My SECRET to Building STEEL CABLE Tendons

Summary

In this video, the speaker discusses the importance of tendon strength, particularly in activities like rock climbing and arm wrestling. With over a decade of rock climbing experience, the speaker shares how climbing has contributed to the development of strong tendons, especially in the fingers, wrist, and forearm. The use of a hangboard is highlighted as a key tool for building tendon strength, and the speaker demonstrates a hangboard workout, emphasizing the importance of taking it slow to avoid injury. The video aims to inspire viewers to develop steel cable-like tendons for improved performance in various physical activities.

Takeaways

• 💪 The speaker emphasizes the importance of strong tendons for activities like arm wrestling and rock climbing.
• 🧗‍♂️ The speaker is a rock climber with over 10 years of experience, highlighting the role of rock climbing in developing strong tendons.
• 🤔 John Berzink, when asked which sport would naturally excel in arm wrestling, chose baseball players or rock climbers due to their tendon strength.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Rock climbing is an endurance-based sport that can be both advantageous and disadvantageous for arm wrestling, which requires explosive strength.
• 👐 Rock climbers often have strong finger, wrist, and forearm tendons, which are crucial for their sport and can translate to other activities.
• 🤏 The speaker describes rock climbers as having 'steel cable-like tendons', which are visually less impressive than their functional strength.
• 🎯 The use of a hangboard is a key method for developing tendon strength in rock climbers, as demonstrated by the speaker's routine.
• ⏱ A standard hangboard workout for the speaker takes about 30 minutes, with three sets of exercises focusing on different handholds.
• 👀 The hangboard has various depths and finger pocket sizes, which target different aspects of grip and finger strength.
• 🚫 The speaker warns about the potential for injury if hangboard exercises are performed too frequently or with improper technique.
• 🛍️ For those interested, hangboards can be purchased online, offering a way to develop tendon strength at home.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is to discuss tendon strength, the development of the speaker's tendons over the years, and the role of rock climbing in building strong tendons.

What is the speaker's sport background and how does it relate to arm wrestling?

The speaker is a rock climber with over 10 years of experience. Rock climbing is related to arm wrestling as both are tendon-based sports that require strong and developed tendons for superior strength.

What does the speaker believe is the most natural sport to carryover into arm wrestling?

The speaker believes that rock climbing and baseball are the sports with the most natural carryover into arm wrestling due to the development of strong tendons.

What does John Berzink believe about the sport that would best transition into arm wrestling?

John Berzink believes that a baseball player or a rock climber would be the best choices to transition into arm wrestling because of the natural development of strong tendons in these sports.

How does the speaker describe the typical physique of a rock climber?

The speaker describes rock climbers as typically being taller, lankier, and having a wiry physique with steel cable-like tendons.

What is a hangboard and how is it used in rock climbing training?

A hangboard is a training device with various grip pockets of different depths for fingers. It is used to develop finger strength, wrist strength, and tendon endurance, typically in 3 sets of 10 to 12 seconds per hold.

What are the precautions the speaker advises when using a hangboard?

The speaker advises to take it slow when using a hangboard to avoid over-stressing the tendons and developing injuries. It is important to gradually increase the intensity and frequency of hangboard workouts.

What is the significance of the forearm pump mentioned by the speaker?

The forearm pump signifies that the tendons have been stressed during the hangboard workout, indicating that the exercise is effective in developing tendon strength.

What is the role of rock rings in the speaker's training routine?

Rock rings are used to add variety to the hangboard workout, providing a different feel as they are free hanging and require different grip techniques.

How does the speaker describe the difficulty of hanging on the two-finger pocket on rock rings?

The speaker describes hanging on the two-finger pocket on rock rings as very challenging, often requiring the feet to remain on the floor and leaning into the rings to maintain the grip.

What is the speaker's recommendation for those interested in developing strong tendons like a rock climber?

The speaker recommends finding a rock climbing gym to train at least once a week and considering purchasing a hangboard for at-home training to develop strong tendons.

