural community. I respect your ability to work hard but I would never have expected such strength. I'm a builder.

[@oxman7]

@@justiceclarke6185 Hey. No I can't yet but would like to get there. I'm blessed with some strength I guess in that I can basically muscle up without training but I definitely can't do a single arm pull up without training. Will work on it and see how it goes, but it's nice to hear from another manual worker. There are fewer and fewer of us, as it seems young people are not interested in hard physical work. Just out of interest, where are you from? I'm from the UK.

[@qthemusiq4461]

I grew up picking rocks out of the fields and that was the best training I can have for climbing!

[@justiceclarke6185]

​@@oxman7 definitely blessed with strength. Can do muscle ups now but could hardly do 5 good form pull ups without training. But I'm in New Zealand. Built in Australia too. Honestly bro, thinking about putting the tools down myself.

[@oxman7]

@@qthemusiq4461 Yea it's definitely great for strength. Especially when a job is a necessity and there is no way round it. You can't be lazy and not do it, because it needs to be done so you kind of get strong by default.

[@antoinehalik]

6:35 you do the weaker side first, cause even if you train your left arm, the other one get tired to (neuromuscular efect). So this way you can "equalize" both sides - in first repetition you always can give a little bit more power.

[@bullydungeon9631]

Thank you I'll do that from now on

[@user-bx4zq7fx7e]

Nice! Can’t wait for the Weighted-campusing-on-micro-edges-tutorial

[@alexandermegosAM]

great idea !

[@Jonne337]

Hab seit 2-3 Wochen geplant mit einem Griffbrett trainieren zu beginnen. Werde das jetzt aber unterlassen. Lieber nach wie vor weiter klettern gehen und in ca 1em Jahr Griffbrett training starten. Super Tipps. Man bekommt viel zu wenig trainings Input auf YT. Danke dass ihr es ändert!!

[@codyheiner3636]

I do that feet on the ground mono routine as part of my warmup before every session. It's really great, especially because I'm weak on pockets and 3 finger drag.

[@epincion]

Thanks guys - as always both entertaining and very educational

[@alexandermegosAM]

Awesome, glad you enjoyed it!

[@kieransimmonds9264]

Danke euch beiden! 😊 Ich komm nebst meiner Hof Arbeit nicht so oft zum klettern und die Hangboard routine für Anfänger ist extrem hilfreich für mich. Hab nun angefangen am Feierabend genau das zu machen. Liebe Grüße aus der Schweiz 🇨🇭

[@duuplo]

The CEO of Finger Strength!

[@alexandermegosAM]

😅

[@javierdltb0]

The CEO of mewing (mogging)

[@erichuifitness]

Can’t wait to learn more about the weekly routine for finger boarding

[@erichansen-ye9er]

Have never come across the 1 finger drag exercise but makes SO much sense - keep the vids coming!

[@hanspeter2100]

MOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! as always, great content! looking forward to see you crushing!

[@alexandermegosAM]

More to come!

[@allyhvis6046]

I love these beginner friendly training videos!

[@Matkovic99]

I started climbing 7 months ago but have hit a wall very hard where my biggest weakness is and that's my finger strength. So happy that in the last month I've been able to do a pull-up at half crimp. Next progression is to try and hit campus board with crimps

[@Rickdegraaf]

This was loads of fun. Keep it coming, huge inspiration!

[@SpicyMcLovin]

Can sum the video in one sentence: Go back in time and start rock climbing before middle school.

[@afrikat.chalkbags]

Grade A shenanigans as well as some really helpful information, love it! 😄

[@RonaiHenrik]

10:30 I finally realized after 2 minutes what's weird. The music in the background. That's a Hungarian folk song :D Its title is "A csitári hegyek alatt" I guess it's royalty free music based on royalty free music from ages ago :D

[@formfeelfn]

Super helpful. Thanks guys!

[@Eyllexx]

Good video, As a beginner I really underestimated how hard climbing is on my tendons and that I can't climb everyday cause my tendons and ligaments aren't as strong as the muscles yet.

