Hand Strength

Question
Hi George, first of all I'd just like to say I'm not a climber, and don't have any desire to climb, partly due to my fear of heights.

I am actually interested in any techniques that climbers might use to increase hand strength. I started lifting weights recently and am a guy with skinny wrists which seem to be fairly weak.

I remember watching a documentary a few years back on climbing which showed a guy with connective tissue and other parts of his hands and wrist which had seemingly grown due to being worked so hard during his climbing. He demonstrated parts that had grown which would not exist on average non climbing people.

I would like to know if this is something you are familiar with and if you could recommend exercises or books which might teach ways to increase hand strength.

I'm not sure if you'll be able to answer my question but if you can and to save me asking a follow up do you think it's possible for the wrist and the tendons to grow in order to cope with the increased pressures from climbing or excercises?

Thanks

Francis Costello

Answer
Dear FC----I am not an exercize specialist, and I have no sport training background....but since you ask...I'll offer an answer in two parts:

(1) Climbers definitely have strong forearms and wrists.  This comes from holding onto small holds with their finger tips, and from flexing their forearms.  Because of the consequences of letting go---climber are motivated to hold-on very tightly. This is a good workout.  You can simulate this with hand strengthening tools like squeeze balls, or squeeze grips, and dead hangs from bars.
(2) If you do an extreme amount of hand exercises, you may set your self up for musculskeletal diseases like carpal tunnel sundrome or tendonitis.  I over-worked in my teens and twenties---then hit the computer keyboard in my thirties.  Now I have carpal tunnel syndrome and it makes for very painful hands.

Its worth remembering that cumulative trauma in youth can make for unhappy middle or senior years.  Last year I met a 20-something med student who had permanently disabled his arms by spending too much time training on indoor climbing walls.

Good Luck