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Mono Training for Climbers: Start Safely

Mono Training for Climbers: Start Safely

Finger strength • • Félix Bourassa-Moreau • Updated

Train monos gradually, one finger at a time, starting well below your limit, and stop at any pain. Pulling hard on a single finger carries a real injury risk, including lumbrical tears. The protocol below, 50% of the two-finger maximum, is my own experience, not a tested method.

When you think about hanging your whole weight on one finger, injury is the first image that comes to mind. And yet monos turn up as a fairly natural part of climbing. I wrote this in 2020 believing that single-finger strength transfers to other grips and helps you avoid getting hurt. I still train this way, but I have separated below what is documented from what is my belief.

What is the injury risk with monos?

Pulling a large load through one finger is traumatic. The injury most associated with it is a tear of the lumbricals, the small muscles in the middle of the hand that originate on the flexor tendons. A 2024 cadaver study explains the mechanism: when one finger’s deep flexor is loaded while the others glide in a different direction, a shear force acts between the tendons and the lumbrical can tear off. In the lab it failed at a load of about 11 kg on the little finger’s tendon (Carnicero et al.).

I originally wrote that lumbrical tears are the most common injury. That is not right. Reviews of climbing injuries describe finger pulley injuries as frequent, and as the most common sport-specific injury of the fingers (Vagy et al., 2026; Promer et al., 2026). Lumbrical tears are also described as a risk of pockets and single-finger pulls (Promer et al., 2026).

I also wrote that lifting the other fingers out of the way disengages the lumbricals and avoids injury, at the cost of the extra strength you get from neighbouring tendons. That is a plausible reading of the mechanism, but I found no study testing it, so treat it as an idea.

How should you practise monos in a controlled environment?

Go gradually, so the tissues of the hand can adapt. Several methods let you modulate the intensity. I suggest using a tool that shows the force on the hold, so you can train at a known force and adjust it during the exercise. Portable mono holds also isolate the fingers, but they’re riskier to train on. If a finger hurts, stop the session; if the pain lasts, see a physiotherapist. Do not push through pain to finish a set.

Monos are rarely trained. If a grip repels you, that may be a reason to train it. Assessing your climbing, your physique and your goals helps you find what to work on. To start, test the individual strength of each finger.

Does mono strength transfer to other grips?

This is my reasoning, not a finding: I know of no study that tested it. Grips where the fingers sit at different heights isolate the strength of each flexor, so stronger individual fingers should help there. They may also help stabilise the hand, and finger locks in cracks often demand a strength similar to a two-finger pocket. I expect that, without necessarily being stronger on an edge, you end up better equipped for climbing. What is measured is narrower: finger strength is the strongest physical predictor of climbing ability in a 2025 study of 307 climbers (Berta et al.), but its tests did not include single-finger pulls.

What does a mono training protocol look like?

Mono training is done one finger at a time, in isolation. Measure the individual strength of each finger, leaving a small margin before you feel anything in the middle of the hand. Then train at 50% of the maximum strength of the two-finger pair. After a month-long cycle at that low intensity, take a week off and reassess.

That protocol comes from my own practice. It is deliberately conservative and has not been studied.

Finger profiles on the Beastmaker 2000 were integrated into the app in 2020, as a way to see how much each finger differs. In my own test, both hands measured the same overall while individual fingers varied a lot: an injured middle finger measured weaker while the others overcompensated. One test of one person shows nothing general, but it is the kind of pattern worth catching early.

Why stay consistent and warm up well?

I add these routines to every session. My belief is that gradual loading prepares the fingers and surfaces problems early; I can’t cite a trial for the lumbricals stretching effect I described in 2020, so I’ve dropped that wording. One trick for keeping the habit is to slot the low-intensity work into the end of your warm-up. Good climbing!

Where to go next

Do this in Entralpi

The finger strength test measures each finger alone, one hand at a time, and shows your weakest finger. Workouts on one finger use that test for that finger by themselves, and estimate from your max strength value in Settings until you have tested it. Start a workout from the Train tab or build your own at the load you chose. Without the plate, the timer runs the intervals, but you can’t see the force, so stay far below your limit.

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