exercises/routine to build hand mass...

[Kaladryn]

It's almost impossible for non-climbers to comprehend the level of difficulty we are talking about here, indoor climbing ratings don't do justice to actual outdoor climbs either, especially sustained overhangs!

 

[alfresco]

It's almost impossible for non-climbers to comprehend the level of difficulty we are talking about here, indoor climbing ratings don't do justice to actual outdoor climbs either, especially sustained overhangs!

Could not agree more. I am (was ) a 5.11 lead climber, can top rope or follow, not lead,
5.12's (did this when I climbed with Ron Kauk and his girlfriend at the time (French) in
Yosemite). We used a static rope for top roping so you don't lose any progress when you fall.

DO NOT use a static line for lead climbing!!!!

I have seen so many gym climbers flail on easier climbs that they could do in a rock gym.
Leading a 5.10 when you are 1,000 ft. off the deck (I have) is very different than a 5.10
at the gym. Real rock climbing is very humbling if all you have ever done is climbed is in
a gym.

Man-oh-man could I tell some real rock climbing stories as I have climbed many places in
the world but most of my climbing was in Yosemite Valley (the best!) and around Lake
Tahoe, and the Eastern Sierra, CA. But . . . we are talking about building hand mass so
I won't.

 

[alfresco]

I grew up Lake Tahoe, in high school and my first couple years of college I did about every 5.9-5.11 in the basin and surrounding areas. I've top-roped some 5.13s (All Guns Blazing at Big Chief) and even got to climb in Cave Rock before it was closed down. I got to watch Dan Osman (RIP) do his first redpoint of his Slayer (5.14a) in Cave Rock. But the hardest thing I ever redpointed was a few 5.12a's and that was pushing the absolute limits of my ability.

Climbing 5.13a's on lead is a whole other world, besides Osman, there were only a couple of other climbers I knew capable of that in the entire Tahoe basin, nice work, were you professional?

I am impressed!

We need to share some stories! J. Tree, Tahoe, Yosemite, Devils Tower, the East Side, Thailand, Kenya. Maybe off line. Would love to talk with you!

 

[alfresco]

What was your high water mark for climbing? I've climbed since I was a little boy.

5.13a (apollo reed in the new) and v8 (mushroom roof at hueco tanks) were my hardest back in the day.

I am impressed with your climbing accomplishments. We should start a climbing thread . . .

Hueco Tanks.

Had a plane charted, a guide book in hand, ready, set, go . . . then my partner bailed. Never made it
there. I am envious.

I did a lot of bouldering along the East Side (Owens Valley) and of course the circuit at Camp 4
in the ditch. Never did Midnight Lightening but saw many people try and fail. I don't know how
Ron did it. Amazing.

What about John Gill?

 

[Matsuo Munefusa]

I am impressed with your climbing accomplishments. We should start a climbing thread . . .

Hueco Tanks.

Had a plane charted, a guide book in hand, ready, set, go . . . then my partner bailed. Never made it
there. I am envious.

I did a lot of bouldering along the East Side (Owens Valley) and of course the circuit at Camp 4
in the ditch. Never did Midnight Lightening but saw many people try and fail. I don't know how
Ron did it. Amazing.

What about John Gill?

Ha Ron was one of my idols growing up. Peter Croft also. I spent a number of winters east side of the sierras also and actually met Peter one afternoon in Owens River Gorge. He was guiding and setting climbs for some clients. I was speechless and whispered to my climbing partner "dude that's peter croft". I walked up to him and was like "man, you were one of my idols growing up it's so awesome to run into peter croft just out cragging" and he smiled and said "thank you, what's your name?" I barely could come up with my own name it seemed so irrelevant haha

I have never been to the Valley actually. Would love to but I am always traveling with dogs wherever I go and the Valley has some very stringent rules about dogs.

Climbing will always be my first love in life. Nowadays it's mainly weightlifting, trail running, surf trips and being a dad but there's something about the stone, once it has you, it has you.

