Reliability and Validity of Finger Strength and Endurance Measurements in Rock Climbing

• Published in: Research quarterly for exercise and sport Vol. 89; no. 2; pp. 246 - 254
• Main Authors: Michailov, Michail Lubomirov, Baláš, Jiří, Tanev, Stoyan Kolev, Andonov, Hristo Stoyanov, Kodejška, Jan, Brown, Lee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Routledge 03.04.2018
• Subjects: Foreign Countries; Human Body; Intermittent testing; isometric muscle contraction; Males; Measurement Techniques; Measures (Individuals); Muscular Strength; performance evaluation; Performance Tests; Physical Activities; sport-specific apparatus; Statistical Analysis; Test Reliability; Test Validity; Bulgaria; performance evaluation; sport-specific apparatus; Intermittent testing; isometric muscle contraction
• ISSN: 0270-1367; 2168-3824
• DOI: 10.1080/02701367.2018.1441484

Purpose: An advanced system for the assessment of climbing-specific performance was developed and used to: (a) investigate the effect of arm fixation (AF) on construct validity evidence and reliability of climbing-specific finger-strength measurement; (b) assess reliability of finger-strength and endurance measurements; and (c) evaluate the relationship between finger flexor all-out test scores and climbing ability. Methods: To determine the effect of AF, 22 male climbers performed 2 maximal strength and all-out tests with AF (shoulder and elbow flexed at 90°) and without AF (shoulder flexed at 180° and elbow fully extended). To determine reliability, 9 male climbers completed 2 maximal strength tests with and without AF and an all-out and intermittent test without AF. Results: The maximal strength test without AF more strongly determined climbing ability than the test with AF (r 2  = .48 and r 2  = .42 for sport climbing; r 2  = .66 and r 2  = .42 for bouldering, respectively). Force and time variables were highly reliable; the rate of force development and fatigue index had moderate and low reliability. The maximal strength test with AF provided slightly higher reliability than without AF (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.94, ICC = 0.88, respectively). However, smaller maximal forces were achieved during AF (484 ± 112 N) than without AF (546 ± 132 N). All-out test average force had sufficiently high reliability (ICC = 0.92) and a relationship to sport climbing (r 2  = .42) and bouldering ability (r 2  = .58). Conclusion: Finger strength and endurance measurements provided sufficient construct validity evidence and high reliability for time and force parameters. Arm fixation provides more reliable results; however, the position without AF is recommended as it is more related to climbing ability.