An All-Out Test to Determine Finger Flexor Critical Force in Rock Climbers
in International Journal of Sports Physiology and PerformancePurpose: The fatigue resistance of the finger flexors is known to be a key determinant of climbing performance. This study set out to establish the association between the single all-out assessment of finger flexor critical force (ff-CF) and the impulse above CF (W') on climbing performance (self-reported sport and boulder climbing ability). Methods: A total of 129 subjects completed an assessment of dominant arm ff-CF, comprised of a series of rhythmic isometric maximum voluntary contractions (CF defined as mean end-test force [in kilograms]; W' impulse above CF [in kilogram second]). Results: The ff-CF protocol resulted in the same force decay to a plateau seen in previous isometric critical torque and critical force tests. Linear regression analysis, adjusting for sex, revealed that CF percentage of body mass explained 61% of sport and 26% of bouldering performance and W' per kilogram body mass explained 7% sport and 34% bouldering performance. A combined model of CF as a percentage of body mass and W' per kilogram body mass, after adjustment for sex differences, was able to explain 66% of sport climbing and 44% of bouldering performance. Conclusions: The results illustrate the relevance of the CF threshold in describing the fatigue resistance of the finger flexors of rock climbers. Given ff-CF ability to describe a considerable proportion of variance in sport climbing and bouldering ability, the authors expect it to become a common test used by coaches for understanding exercise tolerance and for determining optimal training prescription.
Giles, Hartley, Hadley, Torr, and Randall are with the Lattice Training Ltd., Chesterfield, United Kingdom. Giles is also with the Health and Social Care Research Centre, College of Health and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom. Hartley, Maslen, Taylor, and Chidley are with the Human Sciences Research Centre, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom. Fryer is with the School of Sport and Exercise, University of Gloucestershire, Gloucester, United Kingdom.
© 2021 Human Kinetics