Outlines

00:00

🧗‍♂️ Rock Climbing and Tendon Development

The speaker discusses the importance of tendon strength, particularly in the context of their own experiences as a rock climber. They highlight that their strong tendons, not just in the wrist and forearm but also in the bicep, have been developed over the years through activities other than traditional weightlifting. The video aims to showcase methods that have contributed to this development, emphasizing that their hook strength in arm wrestling is a result of these practices. The speaker also references an interview with John Berzink, who suggests that athletes from sports like baseball or rock climbing could naturally excel in arm wrestling due to the endurance and strength required in those sports, which aligns with the development of strong tendons.

05:01

🏋️‍♂️ Hangboard Training for Tendon Strength

This paragraph delves into the specifics of using a hangboard as a tool for developing tendon strength in rock climbers. The speaker shares their personal experience with hangboard training, which involves various finger depths and positions to challenge different muscle groups. They describe a standard hangboard workout, which consists of three sets of holding each position for 10 to 12 seconds, totaling about 30 minutes. The speaker also provides a visual and practical demonstration of a hangboard workout, emphasizing the importance of proper form, such as maintaining a 90-degree angle in the arms and keeping the elbows in to develop a good lock. They note that while hangboarding is demanding on the tendons, it also engages the core and back muscles, making it a full-body workout.

10:04

💪 Advanced Hangboard and Rock Rings Techniques

The speaker introduces rock rings as an additional tool for enhancing finger tendon strength, which offers a different sensation from the hangboard due to their free-hanging nature. They demonstrate the use of rock rings, particularly focusing on the difficulty of the two-finger pocket, and how it significantly increases the stress on finger tendons. The video concludes with a cautionary note about the intensity of hangboard workouts, advising viewers to progress slowly to avoid tendon injuries. The speaker also suggests finding a local rock climbing gym or purchasing a hangboard online for those interested in developing their tendon strength.

15:04

📺 Conclusion and Encouragement for Tendon Development

In the final paragraph, the speaker wraps up the video by encouraging viewers to embark on their journey towards developing strong tendons, akin to steel cables. They invite viewers to share their thoughts and suggestions for future video content in the comments section and express their hope that the information provided will be beneficial. The speaker looks forward to connecting with the audience in the next video, fostering a sense of community and ongoing learning.

Keywords

💡Tendons

Tendons are tough, fibrous connective tissues that connect muscles to bones, allowing for movement. In the context of the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of strong tendons in sports like rock climbing and arm wrestling, where they play a crucial role in generating and sustaining force. The script mentions that the speaker has 'pretty thick tendons' and discusses how these are developed through specific training.

💡Tendon Strength

Tendon strength refers to the capacity of tendons to withstand force without injury. The video script highlights the speaker's personal experience with developing strong tendons, which is not just about muscle size but also about the endurance and power that can be generated through the tendons, especially in activities like rock climbing and arm wrestling.

💡Rock Climbing

Rock climbing is a physical activity in which participants climb up, down, or across natural or artificial rock formations. The video script uses rock climbing as an example of a sport that emphasizes the importance of tendon strength over pure muscle mass. The speaker, being a rock climber for over 10 years, explains how this sport has contributed to the development of their strong tendons.

💡Arm Wrestling

Arm wrestling is a sport where two participants compete to pin each other's hand down on a flat surface. The script mentions an interview with John Berzink, who suggests that rock climbers or baseball players would naturally excel in arm wrestling due to their strong tendons, which are crucial in this sport for generating explosive power.

💡Endurance

Endurance in this context refers to the ability to sustain prolonged physical activity. The video script points out that rock climbing is an endurance-based sport, which has helped the speaker develop not just muscle strength, but also the slow and methodical pace required for activities like climbing, which contrasts with the explosiveness needed in arm wrestling.

💡Hangboard

A hangboard is a training device used by rock climbers to improve finger strength and tendon resilience. The script describes the speaker's use of a hangboard for eight to ten years and explains how it has contributed to the development of their tendon strength, with specific mention of different depths and finger placements on the board.

💡Finger Strength

Finger strength is the capacity of the fingers to grip and hold onto objects, which is vital in activities like rock climbing. The video script discusses how the speaker has developed strong finger tendons through the use of a hangboard, which is essential for maintaining grip during climbing.