 

[Matsuo Munefusa]

I still actually keep up with my ARC training (if you're a climbing training nerd you'll know what that is). 30 minutes continuous climbing on a 10 degree overhanging wall. It's basically low impact continuous climbing the analogy to lifting would be "feeder sets" or something close to that.

 

[Matsuo Munefusa]

@alfresco you'll get a kick out of this, back in 2002 we were dirt bagging it outside of Hueco. We were basically squatting on private scrub desert land behind some rock outcropping about a quarter mile from the park. We lived out there the entire winter went into El Paso for tortillas and eggs and cabbage cuz that's all we could afford. Climb every day, many free solos. I ended up free soloing Sea of Holes (iconic 300' 5.10 on north mountain). Good but crazy days in my past

 

[USMuscle9403]

Lol forearms are 16" without trying much Constant hard, heavy work will do that... Or not. Weird how genetics really are. One guy doing, say, construction for thirty years develops huge traps, upper torso, arms, etc, while another can do the exact same all their life and stay scrawny.

 

[alfresco]

Lol forearms are 16" without trying much Constant hard, heavy work will do that... Or not. Weird how genetics really are. One guy doing, say, construction for thirty years develops huge traps, upper torso, arms, etc, while another can do the exact same all their life and stay scrawny.

Did you measure your forearm in that position? Serious.

Or did you cut the first 2 inches off the tape

 

[USMuscle9403]

Lol nope just always had forearms, calves, traps and shoulder width I never really had to work for, honestly.

 

[alfresco]

What was your high water mark for climbing? I've climbed since I was a little boy.

5.13a (apollo reed in the new) and v8 (mushroom roof at hueco tanks) were my hardest back in the day.

Very very impressive. I probably could not even do the first move or make it to the
first biner.

I was a very traditional climber. All nuts and stoppers, all passive. Never owned a
cam in my life. Never climbed a route with pre fixed gear (biners); bolts yes.

I don't have any guide books anymore but some of my favorite fun climbs was
Figures on a Landscape in J. Tree, Corrugation Corner at Lovers Leap @ Lake Tahoe
is another. So was the East Buttress, Middle Cathedral and Royal Arches in the Valley.
Toulumne Meadows was a blast with all the big crystals on the faces and cool dome
climb, not hard in the Meadows too of which I have forgotten the name of.

I have forgotten any route names on Devils Tower but I remember the cracks
eating gear (same size) and having to down climb to get some so I could go up.
Not fun. Did some climbs in the Flatirons and El Dorado Canyon, and some
stuff in Estes Park, CO where we got lost on a route then rained, drenched
on for last two pitches. Had to get off because of the thunder and lightening.

Interesting story about Toulumne Meadows. I was between 'positions' where I worked,
essentially assigned a job I did not want to do so I told my boss I was going climbing
for 2 weeks and he was going to pay for it (vacation pay). Done. So I went to
Toulumne Meadows to just hang out and chill, maybe, just maybe, do a bit of climbing.
That was when I met Ron Kauk, Peter Croft and Lynn Hill. Lynn was training for the
first free attempt on the Nose (I am dating myself). I was her sherpa for a couple
of days along with a few dirtbags she picked up along the way as she did a bunch
of training climbs for the Nose. All hard stuff, beyond me.

I photographed her climbing European Vacation in the Meadows, got her address
(France at the time? I still have the letter somewhere) and sent her a print. She
wrote me back, said thanks and hoped things worked out when I went back to my
job. Very nice.

Fast forward umpteen years and I run into her in a bar in Boulder, CO. I was in
town for a photographers conference where I was the keynote speaker. A bunch
of us, all very high end outdoor adventure photographers land in this bar and
I sit down at a table, order a beer and look up and it is Lynn Hill is sitting right
across from me talking to one of the photographers.

I butted in and said to her that you probably don't remember me but we met in
Toulumne Meadows when you training for the Nose and I took a foto of you, sent
a print to you and you wrote me back the nicest letter. She said she remembered
the foto but did not remember writing me, said she was surprised she would do
such a thing (writing the nice part). She was a tiny thing and I still found her very
attractive despite all the years in the sun. Good genes I guess. Wish I could find
the foto, but I can't.

