Hi there,

I've been getting into rock climbing quite a lot over the last few months, and am finding that the main area I'm having trouble with is muscle strength endurance in my hands, wrists and forearms. Does anyone have any top tips for ways to get the strength built up without totally killing off any flexibility in my wrists and hands?

Or should I just be a man and take the pain?

I used to do rock climbing, as well as other exercises which use the same muscles. I found that pull-ups/chin-ups helped. If you're concerned with losing your flexibility, buy a stress ball. That was my main concern when I was leading a more active lifestyle, because I was both a guitarist and an artist and didn't want to lose my so-called "touch". And whatever you do, dont crack your knuckles.

Hahaha, knuckle cracking has become a horribly regular habit in the several years I've been playing bass, so it's too late for that one already!

Pull ups would be handy, my big problem is finding somewhere to put a bar, given that I'm tall, and the ceilings in my flat are not

Are those little "gripmaster" things actually any good, or just a gimmiccy rip-off?

dude, rock climbing IS the best way to make your hands and wrists stronger. just keep at it.

pick a weight or resistance that you can barely move five to ten times before your muscles give out. try four sets of the exercise (of 5 to 10 repetitions). try these exercises a few and target specific muscles and muscle groups - don't exercise for exercise sake. repeating, low resistance exercises will big up muscle endurance. get a pull up bar and do it with yr fingertips or as thingy above said, yr talons.. ah. i havent climbed for ages :/