An All-Out Test to Determine Finger Flexor Critical Force in Rock Climbers.

Purpose: 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]).

The Determination of Finger-Flexor Critical Force in Rock Climbers.

To determine if the mathematical model used for the estimation of critical force (CF) and the energy store component ' are applicable to intermittent isometric muscle actions of the finger flexors of rock climbers, using a multisession test. As a secondary aim, the agreement of estimates of CF and ' from a single-session test was also determined. The CF was defined as the slope coefficient, and ' was the intercept of the linear relationship between total "isometric work" () and time to exhaustion ().