Hoopers Beta | What is Contact Strength and How is it Different from Finger Strength? | Contact Strength Pt. 1 @HoopersBeta | Uploaded December 2021 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
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// TIMESTAMPS //
00:00 Intro
00:34 What Our Viewers Say
01:29 New Format!
01:39 Part 1: Answers from the Research
02:43 Part 2: Answers from the Climbing Community
03:35 Part 3: Answers from the Research... Revisited!
05:12 Part 4: Contact Strength vs. Regular Strength
06:04 A fun demonstration!
07:22 Part 5: So what is contact strength?
08:06 Part 6: Okay nerd, who cares??
08:33 Conclusion and Bloopers

// SHOW NOTES //
Episode 97

INTRODUCTION

Contact strength is a largely confusing term in climbing. Unlike something like max hangs on a hangboard, which is a pretty clear-cut concept at this point, I’ve heard all kinds of differing opinions on contact strength. And that’s no good for us science nerds! We need consistency and repeatability in order to reach useful conclusions. So is there actually one, science-based explanation of contact strength or is it just another climbing slang term that no one can agree on? Today, we find out.

ANSWERS FROM THE CLIMBING COMMUNITY

Steve Bechtel refers to contact strength as “...one’s ability to grasp a hold with maximum strength ‘on contact’.”

The Rock Climber's Training Manual calls it “...the amount of force you can generate during the period of initial contact with the hold.”

Eric Horst says it’s the “Initial grip strength upon touching a handhold; directly related to the rate of force development in the finger flexor muscles.”

And the Power Company says contact strength is “...the rate of force development in the finger flexors.”

Okay, it seems like there’s a general consensus that contact strength has something to do with the amount of force you can produce when you grab a hold. There were also a couple mentions of this term “rate of force production,” which they say is closely related to contact strength. So what happens if we search for more info on “rate of force production”?

Success! There are multiple research articles that mention rate of force production, or RFD. Let’s dive into RFD and try to understand what it really means in a climbing context.

RFD RESEARCH ARTICLE ONE

The first article on RFD we’ll look at is called Four Weeks of Finger Grip Training Increases the Rate of Force Development and the Maximal Force in Elite and Top World-Ranking Climbers.

In this experiment, the researchers looked at how a specific type of training would affect the RFD of their athletes’ fingers. They instructed the subjects to hold a force-measuring device “...as strongly as you can and as fast as possible.” Okay, that’s interesting! “Hold” the small hold as “strongly” and as “fast” as possible. Let’s keep those words in mind in case they can help us later.

The researchers felt...

Ran out of room!! For the rest, please check out the show notes:
hoopersbeta.com/library/what-is-contact-strength-investigating-the-science

// DISCLAIMER //
As always, exercises and rehab programs are to be performed assuming your own risk and should not be done if you feel you are at risk for injury. See a medical professional if you have concerns before starting a new training or recovery program.

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Jason Hooper and Emile Modesitt

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