When it comes to improving overall finger strength, hangboards are the gold standard. However, hangboard training works most effectively when training for edge, pocket, and crimp holds. They are, however, not as effective for improving pinch strength. The main reason for this is that pinches on hangboards allow you to compress between the holds. This reduces the overall load on your fingers and especially your thumbs, which is exactly what you are trying to train!

To help you train pinch strength more effectively, here’s an article from Rock and Ice by British trainer and coach Neil Gresham.

“While elite boulderers seem to be able to crush the most marginal sloping features, many sport and trad climbers lag behind in this respect, and favor routes and problems with incut holds. With sloper strength and pinch strength linked, since most slopers require use of the thumb, many climbers are weak in both. Conversely, training in either improves the other.” – Neil Gresham

Improve Your Pinch Strength

In his article, Gresham outlines the main things we should keep in mind when trying to assess and then train our abilities on pinches. They are:

• Wide, medium, narrow?
• Deep or shallow?
• Finger or thumb strength?

Keeping these questions in mind, Gresham describes how to assess your ability on pinches and then describes the seven options for how to train pinch strength. Some of his options require specialized equipment, but with all of his suggestions, he outlines their relative strengths and weaknesses. This way you will be able to determine which style of pinch training makes the most sense for you.

Click through below to read the full article. You’ll thank yourself next time you pull up to the crux and there’s nothing to do but own the terrible pinch staring you in the face!

Full Article: Rock and Ice – Improve Your Pinch Strength

(photo courtesy of rockandice.com)

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