when

joined 1 year ago
[–] when@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I bought a hangboard to train finger strength so I can beat it faster

Be careful how you're using it if you're a male. Knuckle calcification is pretty much an inevitability, but bouldering and hangboard type exercises speed it up significantly. They exert a lot more force on the knuckles, and so they're more likely to cause microfractures that get filled up with calcium.

I've competed in sport climbing for years without too many changes. A single season of preparing for and competing in bouldering left my knuckles like 20% wider, I can't bend them fully anymore, and my hands were shaking for months.