[@verifiedhandle9103]

Even when you get your fingers in good shape I would highly recommend not climbing everyday

[@JJ-xi9me]

​@@verifiedhandle9103 I am 20 yo, I've been climbing for almost 3-4 months regularly (at the 2nd one I stopped to train almost 6 days per week bc my wrists used to hurt when I flexed them) and I also have been training rigorously at the gym 6 days a week for almost a year (and focusing on forearm strength and training the back) and I can confidently say that I can climb for an hour/hour and half without my tendons or ligaments, hurting, or even feeling my forearms pumped in a bad way (doing blocks with 1-2 min rest in between). Now I am in a stage where as I have to stop my climbing session bc of my skin tissue (bc it feels it's going to tear). Would you say that this is probably a clear sign that I am so much stronger than before?

[@ingridheinz7985]

Beastmaking! Cooler Titel! :-) Danke jedenfalls, jetzt weiß ich besser, was ich mit meinem Griffboard alles anfangen kann.

[@alexandermegosAM]

Freut mich zu hören!

[@Whueso]

Doing great work adding to climbers-ed section of KZbin, Alex. Keep it up!

[@Mattystem]

Would love to see one of these for antagonist exercises / Injury prevention exercises for climbing!

[@thomasma8924]

Nice! Thanks! ;) I like your sense of humor and still have to think about the "leg day" ;)

[@griffenalexander5597]

Would you consider selling some Rotpunkt shirts? I’d get one so quick, loving the vids Alex

[@hypelloid1312]

The video I was waiting for! :)

[@billypickin9216]

Training videos can be so bland, but your videos never fail to make me laugh! Will you do a video on streatching/mobility training? :))

[@alexandermegosAM]

Yes...in on the list!

[@NeErNeYoYa]

all in all a nice video! I would find it nice, when the information about starting after a year or longer for a beginner and for which repetition that is to be more convenient at the start of the video. I am always up to start training while watching, maybe others do as well and it would be very bad if someone gets hurt, and then find out after 15 min that they should do it differently

[@strategictoast3714]

Video on endurance next please!!!!

[@RandomLoverGuy]

love the videos megos! i climb v5/6 right now and have been seriously training to get better in the past few months so this helps a lot. I will now try to incorporate 4-5 sets at the end of each of my sessions as recommended 😁

[@matthias3991]

you shouldn't fingerboard at the end of your session buddy

[@FreedyMercuryForEver]

Keep the finger boarding either for a standalone session or towards the middle of the session, aka when you're warm enough to try your hard projects. Fingerboarding is very demanding on your fingers (it isolates them) and shouldn't be done at the end of the sesh because that's more likely to result in injury

[@La0bouchere]

@@matthias3991 Depends on the intensity buddy. 95% after hard climbing no. 60-70% yes. Lots of people don't get proper stimulus for growth in their session which is a common reason for v5ish plateau, and can be fixed by extra finger boarding. The "never hangboard after climbing" is just advice for people who can't control their training intensity (which is a lot of people tbf)

[@MrGamingTagz]

@@matthias3991ur a cornball lol

[@christhepolymath3466]

I actually recently injured my finger while hangboarding. Wish I had seen this video sooner. Nevertheless, it makes sense that it happened. Thanks for this entertaining and educational video!

[@sizzl1]

What was the reason you got injured? Would be interestet in.

[@christhepolymath3466]

@@sizzl1 I was hangboarding to warm up. I had been doing that for a couple weeks and didn't have any problems. But then I hung on the 2 finger pockets, and felt a bad pull in my right ring finger. Since then I've been climbing light, taping it, and treating it at home.

[@TheChismFamily]

I wish I could train my fingers like this. For me being older really limits what I can do. If I try to train fingers the day after climbing or bouldering, they are simply too sore and weak and I cant pull on the 18mm edge hard. If I take a day or two off, they are much much stronger and I can get a fantastic finger workout. But then they are too sore to climb. If I want to climb 3-4x a week, its pretty much impossible to train fingers. For this reason, I really only train fingers when I have a period of time when I cannot climb much. I wish I found this sport when I was young, my daughter got me involved in it at age 46, I am 52 now.

