UKC

Has anyone completed the lattice fingerboard assessment and compared their results to the data set?

I thought it would be interesting to gauge my current level to the data they have collected.

It concluded that I am about as strong as a field mouse and clearly need to continue using my fingerboard as much as possible. Apparently people climbing similar grades would be expected to hang an extra 50% on top of their bodyweight.

Granted I did it on an 18mm edge as opposed to 20mm but I was still only able to hang 20kg for the 7seconds required.

At least I now know where my training should be focused 😂

In reply to Liam Taylor:

How does one do that?

In reply to Liam Taylor:

Hi Dave

It is a free assessment on the lattice website. They email the link across to you then I used the max test session on the crimpd app (well worth downloading if you train regularly) 

It is very straightforward to do. Essentially add weight incrementally until you can't complete a 7 seconds hang. Mine was apparently appalling 

In reply to Liam Taylor:

I have done the finger strength assessment and the full remote assessment. The finger strength stuff is interesting for sure and gives a good benchmark. I found the remote assessment to have a lot of fluff and not really helpful in identifying real weaknesses. I really struggle with general physical strength but have insane pull-up and finger strength. I do well on the tests but it doesn't translate to climbing. Quite frustrating until I've started reading up on Steve Bechtel's material and things became quite a bit clearer and I've started progressing quite rapidly again.

It's not a terrible product, but climbing is more than just finger strength. Expect significant blind spots in the lattice test as it does not really test for general physical strength which is a key component that doesn't get discussed very much.

https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards

The website above is helpful for identifying potential body weaknesses. You should be roughly even in the core compound lifts (pull-up, row, bench press, squat and deadlift), perhaps a bit ahead in the pulling exercises. If you are miles apart in any of them, you could potentially be looking at low hanging fruit. Obviously finger strength should ideally match the general population for the grade you are climbing too. 

In reply to Liam Taylor:

That's great I will take a look at that.

I understand there are so many variables involved in climbing  I just thought it was interesting and a bit of fun to see where I sat within their averages. 

I probably should have mentioned that I would be a total anomaly as I'm 6ft 7 and approximately 90kg. Grades are even more subjective when applied to myself as certain things are extremely easy. Conversely anything remotely bunched is neigh on impossible, regardless of the grade. 

Many thanks for your reply, it's interesting to hear how others have got on and what they deducted from it 

In reply to Liam Taylor:

Geez man, you are tall!!!! I'm pretty tall myself too, but not quite as tall as that. 

Good luck with it, I have found the strength side quite a revelation, perhaps more so than fingerstrength. If you spend a lot of time at a desk and haven't really done sports like me, there is a good chance that there might be something there. Ultimately only one way to go and find out though!

The lattice test is good as a benchmarking tool, just keep in mind that you will only be as strong as your weakest link.

In reply to Liam Taylor:

Hmm, finger strength marked down by a purveyor of fingerboards and training plans, never!

In reply to Liam Taylor:

Can't imagine the guys at lattice fabricating results from their years of hard work and data collection. But maybe I'm being naive. 

In reply to Liam Taylor: I took the test a couple of months ago; was just under one standard deviation below the mean for 7C. If you don't regularly max hang on the hangboard your results will most likely not reflect your true finger strength as it's quite a learnt skill - that's my excuse at least

In reply to Liam Taylor:

Was it based on the max grade redpointed in < 10 sessions? When I did a Lattice assessment it was. And what grade did it relate to? That amount of weight seems pretty respectable, given the grades on your profile.

Although I was forgetting to account for bodyweight.

In reply to Liam Taylor:

Yea I had assumed it was relating to max redpoint/worked grades although I don't think I have ever put 10 sessions in to anything. Lattice reckon a 128% hang would be expected from someone bouldering v4. If the data is correct which I have no doubt it is it may have highlighted a fairly obvious area improvement so I can take that as a positive.

After a lengthy break (8years) from climbing I have decided to try and put some time in and  do some of the routes/grades I didn't in my youth. Here's to hoping 😀

In reply to Liam Taylor:

If you don't fingerboard regularly, you'll do well to not see a big improvement. Although I found beyond a certain point you just seem to get better at fingerboarding, and it doesn't translate to climbing so much (as somebody else pointed out).

In reply to Liam Taylor: You must weigh 100 kg? If you can hang 20kg+, but not 128%.

I'm not sure the Lattice assessments will be super reliable on people who haven't been climbing for long, and don't do enough climbing to get the 'lumps ' out of their technique

In reply to wbo2:

I couldn't hang 128% but that was the closest data they released. I'm exactly 90kg at the minute and +20 was all I managed. Having climbed an awful lot in the past and just returning from a long hiatus I'm hoping to see fairly quick gains at the start. Being back on the rock has made me wonder why I ever stopped

In reply to Liam Taylor:

There was a good thread about this a while back which I can’t find from a quick look. However seem to recall that there was some discussion about the Lattice data set. It’s an excellent data set and presumably the largest in the world but could it have some inherent bias towards people who train finger strength, as those are the people who tend to take the test? Hence someone who relies more on technique and all round climbing related strength, rather than pure finger strength, would be an outlier on the bell curve distribution. They might even have decent finger strength but it might not be optimised to fingerboarding, as that takes a bit of getting used to. I probably fall into these categories myself.

That said, the data set should give you a good indication of where you are, even if it’s got some inherent bias (which it might not, as I don’t actually know what ‘kind’ of climbers take the test - there could be lots of people who don’t fingerboard who take it just out of interest).

In reply to Liam Taylor:

I wouldn't read too much into the test result. Lattice are not fabricating the results but they are selling the concept of remote assessment and training plans. It is helpful for them if customers believe their tests are valid. Lattice do not divulge the predictive power of the test and it is pretty clear why they don't. The published huge variation in results between folk climbing the same grade suggesting this test is not a great predictor or benchmark. To be fair to them, they have eased back on their “data driven” claims more recently. 

Your result, supposedly too weak for the grade you climb, is repeated in almost everyone I know who climbs outside and is not a fingerboard fanatic. I conclude either hanging from a strip of wood is a poor predictor of performance on rock or the population self-selecting for Lattice assessment is unrepresentative. Probably a bit of both. 

Your best onsight grades were 7b and E3. This is a bit of a disparity and suggests finger strength was less of an issue than factors such as your head game and tactics in trad. climbing. These factors may also apply to sport climbing. Fingerboarding in particular and remotely assessed training plans in general seem unlikely to address what appear to be your major weakness(es). 

I’m another who shouldn't be able to climb the grades I do according to lattice finger testing. I’ve just got back from Siurana where I failed on El corridón de la muerte (7a+), which is a boulder problem on small glossy holds. Some coaches might have me doing lots of fingerboarding to make up for my ‘lack’ of finger strength but that would be missing the point. I could piss the crimpy crux on top rope after a short amount of working but my head completely let me down. 

I do blocks of fingerboarding intermittently for general strength and conditioning to reduce the risk of injury. At my grades (7a-b, E3-4) I don't find fingerboarding affects my performance. I don’t climb better when I’m stronger on a fingerboard. What I hope it does is enable me to climb with less likelihood of tweaks.