Fun fun times. But scare shitless most of the time.

Could go on and on but do not want to bore all you good climbers.

 

[Kaladryn]

Could not agree more. I am (was ) a 5.11 lead climber, can top rope or follow, not lead,
5.12's (did this when I climbed with Ron Kauk and his girlfriend at the time (French) in
Yosemite). We used a static rope for top roping so you don't lose any progress when you fall.

DO NOT use a static line for lead climbing!!!!

I have seen so many gym climbers flail on easier climbs that they could do in a rock gym.
Leading a 5.10 when you are 1,000 ft. off the deck (I have) is very different than a 5.10
at the gym. Real rock climbing is very humbling if all you have ever done is climbed is in
a gym.

Man-oh-man could I tell some real rock climbing stories as I have climbed many places in
the world but most of my climbing was in Yosemite Valley (the best!) and around Lake
Tahoe, and the Eastern Sierra, CA. But . . . we are talking about building hand mass so
I won't.

Ron Kauk was one of my climbing heroes when I was a kid, I've never met him, but I've watch him in a lot of videos, it's awesome you got to climb with him. I've seen him do Midnight Lightning on film, amazing.

He was in a lot of Dave and Mike Hatchet's climbing videos, I climbed with the Hatchet brothers a good bit, they were awesome and absolutely crazy, also both had amazing physiques, huge and ripped compared to most climbers, they would have made great bodybuilders with training. The Hatchet brothers were legendary in tahoe, and still are, they developed Big Chief, and Mike was an amazing photographer and filmmaker.

Speaking of high climbs, I did Travelers Buttress and The Line at Lover's Leap, both 5.9/5.10 but the exposure was incredible, so high up above that valley, awesome.

I also got to meet Lynn Hill, probably one of the world's most impressive athletes, who interestingly enough had a short stint in powerlifting. I've seen her climb in her 50s and she is still amazing.

It sounds like you have some incredible stories, I'd love to hear them sometime. I think there is a close relationship between bodybuilding and climbing.

 

[alfresco]

I've been active in combat sports for awhile on and off and I am curious if anyone has any pointers on this. I know that doing heavy lifting will strengthen and toughen the hands, but I am looking for something that directly targets growth in the muscle groups of the hand. Getting those to grow a bit and add a bit of weight would increase the firmness of the fist and add a bit of weight.

If this has been covered elsewhere, I'd appreciate the link. I did try the search first, but perhaps my keywords were off. THanks!

Along with with some of the good suggestions from other members, try this:
Play handball, squeeze a tennis ball or a hard ball of wax the same size
(it gets easier as it warms up), grab a sheet of newspaper in the middle and
squeeze / gather it into a ball in your hand, one handed. Do this many many
times.

And do dead hangs from a chin-up bar with bodyweight. 1 minute is a good time,
2 minutes better (my record). Don't know what the record it. When it gets easy
just add weight or do them one handed A very under rated 'exercise' but will
build a massive grip.

 

[Kaladryn]

Oh wow, I read that last post about Lynn Hill after I wrote that response, I'm jealous lol. That accent of The Nose she did was legendary. She was an absolute beast, it took men 7 years to repeat that Nose accent if I remember right. You'd never know if you saw her (all 100lbs of her) what she was capable of, but that is one of the greatest athletes of all time, male or female.

 

[Kaladryn]

This should bring back some memories, I wish I could find the original Masters of Stone.

 

[alfresco]

Ron Kauk was one of my climbing heroes when I was a kid, I've never met him, but I've watch him in a lot of videos, it's awesome you got to climb with him. I've seen him do Midnight Lightning on film, amazing.

He was in a lot of Dave and Mike Hatchet's climbing videos, I climbed with the Hatchet brothers a good bit, they were awesome and absolutely crazy, also both had amazing physiques, huge and ripped compared to most climbers, they would have made great bodybuilders with training. The Hatchet brothers were legendary in tahoe, and still are, they developed Big Chief, and Mike was an amazing photographer and filmmaker.