[@Squids_Vlogs]

Any advice on getting better on Moonboard? I recently climbed my first v9 on the 2016 and the moves are so small and big that its hard be able to even touch the holds. Any help would be awesome thanks!

[@hunterdarkt9923]

Are the beginner exercises you gave ok to do if you've been climbing less then the 1-1.5 years you mentioned or do you do those after 1-1.5 years?(been climbing for 4.5 months now)

[@alexandermegosAM]

After 😉 ...There are no rules don't get me wrong but I would recommend it

[@hunterdarkt9923]

@@alexandermegosAM oh ok, thanks for the quick reply! I guess I'll need to have some patience with training haha

[@user-bx4zq7fx7e]

@@hunterdarkt9923 At this stage you will quickly improve by just climbing a lot and paying attention to how you move :)

[@hunterdarkt9923]

@- yeah its been going well and i get the limits arent necessiraly strength but more technique etc,i just really like training and want to get stronger haha, but yeah im probably gonna wait till ive been climbing for atleast 1-1.5 years and then we'll see. Try and avoid any stupid injuries

[@silis22]

@@hunterdarkt9923 imo it is just a waste of time to spend energy in hangboard or specific finger training before 1-2y of regular climbing. You will get so much more return by just climbing: -You will gain lots of finger strength, just with regular climbing -You will improve your technique and coordination (which is more important than strength) -You will gain experience with different holds and climbing styles -You will improve your overall fitness (core, upper body...) -You will gain mental strength -You will understand your weaknesses -You will have more FUN! Believe me, I know it is very tempting to go up there and get some iron tendons, but it is not how our body works. Tendons are no muscles, and it takes a long time to make them stronger. If you spend any energy on hangboarding (as a beginner), you will sabotage your regular climbing sessions, and increase your injury risk. (Hangboard is by no means dangerous, but it takes experience and time to understand, how much your fingers can handle). PD: The beginner exercises in this video are really safe and gentle, so I don`t see any problem on doing those

[@pietroclemente1779]

0:15 what is the name of the book? and i wanna thank you for all the good contents to improve the communty big up Xo

[@duncanstoebner4504]

Thank you for sharing some fingerboard progressions! Also, is Frankenjura a big climbing destination? It sounds fun!

[@NNplaysTV]

Super, fange gleich damit an. Mein 🦁mein 🐻

[@EdBordin]

I've been bouldering for about a year and hanging those 16mm edges for more than 10s is still a big ask. Probably doesn't help that I'm quite heavy 91kg/183cm tall (cycling has probably built my legs up more than what's ideal for climbing)

[@ImperiumLibertas]

A year isn't that long of a time. Most wouldn't recommend doing fingerboard training because your tendons aren't as developed yet and focusing on technique will get you further at that level than conditioning. Anything V5 or below doesn't need finger conditioning.

[@EdBordin]

@@ImperiumLibertas I know this is a pretty controversial subject but one of the coaches at my gym doesn't really subscribe to that conventional wisdom. He's more of the opinion that using a hangboard is a much more controlled way of loading your fingers and less likely to result in injury so long as you adjust your climbing load accordingly. Plus, even being conservative a lot of people say the 1 year mark is a good time to start 🤷‍♂️

[@giesskannenbauer]

Do you do any antagonist training? Recently heard a snippet of the nugget climbing podcast where they talked about it. I was already aware of doing push exercises a bit to compensate for all the pulling we're doing, but they also talked about forearm extensor training. Would love to know your input on that! Love your videos :)

[@XsR2]

I realize u were asking him but I had the same question and looked up a lot of information about it. Incase ur interrested : Some pushing might be okay but a lot of tension in climbing actually gets added to the front of your body towards the shoulders, this is why climbers get hunged over and not backwards.(see all the memes) So the main antagonist exercise u would do if u could only do one would be face pulls. It target the back muscles that dont get used intensively with climbing and fixes ur postior more straightup again. More generealized info : Adam ondra swears by 2 climbing sessions - 1 antagonist session. Also i'v heard very postive things about forarm extensor training, if the ratio between the extensors en flexors gets too bad it would be hard to keep improving finger strength without injuring urself. This can be done with the rubber bands(handmaster plus) or with a pinch block.

