Sport Climbing Level Calculator – Automatic Climbing Assessment!

"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!"

Sport Climbing Level Calculator - Introduction

Have you ever wondered how hard you could lead climb at your current fitness level? Do you feel stuck on a sport climbing plateau, despite having super strong fingers? Or maybe your endurance is excellent, and you're considering investing time in finger strength training? Would you like to know how hard other climbers with comparable finger strength and forearm endurance climb?

If so, running a simple test with the Sport Climbing Level Calculator can let you answer your questions and help you get on track with your training! All you need to do is measure your finger strength and endurance, input the data into the calculator, and you'll instantly receive an evaluation of the most critical facets of sport climbing performance!

Test

The calculator lets you compare your finger strength and endurance with data from hundreds of other climbers, which I collected over more than four years of doing climbing research and running the site. It outputs the climbing grade you should be able to send with your current results and gives you precise suggestions regarding what aspects of your climbing you should focus on to move forward.

Register and get 1-month access to the full version of the calculator, together with all Premium Content on Strengthclimbing.com. In the sections below, you'll find detailed instructions on using the tool to leverage its full potential and to get an accurate automatic assessment.

Unregistered users can try out the demo version of the calculator to get a glimpse of its capabilities. In addition, I've prepared a set of trial values that you can input to see how it works!

Demo version test

To test the Demo Version of the Sport Climbing Level Calculator, please input the demo dataset:

Body Weight: 65 kg or 144.4 lbs
Test edge: 20 mm
MVC-7: 105 kg or 233.3 lbs
T80: 77 s
T60: 136 s
T45: 323 s

Identify your climbing weaknesses

I often ask other climbers why they love climbing and usually get similar answers. It's about hanging around with buddies, being in nature, and living an adventure. But it's also about focusing on a challenge, the act of self-improvement, and being able to surpass their weaknesses. Yes, climbing is a great sport, and we spend much of our time trying to get better at it to impress our friends and even ourselves by achieving what we thought was impossible.

And yet, one of the most frustrating things about climbing is when we hit a plateau. After a few years of training, most of us have been there. You climb a lot, have a fixed training routine that works, progress continuously, and suddenly boom - your progress stalls.

That's a clear sign that you need to change how you train. Maybe you were focusing too much on finger strength training or completely neglected it and relied solely on aerobic endurance. On the other hand, it's also possible that your anaerobic endurance is poor, and you get pumped quickly after a few hard moves. You may lack technique and tactics because you need to climb outdoors more. Or, contrary to that, you might be overtraining by combining long weekends at the crag with hard weekly training at the gym during the summer.

Getting a clear perspective can be challenging when trying to find your own weaknesses, so the best solution is to find a coach, get him to take a closer look at your climbing, and ask for a training program tailored to your goals. The second best option is to run a series of tests and send them to an experienced climbing analyst for a remote assessment. However, both these options can be costly and time-consuming.

That's why I created the Sport Climbing Performance Analyzer tool, which can quickly pinpoint what's holding you back and see what improvements you can expect if you address the issue. Of course, nothing can replace a good climbing coach, but the tool will quickly show you how to eradicate your most significant climbing deficits and get back on track with your progress.

Sport Climbing Level Calculator instructions

In the paragraphs below, you will find detailed instructions on how to perform the measurements safely and accurately. But, again, remember that thorough preparation is essential.

Equipment required for performing the measurements

To perform the Sport Climbing Level Calculatoe measurements, you'll need the following:

A hangboard with a wooden 10 - 35 mm edge
Some additional load
A pulley setup for reducing your body weight
Bathroom scales or a crane scale
A means to measure test time

As far as the hangboard is concerned, if you're going for the standard 20 mm test, you have the following options:

Use a Lattice Rung
Use any other wooden hangboard with 20 mm (Hangboard 3.0, Grindstone, BM1k , etc.)
Use BM2k 33 mm middle row big holds with 13 mm inserts [1]
Make your own 20 mm edge

For weaker climbers, performing the test with a 30 mm edge or a 33 mm edge (BM2K default) might be better. That will also enable smaller load reductions when designing the Endurance Repeaters exercise protocol [2]. Of course, you must ensure that you use the same edge for the MVC-7 measurements and the following endurance measurements.

Be well rested

To correctly test your finger strength and endurance with the Sport Climbing Level Calculator, ensure that you are well rested from your previous climbing activities. That typically means resting for 24 - 72 after your last training session, depending on its intensity.

Warm up and recruit

Before engaging in any climbing activities, you should warm up thoroughly. Pay special attention to your back, shoulders, forearms, and fingers. Then, top up your warm-up with a series of 3 - 5 progressively heavier 7 - 10 second hangs. For detailed information on warming up for climbers, you may look at my article, this video from Dr. Tyler Nelson, or this video on how to warm up your fingers specifically [3][4][5].

