UKC

As I fell off some middling grade boulder problem at the wall last week, I got to idly wondering why my grip strength isn't much better than it is. After all, I've been climbing for about five years now, and in my case that involves hanging eighty-odd kilograms of me, from my fingers, off a variety of small holds, several times a week.

Now, were I of the body building persuasion, and had been lifting bigger and bigger weights several times a week for many years, I would expect to have huge biceps, muscle-y man-tits, and quite possibly a tiny cock (is it the steroids that do that? I digress...)

So, brains of UKC, why is it that grip strength seems to build so damn slowly?! And for a bonus point, why do body builders have small penises?

In reply to MikePemberton:

Because your fingers dont have muscles. There just tendons, and the tendons take alot longer to respond to training loads than muscle.

There are so many variations of grip, body position, etcetc which makes pulling on holds while 'several times a week' not very specific (in relation to doing weighs in the gym, which is the same movment over and over again). Get a fingerboard/campus board and start to isolate the fingers seem to be the conventional wisdom.

In reply to MikePemberton:

I can assure you that steroids aren't necessary.

In reply to Phil79:

Yes they do, tendon is just the link between bone and muscle. If you didn't have muscles for your fingers no movement could take place.
In reply to the OP: you already have strong fingers, you're just expecting them to work at elite levels with more weight than an elite climber.

In reply to MikePemberton: The bodybuilder bit is pish, but may be true of steroid users.

In reply to MikePemberton: Just what these lads have said here. Tendon strength takes much longer (3-4x) than muscular strength to gain. It also has to be trained in a very different way to muscle, as if you over train a tendon in a session you can be out of action for months, whereas over training a muscle will often take a week or so. If you isolate the fingers in your training using a campus board and use it 3-4 times a week, you will get strong fingers!

P.s. Body-builders have small penises before they get big. That's why they get so muscle-y, it's overcompensating.

Also steroids shrink your cock and balls and give you tits, due to your body upping the oestrogen to level out with the testosterone.

In reply to Serpico:


Well. How dare you!

You're probably right actually, I don't know what the ideal climber-weight is for someone who's six foot tall, but less than 87Kg I imagine. Although, and it's very nice of you to say so, I don't think V4 counts as an elite level

In reply to MikePemberton: The best way to improve your finger strength is to learn to use your feet.

In reply to overdrawnboy:

Great quote!

In reply to Serpico:
The flexors and extensors that control the fingers are in your forearms the only muscles in your hands control your thumbs and pinkies that's why climbers have over developed forearms.

In reply to MikePemberton:
And for a bonus point, why do body builders have small penises?

By adding more testosterone to your system in addition to what is already produced causes your body to respond by decreasing its own production or to go as far as completely switching off its own production.

Repeated and prolonged exposure to exogenous testosterone causes your glands that would of produced this hormone to reduce quite literally due to underuse. Net result is a lowered testicular volume as opposed to decreased penis size.

I am unsure what would cause decreased penis size other than the cold and unlike the former it is only temporary.

In reply to superfurrymonkey:
Sorry climbers with strong fingers have over developed forearms!

In reply to superfurrymonkey:

He was contesting the statement that fingers don't have muscles, not their location, I think.

In reply to MikePemberton:

I think most of us wish for stronger fingers.

I dunno... train more, on smaller holds, for longer, with less rests, or add weight. Eventually you'll be stronger.

In reply to MikePemberton:

I imagine body builders who want to get big have a proper training strategy taking into account averloading, periodization, diet and loads of other things. Where as I expect you, like me and 95% of climbers, just potter around at the wall a couple of times a week and hope that it'll be enough to crush.

Unfortunately, it isn't.

In reply to superfurrymonkey:

not true.... your lumbricals and interrosei are in your hand and act on all fingers predominantly through the MCP joints. In a climbing context they are particularly relevant on flatties and slopers.

In reply to Simon Lee:


Correct.

In reply to maxpie:

Also correct, and it's been shown these muscles show significant hypertrophy in climbers.

In reply to superfurrymonkey:

Over developed? Surely they're only over developed if they cause a problem like compartment syndrome, otherwise well developed is a more accurate description.