[@francescovaroli6893]

Thanks for that info. What are face pulls though? Probably not what I’m thinking

[@XsR2]

@@francescovaroli6893 This one is actually save to google hehe, lots of videos about it, But anyways attach rubber band on eye height, pull your hands past your ears and try to keep your back muscles flexed throughout(specially when releasing the tension again),. This can also be done with gym rings.

[@dave990]

It depends what you want to be - a rock climber or athlete/comp climber. Rock climbing doesn't really require strong muscles, it helps to be super slim/light and have strong finger tendons. However, comp climbing requires all round S&C of the muscular skeletal system, motor skills ect. A lot of climbers just do pushing exercises to prevent the hunch back later in life! Remember that muscles work in groups - back-chest, quads-hamstrings, biceps-triceps etc etc.... So if you only train one of the two groups religiously then the other will inevitably become weaker. It pays to work other muscles just for the sake of your own posture and to prevent injuries and imbalances, but ultimately it will not make you a better rock climber on the rock. It will definitely help with gym climbing and your muscular skeletal system long term though. ATB 👍

[@zeetstweets]

8:26 this is key. Also in weight lifting

[@jorispiccinin1970]

Do you do use the middle edge of the beastmaker 2000 for training ? Maybe for OAP ? Great video btw, keep going, can't wait for the next vid 🥕🥕

[@zacharylaschober]

I find I prefer the outer jugs for one arms (opposite sides) because I can get my thumb engaged and have a little more range with less board in my way. Not been a fan of the central rung for one arm hangs, but that is just me.

[@ichweissnicht9608]

what's your opinion on 7/3?

[@alexandermotal5979]

It only took me about a minute and a half to like this video.

[@kjw1603]

Alex : "All the other hangboards are shit " *cue ad for other hangboard 😂😂😂😂

[@tonymills8383]

Great video guys. Out of interest is there any reason why you don't train the full open hand as a lot of others suggest doing. I personally find it a hard grip to train on small edges and generally use the drag on small edges when climbing but have wondered if it's one I should concentrate on full open hand more in hangboarding?

[@aidanscarffe5256]

Thanks Alex!, how did your time in the Red go with your project? Seems you left fairly quickly

[@juleswe8796]

How did chris train specifically for the full crimp? I am having trouble using it my self and just always use the half crimp instead. I know that its better for the fingers but sometimes I have the feeling that i would have to use the full crimp to kind of "lock" the grip if that makes sense. Like sometimes I can hang on to small holds statically but can´t pull off of them and feel like I would have to use the full crimp. Nice video btw, keep them coming!

[@Outlabyrinth]

Sweet thx for sharing 🎉. How much rest do you take between sets ????

[@alexandermegosAM]

2 to 3 minutes

[@Outlabyrinth]

@@alexandermegosAM tanks for the answer ! !!! Pretty short recovery time less than I expected By the way you should come try le bombé bleu at buoux You might be the only one who can send the pocket dyno move ;)

[@kateleahyhein5254]

Great insight to training, 10kg feels pretty light to me, maybe cause its on a pulley system🤔

[@СтепанНатура]

Alex, how to deal with finger injuries?

[@TGregers]

What's the best way to train pinches?

[@송창헌-n6k]

좋은정보 감사합니다. 영상찍은장송가 개인 트레이닝 장소인가요? 면적은 어떻게되나요?

[@alexandermegosAM]

It's our personal gym..we already did a little video about it 😉

[@the_diggle]

Alex, do you engage your shoulders when you hang?

