Podcast insights
What Elite Climbing Coaches Say About Training
Ask six professional climbers how they train finger strength and you won't get six hangboard protocols — you'll get board climbing, pickup edges, one-arm hangs abandoned for more 'active' methods, and one pro who just picks the crimpiest boulders in the gym. We mined real transcripts from Lattice Training to capture what elite climbers and coaches actually say about training — in their own words, verified against the source audio.
From 2 episodes on PodLearn
Fingerboard numbers motivate, but board climbing has become the preferred finger-strength tool because it spares skin and keeps you moving.
But if I go really hard, I destroy my skin. So I think board climbing is my favorite now because it is climbing and you're still moving on the board.
Specificity wins: pros rate board climbing as the most climbing-relevant way to load the fingers.
Without a doubt, my favorite exercise is board climbing. I feel like this trains my fingers in the most relevant way.
Even one-arm hang devotees are migrating to pickup (block-lifting) exercises, which feel more active and controllable.
I think a few years ago I'd have told you that I thought one-armed hanging was the best thing. But a lot more recently, I've done a lot more pickup-based stuff. It feels a lot more active to me.
Adherence beats optimization: pick the finger training you'll actually stick to, and progress load gradually with a pickup edge.
A pickup edge for me is a good way to slowly build up the weight. Whatever works for you, do it, because training is not always fun. So if you find something that you like, that's going to make you stick to it.
You don't need apparatus at all — hard, crimpy bouldering is itself elite-level finger training.
I'd say the most effective finger strength training I've done has probably just been picking out the crimpy boulders at the wall and trying really hard.
Technique is trained through deliberate repetition — add the target move to every boulder in your warm-up.
the best way to improve is always going to be just to keep practicing them. So when you might go for a heel normally, see if you can do it with a toe, or try and add a toe hook to every boulder in your warm-up.
Episodes this draws from
- How 6 pro climbers train finger strength
Lattice Training
- How to Toe Hook: 5 Essential Tips
Lattice Training
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FAQ
What is the best exercise for climbing finger strength?
There's no single answer — among the pros interviewed by Lattice Training, board climbing was the most popular because it loads the fingers in a climbing-specific way, while others prefer pickup edges for controlled progressive loading or simply projecting crimpy boulders. The consistent theme: pick a method you enjoy enough to do consistently.
Is hangboarding or board climbing better for climbers?
Several pros who used to fingerboard heavily have shifted toward board climbing, citing skin damage from maximal fingerboard sessions and the fact that board climbing trains fingers while you're actually moving. Fingerboarding still shines for measurable, number-driven progression.
How do climbers improve technique like toe hooks?
Deliberate practice volume: substitute the technique into climbs where you'd normally do something else (a toe hook instead of a heel hook) and add it to every boulder in your warm-up. Key execution cues are full-foot contact, whole-chain tension from toe to core, and hips positioned under the hold.
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