Climbing Finger Strength Analyzer

"I've been climbing hard for some years, but I hit a performance plateau. Thanks to StrengthClimbing, I finally reached the next level in a fast, progressive, and safe way with a personalized program! I achieved my best bouldering results, and I feel strong and healthy in my fingers as I've never felt!"

"After a few months, I climbed my highest bouldering AND sport climbing grades! I'm still following the training, and I can't wait to see what it will bring! It's a combination of the most efficient training methods out there, synthesized into specific training plans for your personal goal! All thanks to Jędrzej's dedication, based on accurate studies and researches moved by passion for the topic!"

"Jędrzej! Giovanni made it. Biologico 5.14d/9a. The numbers were right. Thank you!"

"I'm really satisfied with your support and communication, it's the best I've ever had from a trainer, until now!!!"

"I can feel my fingers (crimping and grip) much stronger than before and my endurance has grown substantially. In short, I have found my coach!"

"Jędrzej's programs are always so easy to follow and specifically designed for my needs and style of climbing! If you want to get stronger and remain motivated I strongly recommend training with Jędrzej!"

"I used to overtrain, but with Jędrzej's personalized approach, I feel I have more energy and strength when I rock climb, which makes me enjoy it more. Improving becomes an inevitable consequence!"

"After 8 weeks of training, my finger strength increased by 17%! Thanks again for your wonderful site and your help selecting a plan! I can't wait to go crush!"

Climbing Finger Strength Analyzer

The Climbing Finger Strength Analyzer will allow you to see how strong your fingers truly are. This will give you a basic idea of how hard you should be able to boulder and how much time you should invest in strength training to progress. It will also allow you to determine whether it’s strength or technique that is potentially holding you back! So get your weight belt on, or a bucket full of sand, and hop on the hangboard, to see if you’re the next Alex Megos! Let me know in the comments, if the result was accurate for you!

Climbing Finger Strength Analyzer Instructions

Pick an edge between 10 – 20 mm deep, and hang for as long as you can. You can add or subtract weight, or simply hang at your body weight. Use any grip position you like, although the half crimp is preferred. Input your body weight, the total hang load and time, and see the result!

Note: Shorter hang times at higher loads produce more accurate results. This is only a rough finger strength estimation – remember that in bouldering technique is also very important!

The Climbing Finger Strength Analyzer uses a conversion algorithm between hang time and edge depth, which is based on my personal research. The hang time to maximum strength calculation is based on a variation of the Rohmert’s curve [1]. You can find more information on the Rohmert’s curve and other hang time mathematical models in [2].

The bouldering level prediction is based on the results of the survey published at [3].

References

Rohmert, W., 1960. Ermittlung von Erholungspausen für statische Arbeit des Menschen. Internationale Zeitschrift für Angewandte Physiologie Einschliesslich Arbeitsphysiologie 18, 123–164. (link)↩
J. Banaszczyk, StrengthClimbing – Steve Bechtel’s 3-6-9 Ladders Hangboard Finger Strength Training, May 18, 2019. (link)↩
https://toclimb8a.shinyapps.io/maxtograde/ (link)↩

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Reviews from my clients and collaborators:

"Jędrzej! Giovanni made it. Biologico 5.14d/9a. The numbers were right. Thank you!"

"I'm really satisfied with your support and communication, it's the best I've ever had from a trainer, until now!!!"

"I can feel my fingers (crimping and grip) much stronger than before and my endurance has grown substantially. In short, I have found my coach!"

"I used to overtrain, but with Jędrzej's personalized approach, I feel I have more energy and strength when I rock climb, which makes me enjoy it more. Improving becomes an inevitable consequence!"

"After 8 weeks of training, my finger strength increased by 17%! Thanks again for your wonderful site and your help selecting a plan! I can't wait to go crush!"

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About the author

Jędrzej

A veteran hangboarder and a Moonboard fan, Jędrzej is crazy about training for climbing. There’s nothing he likes more than trying out different protocols and applying the newly acquired skills on the wall. Jędrzej also enjoys playing the electric guitar, baduk, and reading articles on the science of sports training. He holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering.

6 thoughts on “Climbing Finger Strength Analyzer”

Anna
January 26, 2022 at 5:12 pm

which board is the best for this test? 15mm on the tension vs beastmaker feel *very* different to me

Reply
1. Jędrzej
  January 28, 2022 at 7:37 pm
  
  Hi Anna!
  I never tried the tension hangboard, but the beastmakers usually work well with these tests – it’s becoming a standard. There will always be differences between hangboards – it’s inevitable – but they’re not very big. I once compared the Lattice Edge with the Zlagboard – they have completely different edge radius and the difference in the results was less than 5%, which is normally considered negligible.
  
  Reply
Johan Nielsen
April 30, 2020 at 7:06 pm

You never actually address if this is two hand hang or a 1 hand hang…maybe I missed it. I am assuming two based on results but just wanted to double check.

My body weight was 213 lbs test day and was able to add 80 lbs. Says V6-V7 which is where I would like think I will and would mean added a grade during quarantine…but quarantine is first time I have ever really trained fingers hard consistently and seen big improvements in numbers…won’t have anyway to verify until gyms open back up in my area

Reply
1. Jędrzej
  May 1, 2020 at 3:15 am
  
  Hi Johan!
  
  Yes, the calculator is calibrated for two-arm hangs. I do my best to keep everything thoroughly explained, but I sometimes miss a spot, so thank you for this comment!:) I’m currently working on a highly improved version, so I will rewrite the post and make sure that it clearly says “two arms.”
  
  I double-checked your numbers with the new algorithm. It takes into account your height and how often you train on the hangboard. I assumed that you’re 190 cm and that you train at least twice a week, a mix between MaxHangs and Repeaters. With that data, you should indeed currently be between low V6 and high-end V7, depending on your current hangboarding focus (strength or hypertrophy). Did I get the input right?
  
  Reply
Tom Hodges
February 24, 2020 at 5:08 am

Wow, I thought my fingers were okay… apparently they are very weak! I boulder up to V5 but can only hang at bodyweight for 5seconds on the 15mm edge.

Reply
1. Jędrzej
  February 24, 2020 at 8:01 pm
  
  Hi Tom!
  Thank you very much for your comment! What type of formation/area do you climb? Slopers? Crimps? Unfortunately, 5 seconds at bodyweight on a 15 mm edge is not a lot, but the good news is that there is ample room for improvement!
  
  There are a lot of training methods that can get your finger strength up to par! Have you done any hangboarding before? If not, then you will find it extremely helpful, just take it slow!
  
  If you need help setting up an effective hangboard training plan, write me an email with some more details about your climbing history and goals, and I will try to help you to the best of my ability.
  
  Kind regards,
  Jędrzej
  
  Reply