[@nessalkdarb]

I always find my wrists get very sore when I try hangboarding, I figure despite 5 years climbing regularly my work as a programmer has given me a bit of carpal tunnel. Is wrist pain expected when you start hangboarding?

[@alexandermegosAM]

no there shouldn't be any pain.. I know some climbers struggle with carpal tunnel syndrome and you might see a doc for that

[@PrzemysawGasiorowski]

Why you didn’t use bigger crimps for training for beginners? Those are really small. 11:10

[@snowboardroks]

Thanks for the video alex! One quesiton, does the straigh one arm set not make your elbow hurt or get tendinitis?

[@alexandermegosAM]

No my elbows don't hurt with the straight arm I see what you mean though. I only felt my elbows with a bent arm

[@snowboardroks]

@@alexandermegosAM thanks! Good luck this year on all your routes and competitions 🥕

[@paulgennaro2001]

I need the micro secrets. What’s the micros for? Just for show?

[@haydiggity]

is this how you would recommend training for sport climbing? or is there any specific you would recommend for endurance?

[@alexandermegosAM]

We'll do a video on endurance training too at some point

[@brodielogue8274]

what are your patagonia shoes called?

[@mvoegtlin7729]

Ist es sinnvoll diese übungen die gezeigt wurden mit ca. 60%körpergewicht für 5-10min. Während meinen ruhetagen machen? Gibt mir das benefit? Ich hab so 3-4 Jahre erfahrung, klettern ca. 2-3x pro Woche

[@boomslang3149]

My gym also has the beast maker 1000 and 2000. Is it ever worth using the slopers on top or not?

[@russellchow368]

i'd say sloper trainings are good for if you are struggling with slopers on climbs or you want to train for a specific project involving slopers. i think wrist strength/mobility is the most important for slopers though

[@cappy2282]

Does playing video games work the same as a finger board?

[@leaksfoos]

Your max hangs seem to be quite short (3-5 seconds or so), is that what you'd recommend? Much of what I've read before seems to suggest aiming for 10 seconds for max hangs, but shorter might make more sense as you can "max" more!

[@robert9guinn]

The way I thought about it was how Magnus says to climb quick 😂 so shorted max is the goal of climbing quick? Not sure if that’s applicable

[@leaksfoos]

@@robert9guinn yeah that makes sense, I don't tend to hang around for 10 seconds on a hold while I'm bouldering! It's interesting though because most max hangs advice seems to suggest longer. I wonder how short becomes too short!

[@zacharylaschober]

Muscle fibers need only a couple seconds at the most to recruit. I often instruct climbers to treat a repetition on a board as both the recruitment and hang rather than simply hanging time, and then do a 5 second hang where you will be fully engages for at least half of that. Much below this, and you have to be really aware of how much actual time you have under tension per repetition; it is easy to recruit from the ground and raise into position and be falling for say a 3 second hang.

[@arnaumargenet3463]

what about rests between sets?

[@blairmclaughlin6918]

What are the shoes? Patagonia?

[@jirkabajger6445]

There is no weak side. There is only strong side and stronger side.

[@tomadevil1]

Alex. Have you ever had any elbow injury due to hard training/climbing? If so, how did you get rid of it? Many thanks 💪🥕🥕🥕

[@masterpropper2485]

Do excentric exercises. Daily. Actually several times a day. Start slowly of course.

[@mouzgeilpapx]

γεια σου ρε Meggos αλανι !

[@GoodLuck-rh8tb]

Why don´t you train with both hands on, straight arm and added weight? The straight one arm hang seems very hard on the shoulder, is this fine?

[@alexandermegosAM]

that can be also a good training, but climbing is an asymetric sport and you have a more specific and complex stimulus hanging or pulling with one hand

[@zacharylaschober]

Id bet Alex can put on such a tremendous amount of weight as to be impractical and uncomfortable compared to a one armed with a small weight plate in hand. Plus a long discussion on passive tension and the stretching of titin, but seriously much over 45kg is just cumbersome, and any possible failure can be dangerous.

