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New to endurance training? Read in this order. Start with finger endurance training for the zones, then the critical force test to find where your own threshold sits. Next comes aerobic endurance on the hangboard, the easy work below critical force, then repeaters, the harder work above it. Density hangs and blood flow restriction are advanced options for later.
What is the pump, and which endurance matters?
The pump is a mismatch between how hard your forearms are working and how much oxygen they can use. A hard grip squeezes the forearm’s own blood vessels; each release lets blood back in. Endurance training narrows the gap.
Climbing is grip, release, shake, grip, so intermittent endurance is the kind that counts. In a 2025 study of 307 climbers, an intermittent endurance test was the next strongest predictor of climbing ability after finger strength. Strength still sits underneath: the stronger you are, the smaller the share of your max each hold demands, so keep some max hangs in any endurance plan.
How hard should endurance training be?
It depends on what you want to train, and the dividing line is your critical force: the highest intermittent force you can sustain for a long time, about 41% of max on average. Even a measured critical force holds only for minutes. Below it you can keep going; above it you drain a limited reserve.
Every article in this topic uses the same zones, as a share of your max: recovery 10 to 30%, aerobic base 30 to 40%, threshold about 40 to 50%, strength-endurance 60 to 80%, and max strength 90 to 100%. Finger endurance training has the full zone table, with what each zone trains and how often to do it. The critical force test explains how to estimate yours and how far to trust the number.
The load you pick decides the adaptation you get. In a 2022 trial of 54 climbers, intermittent hangs at 80% of max gained strength and improved endurance; at 60%, they improved endurance without a significant strength gain. That is why precision matters: 35% and 55% of max can feel alike for the first minute and give very different sessions.
How do you train it, and how often?
Aerobic base, below critical force. Easy intermittent hangs at 30 to 40% of max, plus easy continuous climbing on the wall, which should stay the bulk. Without a force sensor, a load you can hold for a full minute with effort left over is a rough guide. Aerobic endurance on the hangboard sets out the protocol.
Strength-endurance, above critical force. Repeaters: 7 seconds on, 3 off, six times, at about 75 to 80% of max. Repeaters gives loads, sets and how to adjust them. Density hangs are a related format.
If you’d rather keep your feet on the floor, no-hangs let you dose these low loads exactly and lower the load mid-set instead of stopping.
Fitting it into a week. Build the base first: 1 to 2 sessions a week for 3 to 4 weeks. Then add intervals, threshold or repeaters, once a week while keeping one base session, or twice a week in a dedicated 4 to 6 week block, then retest.
Endurance work makes you tired. Keep it away from your hardest strength and limit bouldering days, and don’t put it before a climbing or strength session.
Does blood flow restriction help?
Not for endurance, on current evidence. In a small 2026 pilot, low-load BFR gave strength gains similar to heavy training, but finger endurance did not change, and 3 of 11 climbers in the BFR group dropped out because of discomfort. An earlier endurance gain, in only 15 climbers, had uncertainty ranges that included zero. BFR is mainly a strength and rehab tool, used with a qualified professional. Blood flow restriction for climbers goes through the studies.
Do this in Entralpi
Endurance zones are percentages of your max, so you need to see your force. On the Entralpi plate the app shows it live and logs every rep. Its endurance test is the 4-minute all-out test with one hand, and it gives critical force. The app’s number is the average of the peaks of your last pulls, so it reads higher than research critical force: endurance work sits below it; what each test measures explains the numbers.
Sources
- Berta P, et al. (2025). Validity and normative scores of finger flexor strength and endurance tests. Journal of Sports Sciences, 43(3).
- Giles D, et al. (2019). The determination of finger-flexor critical force in rock climbers. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance.
- Devise M, et al. (2022). Effects of different hangboard training intensities on finger grip strength, stamina, and endurance. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living.
- Andersen V, et al. (2026). Comparison of low load blood flow restriction and high load resistance training of the finger flexors in advanced level climbers: a pilot study. Frontiers in Physiology.
- Held S, et al. (2023). Low-intensity climbing with blood flow restriction over 5 weeks increases grip and elbow flexor endurance in advanced climbers: a randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Sport Science.