Speaking of high climbs, I did Travelers Buttress and The Line at Lover's Leap, both 5.9/5.10 but the exposure was incredible, so high up above that valley, awesome.

I also got to meet Lynn Hill, probably one of the world's most impressive athletes, who interestingly enough had a short stint in powerlifting. I've seen her climb in her 50s and she is still amazing.

It sounds like you have some incredible stories, I'd love to hear them sometime. I think there is a close relationship between bodybuilding and climbing.

One of my funnest, most enjoyable days climbing at the Leap (gotta love the dikes) was,
all in one long summer day, and all firsts for me, was Surrealistic Pillar Direct, The Line,
Travelers Buttress, and Labor of Love. My feet still hurt thinking about it, the walk off
the back just kills.

Check out, if you can find it, the video (mine is VHS, never converted it) On The Rocks.
Amazing footage of John Gill (Masters of Rock book, get it), Tony Yaniro (best physique
on any climber I have ever seen; him and John Long) and bunch of other classic
climbers 'back in the day.'

Here is a poor shot of me climbing in Thailand, Koh Phi Phi. I met some friends who were
sailing around the world. I met them in Penang, Malaysia and I sailed with them up to
Thailand. The limestone walls jutting out of the beautiful emerald waters, just amazing.
So I hired a guide and he led (jagged limestone, a whole nother game)me to the top.
No falls but trashed hands.

 

[Creep]

Lots you can do. Build hand strength, mass will come. (Tendons). Grippers, fat bar work, static holds w/ big weight (and fat-bar), wrist rollers, fat-bar reverse curls, etc.
You can get a 7 foot bar cut (and a 5 ft wile youre at it) at home depot (black plumbing pipe) and its pretty damn sturdy. Use it for your normal lifts you'll see some hand strength come.
Fits Olympic plates almost perfectly. On one of my gym pieces (vintage isometric rack) I placed that plumbing pipe over a 1" bar and wrist roll. I have fat-bars, Inch Dumbbells, circus bells, plumbing pipe bars, etc.
You can have fun with it while building the tendons up. (And forearms).

home gym setup is great***

 

[Matsuo Munefusa]

Ha @Kaladryn masters of stone!!! Yes! Takes me back to being 13 in my basement. My dad helped me build a bouldering training wall ("woody" hehe) and I had a dinky ass tv and VHS player. I'd train my ass off and do dead hangs and watch Masters of Stone and dream....

Speaking of forearms, literally the only exercise you need is deadhangs on a bar, like alfresco said progress through from passive to active to eventually do 1 arm hangs. Google dead hang progression, you'll get a lot of this one movement guy and his blog, they're alright.

For actual hand mass it's all about pinching. Otherwise we're talking about tendons only in the hands and obviously those aren't going to get much bigger, over decades they will thicken slightly only but you can add grams of hand mass over weeks by working pinch strength.

I had a friend that could jump up and grab 2x basement joists and do pull-ups. Think his hands were strong? Yep

 

[alfresco]

(edit)

I had a friend that could jump up and grab 2x basement joists and do pull-ups. Think his hands were strong? Yep

I always wished I could do a pinch grip pull-up.

That was goal of mine when I embarked on a very specialized forearm / grip strength
routine. (I think I posted a link to it here recently. It is very long but I think it is worth
a read if for nothing but entertainment purposes . I was very obsessive.)

Long story short, I never achieved that goal

Ever look at stone masons / brick layers hands? Old men who milked their cows by hand?
Many construction workers hands? My neighbor across the street where I grew up was
a cheese maker. All day he would work cheese with his hands at a factory in town and
before that he was a old school dairy farmer. (Talk about a double whammy for your hands.)
He had, above anybody else, the biggest, strongest, fattest hands and fingers I have ever
seen on a man. And he was not a big person . . . and he always smelled like cheese which
was a bit off putting to me at the time.

 

[mpjuice]

HGH made my hands grows significantly