[@mewes_bb]

Pink tape is for skin or injury?

[@alexandermegosAM]

for bad skin

[@TenseiMc]

what is the name of this book that appeared at the beginning of the video?

[@alexandermegosAM]

Beastmaking from Ned Feehally

[@TenseiMc]

@@alexandermegosAM tnks bro

[@plinyelder8156]

Has anyone ever done a one finger pull up to get through a climb? Just wondering.

[@alexandermegosAM]

Everyday in Franconia 😅

[@skunkingdonuts3734]

Yeah i will hang on my pinky just like any normal training day 😂

[@6996Gunslinger]

ALLWAYS DO THE SESSION

[@bjdooi]

Alex looks like needs some sleep, get those 8hrs my man 🙏

[@alexandermegosAM]

no time for sleep... I have to train

[@keyssh9098]

These guys have infinite finger strength

[@drstrangelove85]

Perhaps there are people who can hang on 16 mm edges after a year of climbing but for most people, that seems a bit like a stretch. I also never meet anyone who could just do this from just climbing but perhaps I only know the weaklings :D

[@peterkapunkt6783]

I've been climbing for a year and a bit, cant hang on 16mm (as in can't get feet off the ground). On 21ish mm I can hang for second.

[@drstrangelove85]

@@peterkapunkt6783 I guess Alex could do it before stating to climb :D

[@tonymills8383]

That's why you start without fully loading with feet off the ground just gradually increase. Another technique I used was a chair or something for my feet in front and as I got better I moved it further away to make it a bit harder until I was basically loading my fingers with my full weight.

[@acs10396]

If I did that it would be "How to have broken fingers"

[@felipetorodiz4007]

So is it better to maybe train in 8-10 mm with no weight than 18 mm or so with weight?

[@arthurklause5251]

Die Pflanze war dir sicher dankbar, ich euch auch.

[@josephgormley1175]

Are you about to work around when you have finger injuries?

[@theMatIsLavaVlog]

I'm wondering at which age these pros started training their fingers. All the literature says that kids should not do campus/crimp training as it can lead to permanent damage. Did the pros ignore this medical advice and just get lucky not to permanently damage their fingers?

[@alexandermegosAM]

It's always a question of intensity, duration, and frequency when training with children. And also how well one can accompany the training process medically and preventively."

[@theMatIsLavaVlog]

Thanks for responding@@alexandermegosAM!!

[@noahl7510]

That’s a cool necklace is it an ancient coin?

[@whosVan]

Is this Alex replying? If so hi Alex

[@alexandermegosAM]

Of course its me 😀

[@manujk6802]

the End :D

[@joshuagoulden7467]

Are you watering the plant with coffee?

[@alexandermegosAM]

I have never drunk coffee...

[@senorblondie]

@@alexandermegosAM 🤯 you're missing out...

[@petrjirkovsky8087]

Rule number one: get born with it.

[@nub0rn]

not gonna lie, it was hard following the content at times, because I got so distracted by Chris' huge forearms

[@boulradi]

This video is very interesting. But Japanese subtitles are not satisfactory. Let me show you the correct interpretation in my video. Don't worry. Japanese subtitles are not all wrong.

[@chickenflair7977]

haha die davinci font xD

[@codyglasson8695]

Seems like a really overcomplicated way to say, "just eat more carrots."

[@niczzzs]

Don't water my plants Alex. Just don't.

[@dalbertoliveira8026]

Climb Organico ° Lolll

[@ssize_t]

...bruh one arm hang on a 15mm with +10kg? What the fuck :(

[@Adammagrath1]

There’s something that feels less than useful about these, they’re a little unengaging and feel unstructured. A more rigid plan would be useful

[@wulvw]

moin

[@physicalengineering50]

elon musk

[@khalid_amiin]

What is the name of the book at 0:16 ?

[@alexandermegosAM]

It's called "Beastmaking".

[@khalid_amiin]

@ thank u , climbing master