Determine your weight

To perform an accurate measurement, you should prepare a bathroom scale, a hook scale, or a dedicated tool, such as the Tindeq Progressor [6]. It is recommended to weigh yourself in full gear with the added load before each test hang. However, it is also helpful to know your body's weight to relate it to the total hang load.

Select the tested hold position

The Sport Climbing Level Calculator is designed for tests on flat wooden edges in the half-crimp or open-hand position - you may choose the stronger hold position. The tests can be performed on any edge depth between 10 - 35 mm. Typically the tests are performed on 20 mm edges, but weaker climbers will find deeper edges more useful.

Test your MVC-7

The MVC-7 test is the first test you must run to assess your finger strength and get the point of reference for your other tests. If this is your first time doing this, please refer to this article to familiarize yourself with maximum finger strength testing and weighted hangs [7]. Here you'll find tons of helpful information on how to run the test safely and accurately.

Let's say you weigh 68 kg, and you take the MVC-7 test on a 20 mm edge. You can add 32 kg to the body weight and hang for 7 seconds, so the MVC-7 load is 100 kg. Now we can calculate your 80%, 60% and 45% loads, which are 80 kg, 60 kg and 45 kg respectively.

Test your T80%

The 80% MVC-7 test is like doing a Heavy Repeaters until failure. It lets you check the efficiency of your anaerobic alactic/lactic system, which is critical for sending routes with hard bouldery cruxes. To set the 80% load, you must add 12 kg to the harness. Execute a set of 7/3 Repeaters until failure. Add the hanging times together. This means that if you were able to execute 10 full hangs and failed at hang 11 in the 4-th second, then your T80% is 74 seconds. Rest 15 minutes before the next test.

Test your T60%

The 60% MVC-7 test specifically targets your anaerobic lactic system, which is heavily taxed when climbing through sustained sequences of moderately hard moves. To set the 60% load, you must remove 8 kg using a pulley system. Execute a set of 7/3 Repeaters until failure. Add the hanging times together. This means that if you were able to execute 15 full hangs and failed at hang 16 in the 4-th second, then your T60% is 109 seconds. Rest 30 minutes before the next test.

Test your T45/50/55%

The 45/50/55% MVC-7 test lets you verify how well your aerobic endurance system works. To set the 45% load, you must remove 23 kg using a pulley system. Execute a set of 7/3 Repeaters until failure. Add the hanging times together. This means that if you were able to execute 60 full hangs and failed at hang 61 in the 4-th second, then your T45% is 424 seconds.

If your aerobic endurance is very good, and you are able to last more than 10 minutes at the 45% load, you should change the load to 50% or even 55% of your MVC-7 and redo the test. Enter your data into the form and press calculate.

Sport Climbing Level Calculator - Summary

Of course, climbing is about more than just the fingers, so these four tests can't give the athlete's complete climbing profile. However, it is surprising how precisely they predict the climber's current redpoint max.

I've been using this algorithm over the last four years with my clients, and I've found it accurate down to half a grade most of the time. Please try it yourself and let me know in the comments about your results!

References

r/climbharder, Beastmaker 1000 and 2000 edge/hold sizes, Jul. 18, 2019. (link)↩
J. Banaszczyk, StrengthClimbing – Endurance Repeaters – Forearm Aerobic Endurance Hangboard Routine, May 2, 2019.(link)↩
J. Banaszczyk, StrengthClimbing - 9 Powerful Reasons To Warm-Up For Rock Climbers (Review), Dec. 4, 2020. (link)↩
Dr. T. Nelson, C4HP, Connective tissue warm-up drill, Jan. 31, 2020. (link)↩
A. MacFarlane, Finger Warm Up for Climbers, Oct. 4, 2020. (link)↩
tindeq.com (link)↩
J. Banaszczyk, StrengthClimbing – Finger Strength Measurements For Rock Climbers Made Easy!, Feb. 17, 2023.(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.

3 thoughts on “Sport Climbing Level Calculator – Automatic Climbing Assessment!”

manuel rios
November 29, 2023 at 2:57 am

Dear JĘDRZEJ,
I want to increase my performance in rock climbing,
My results were,

body weight 70kg
add weight 65kg
test edge 19mm
MVC*7 135KG
80% 66s
60% 126s
50% 182s

Reply
Patryk
October 8, 2023 at 7:10 pm

What is your view regarding CF training as 20min fingerboard sessions are bit dull. Would regular 7-3 max repeaters over 4minutes improve CF as well ?

Reply
1. Jędrzej
  October 18, 2023 at 7:03 am
  
  Dear Patryk,
  
  Dull? Maybe so, but if you don’t have the time to go to the crag or to the climbing gym, it’s still the best way to improve your endurance.
  
  Unfortunately, 7/3 max Repeaters (at 80% MVC-7) will have minimal effect on your CF. You’ll improve your anaerobic endurance, though, which could be helpful on short, powerful routes. To improve your aerobic endurance, you must bite the bullet and invest time in CF training on the hangboard or ARC training on the wall. You may watch a climbing video during the exercise to get stoked – it worked for me.
  
  Reply