semi-closed crimp improvments

[alexandra]

I have been doing the intermediate repeater protocol for 4 cycles now (I am just finishing up the 4th one) and for the first 3 cycles, as well as the first 8 sessions of the 4th cycle my semi-closed crimp (as described in the RCTM book), which I perform on the smallest part of the small VDER edge, was stuck at a baseline of -5 lbs. So I during my best sets in any of those cycles, I would complete a set at -5 and a set at +5 and then I was unable to progress at all in weight. I have finished my 12th and last hang boarding session of the 4th cycle and I noticed that the last 4 sessions I kept improving that grip by +5 lbs each time! Which puts me at a baseline weight of +15 lbs. Interestingly, my max hang on this grip a couple of months ago was only +35lbs, and now I can perform a repeater set at +25 lbs.  I have also improved other grips slightly, but only by +5lbs at best. I was wondering if anyone has experienced such a fast improvement on a certain grip and why this might be happening? If I am getting stronger, why can't I improve the other grips as much or at all? I am interested in understanding what made this improvement possible, so I can replicate it for other grips and other times as well Any ideas welcome!

[tetrault]

It seems you should be telling us how you made the improvement!

What was different about this hangboard season?
Focus/determination/goals?
Grip order? Temperature/humidity? Warmup route? Do you always do 12 sessions?
Amount of outdoor climbing?
Stress? Sleep? Diet? Body weight?

Did you see this type of improvement on other grips? How about supplemental exercises?


Thanks

[tedwelser]

Here are some ideas- 

The workout weights only provide a partial measure of how your strength is developing.  Even if a grip is not increasing in terms of max set completed you can be improving.  Sometimes the conditions can make it harder to see improvement for a couple seasons, and then when winter comes around you register that progress.   Do you have any external benchmarks to compare you semi crimp strength to?

I would say that the smallest part of the SVDR is hard to hold partly because if you loose position a little bit it degrades down the radius of the rounded edge.  [sometimes I feel like I loose position before I get fully tired] In contrast, the sharp crimp on the Forge is small but very secure feeling, and when I let go of that edge it is because I can no longer pull, not because I loose my purchase.  I think progress on the crimp is more predictable.  I feel as though keeping my hand in position on the small parts of the SVDR takes effort apart from holding my weight.  Perhaps the capacity to maintain position on a hold for a 7 second time period is non linear, such that once your strength reaches a certain threshold you can keep shape to avoid any sliding and thus greatly extend the weight you can hold for the repeaters.  

I have found the wide pinch to exhibit this kind of fragile stability.   If I can't keep my hand perfectly still it just falls apart in a matter of seconds.  

[alexandra]

I didn't think much was different about my hang board session. I am also trying to figure this out and repeat it
Pretty much the whole 4th cycle was done during winter.
My grip order was the same up to the semi-crimp , it is always my second grip after a pretty loaded (+40lbs) open hand small edge (large part of small VDER).
Sleep/diet/weight about the same. The only difference I can think of is that I take an extra day off from crossfit, lifting, and gymnastics where I completely focus on climbing (hangobarding in the am and maybe some light climbing after). Unfortunately, I haven't gotten outdoors too much due to bad winter conditions in the midwest. When I do get outdoors, I can't really tell if there is any difference on my crimp strength since pretty much my limiting factor on my projects has 90% of the time been my height (5.3'), or rather my incompetence in doing super long reachy moves, and the other 10% lack of technique on smeary feet or lack of power. I don't think i have felt that I cannot hold a small hold on a boulder for quite some time now... I think that the wide pinch is more consistent. I fall off it when I am pumped or if it is too humid due to slippage, but otherwise progress on it is slow and steady...