Finger training is one of the essential components of climbing-specific training. But which exercises and methods specifically improve maximum strength, strength endurance, and other factors? A ranking by training experts provides clarity – for beginners to advanced climbers.
Whether explosive on a campus board, endurance on a hangboard, or powerful with additional weight: there are many training exercises and methods for finger strength. Climbers who are just starting out with specific finger training should be familiar with some exercises – and avoid others.
When does finger training make sense?
In principle, sports medicine agrees that targeted finger training is only useful if the athlete injury-free is and already climbs for at least a year or bouldering. The risk of injury is extremely high, especially for beginners, whose tendons, capsules, and pulleys are not yet accustomed to the regular strain.
Especially in the first year of climbing, more can be achieved through climbing and bouldering than through finger training.
Young climbers: Too early finger training is harmful
Even with young, not fully grown climbers Finger training can do more harm than good, because excessive strain can cause, among other things, so-called growth plate stress fractures. Therefore, most experts agree that targeted finger training with additional weights is only advisable when no further growth spurts are expected.
Most finger injuries in young climbers occur during training, not while climbing.
from study by Audry Morrison and Dr. Volker Schöffl
sports physician Volker Schöffl goes even further: "There is generally no need for a campus board or additional weights for climbers under 18-20 years of age," writes the specialist and team doctor of the German national climbing team.1 Overall, injuries to the fingers, hands or arms affect around half of all climbers during their active climbing life.2
Guest article: How to start hangboard training
Janja Garnbret swears by it, never to hangboard – nevertheless, Beastmaker & Co. are popular warm-up and training tools for climbers of (almost) all levels. Christoph Völker is himself an experienced and passionate climber and expert in climbing training. In a guest article for us, he wrote about how beginners can best get started with hangboarding training.
Finger training: which exercises you should know
The climbing coach Josh Hadley from Lattice training and Ollie Torr have a lot of experience as trainers from beginners to professionals like Erin McNeiceFrom a variety of exercises and training tools, they have identified three that, in their experience, have particularly high added value for climbers.
Most effective according to the duo: Board climbing (on the training board), Max-Hangs with additional weight (on the hangboard) and Block lifts with additional weight – not on the hangboard, but with a bar.
Climbing on a board is the most climbing-specific finger training – but it also involves the risk of injury.
Ollie Torr
While the latter two exercises aren't as climbing-specific as board climbing, they are "very easy to learn and can be done at home," says Ollie Torr. Different types of holds (open, semi-open, and upright) can also be practiced.
Generally speaking, before finger training proper warm-up This is extremely important for injury prevention. Especially on kilterboards, moonboards, and the like, which have small grips, signs of overuse can quickly appear, indicating an increased risk that must be recognized. These include, above all, pain during and after training.
20 training exercises in the ranking
The coaching duo of Josh Hadley and Ollie Torr present a total of 20 more or less well-known training exercises, methods, and tools for finger strength. For their final ranking, they evaluate them according to three criteria:
- How effective is the exercise?
- How well can it be implemented over a longer period of time?
- Who is the exercise most suitable for and why?
Video: All finger strength exercises ranked
That might interest you
- More helps more? | Why "climbing more" doesn't make you stronger faster
- These are the best (and worst) training exercises for climbers
+ + +
Credits cover photo: DAV/Frank Kretschmann
- Morrison A, Schöffl V (2025): Should under 18s use the campus board? BMC. https://www.thebmc.co.uk/en/should-u18s-use-campus-boards-finger-injuries ↩︎
- Hochholzer T, Schöffl V (2003). One Move too many… how to understand the injuries and overuse syndromes of rock climbing. Lochner Verlag, Germany. ↩︎