In terms of physical attributes, increasing relative peak finger force is central to taking your climbing to the next level—think of this as the finger force you can apply to a rock hold in relation to the body mass the fingers must support.  Improving this finger strength-to-weight ratio is possible by increasing the numerator (greater finger strength) and decreasing the denominator (lowering body mass). While there are many different fingerboard training methods/protocols/programs (some good, some bad) in the public domain, this podcasts will present four evidence-based protocols that work. Experienced climbers, with no recent history of injury to the fingers/elbows/shoulders, can employ one of these maximum-grip-strength protocols on a twice-a-week basis as supplement to time spent climbing. Aggregate number of climbing and finger training days per week must not exceed four—resting the fingers a minimum of three days per week is essential for neuromuscular recovery and finger tendon remodeling. Break this rule and you’ll likely end up “broken”….in one way or another. Podcast Rundown: 1:14 - Review of 5 reasons why stronger fingers are central to taking your climbing to the next level 4:24 - Intro to maximum finger strength training on a hangboard 4:50 - Importance of "Relative Peak Finger Force" 10:10 - 3 Hangboard training modalities 13:33 - Training protocol 1: "Minimum Edge" 19:14 - Training protocol 2: "Maximum Weight 10-second Hangs" 25:20 - Training protocol 3: "7-53 Weight Hangs" 32:00 - Training protocol 4: "7/3 Repeaters" 41:00 - How to fingerboard with good technique...to protect & strengthen your shoulders. 45:05 - Hangboard training program design - How to integrate your with your other workouts and performance climbing. 53:00 - Closing comments Music: Misty Murphy Download all the monthly training podcasts for free by subscribing to the "Eric Horst's Training for Climbing" podcast on iTunes. Please leave a review on iTunes!