Hey people,

Just hoping some of ye could help me out with some trouble I am having with indoor rock climbing. Simply put, the problem is hand strength.

l recently joined the Outdoor Pursuits Club in college, mainly for the climbing and I've been at it for 2-3 months now. Wall is open to us for 3 hours, 3 days a week and I am usually there for most of that.

Does anyone know any exercises l could do around the house that focus on the hands and forearms because they're definitely my weak point when it comes to climbing.

Also if anyone knows any online instructional sites l could look up, similar to ExpertVillage.com, for info on techniques and all that, that'd be great too :)

Thanks in advance :)

squash balls.. lol... get two squash balls and kepp them with you most times.. when your doing nothing else.. just squeeze the life outa the things.. they are about the right size to improve your grip..
you can do individual finger thumb exercises with them too.. and also index and second finger with thumb... keep at it.. but dont forget to rest the day before you go on the wall.. recovery time.

It depends on the house, but l do pullups on the door frames. You know, the area at the top. l went from 3 pullups before my fingers gave out to 10 in 2 months. Our door frames is about 1/2 to 3/4. Hope this helps.

The best thing to do is to climb alot, the next best thing is to get a Metolius Hang Board. They are great for building forearm and finger strength. Ive got one myself and it works great.

http://rei.com/product/649051

You could also buy a forearm trainer. Sqeeze it as much as you can untill your forearms and fingers start to feel dead :)

http://rei.com/product/496308

I've always thought the best exercise for rock climbing is rock climbing.
If you're looking to improve your hand strength, l would concentrate on doing traversing. Stick to crippy hand holds while traversing. Do not forget to stretch your hand and fingers first.
Check your body fat %. Losing weight might help with making you feel like you have more strength.
Any kind of off the shelf climbing hand exercise device would help. l have a exercise ball.

Cool question, l had been wondering the same thing. The only thing that has kind of helped has been traversing a lot and focusing on using the smaller holds, crimps, etc. l *hope* it has helped, l kind of feel like it has so far =)

l agree with the others, simply climbing will allow u to get better. From the way it sounds, u r new to the sport, so it is to be expected that certain parts arent up to par yet. Take ur time so u dont hurt yourself (do not go on a crimpfest any time soon or u will damage the tendons in ur hands). Handstrength is controlled by muscles, they need rest between climbing sessions. If after a while u r still having the a hand strength issue, then a few suggestions:

If the trim is wide enough around ur door frames then pull ups & deadhangs r good. (suggested by someone else)

If u have the cash (and a place to bolt it to the wall) get a hang board. (Preferred) plus there r a lot of good routines out there for hang boards that if u stick w/ it, u will get strong fast enough. Just dont over do the hangboard & climbing at the gym.

If u have neither, then get a dowel as thick as ur thumb (a broomstick will work in snap). Stand up straight w/ feet spread shoulder width apart. Hold the dowel in front of you, arms straight holding it like handle bars. Roll dowel up (crank like on a motorcycle gas). This will work grip, forearms, shoulders, abs, & back. Roll it up to a count of 30, then roll it the opposite direction. Once that is easy attach a string w/ a weight on the end (20oz pop bottles r nice b/c u can change the weight by adding/removing water). Now, roll the dowel until u reel the bottle all the way up then slowly reel it back out. This sort of exercise also wont fry the tendons in ur fingers like hard core crimp fest will. Plus it is cheap & u likely have the materials at home. The nice thing is u can do it while standing infront of the TV.

hi.
(just wondering r u from wales.. coz WICC (climbing centre) has just reopened for three days a week.. & l was wondering if this is where u were climbing).

anywais.. l would recommend a lot of bouldering & looong climbs that arent too technical but with lots of crimps & stuff (small holds).. this will help with finger strenght..

also.. it would reaaly help finger strenght to get on some really knarly outdoor rock. just find a small rock face (for example by where l live there is one of those big viaducts which l go to & just boulder round the bottom of it..

if u want somting to do around the house for additional hand & forearm strength then u could try those hand grip things that u squeeze which is quite boring but if u get a good pair then they work .. & u can do them whenever.
(another strange way to overcome weak forearms is to tie a weight of somme kind to a rope & attach that to a stick like a hockey stick or something. then u can rotate it in u hands to
wrap the rope attached to the dangling weight away from the floor & back again.. hard to explain but if u got any of the then it works :P!)

sorri if im rambling
. happy climbing !

Have you got any house projects or repairs. swinging a hammer, raking leaves, moving a bush, painting a wall, Waxing a car? These are all great ways to improve your hand/arm strength and get something else down in the mean time.

Wax on.. Wax off

For increasing hand/finger strength, there are a myriad of devices you could use to help with this (spring loaded gadgets, squishy balls, rubbber rings, etc.).

To improve you forearm strength - do arm curls with free weights.