💡Wrist and Forearm

The wrist and forearm are anatomical areas that play a significant role in hand grip and overall arm strength. In the video script, the speaker mentions having strong wrists and forearms, which are crucial for activities requiring grip strength, and attributes this strength to their rock climbing and hangboard training.

💡Bicep Tendon

The bicep tendon is the connective tissue that attaches the bicep muscle to the bones of the forearm. The script explains that the speaker's bicep tendon strength was not developed from bicep curls in the gym but from activities that stress the tendons, such as rock climbing and using a hangboard.

💡Explosiveness

Explosiveness in sports refers to the ability to generate force quickly, which is important in activities like arm wrestling. The video script contrasts the slow and methodical pace developed through endurance sports like rock climbing with the need for explosiveness in sports that require immediate power output.

💡Rock Rings

Rock rings are a type of training equipment used to improve grip strength and finger endurance. The script mentions the speaker's use of rock rings in addition to the hangboard, providing a different feel and challenge to their training routine, which helps in developing strong tendons.

Highlights

The speaker has developed strong tendons over the years, particularly in the wrist, forearm, and bicep.

Their hook strength in arm wrestling was developed through activities other than bicep curls.

John Berzink, in an interview, chose baseball players or rock climbers as having the most natural carryover to arm wrestling.

Rock climbing is an endurance-based sport, which can be beneficial for arm wrestling due to the development of strong tendons.

Rock climbers often have wiry physiques but possess steel cable-like tendons.

Tendon strength in arm wrestling is indicated by a superior grip strength advantage.

The speaker has been a rock climber for over 10 years and attributes their tendon strength to this activity.

Hangboards are used in rock climbing to develop finger, wrist, and forearm tendons.

A standard hangboard workout consists of three sets, each taking about 10 minutes to complete.

Hangboard exercises can cause a noticeable forearm pump, indicating tendon stress.

The speaker provides a detailed description of a hangboard, including the different depths and finger pocket configurations.

Maintaining a 90-degree angle in the arms during hangboard exercises is recommended for developing a good lock.

Rock rings offer a different feel from hangboards, as they are free-hanging and add variety to workouts.

The speaker demonstrates a hangboard workout, emphasizing the difficulty and full-body engagement of the exercise.

A forearm pump and potential soreness the next day are expected outcomes of a hangboard workout.

For those new to hangboards, the speaker advises taking it slow to avoid over-stressing and injuring tendons.

Hangboards can be purchased online for around 80 to 100 dollars, and the speaker suggests finding a local rock climbing gym for additional training.

The video concludes with an invitation for viewers to start their journey to developing strong tendons like steel cables.

Transcripts

i just want to talk a little bit about

tendons tendon strength and some of the

ways that i've built my tendons over the

years

if you guys know me you probably know

that i have

pretty thick tendons not only in the

wrist and forearm but also

bicep tendon i have a pretty strong lock

pretty good endurance and

as some of you might know i have a

decent hook

that wasn't developed from doing a bunch

of bicep curls in the gym or having a

strong bicep muscle

but it was actually developed from some

of the things that i'm going to show

later in this video

some of you might know this but the

majority of you probably don't

i'm a rock climber of over 10 years

and i climbed for three or four years

prior to ever putting my elbow on an arm

wrestling table

so john berzink he just did an interview

recently where he was asked if you had

to take an athlete from one sport and

have them excel in arm wrestling

uh what sport would he choose

and he actually chose either a baseball

player or a rock climber

choose one okay which sport do you think

would have the most natural carryover

into arm wrestling maybe like a rock

climber perhaps rock climbers yeah super

strong hands but those guys are

endurance guys

um

a rock climber that was a sprinter

john also stated that rock climbing is

more of an endurance based sport which

is true

and can actually be detrimental in a way

due to the fact that over the years we

build a slower more methodical pace

where an arm wrestler might need that

explosiveness or fast twitch off the

ready go

however being a rock climber did give me

a superior strength advantage especially

in the fingers the wrist and the forearm

and most importantly the tendons

so like arm wrestling

rock climbing is a tendon based sport

and if you've done rock climbing for any

amount of time you'll probably know that

it stresses the tendons much more than

the muscles in my opinion

so rock climbers they usually don't look

the strongest

most of the time they're

taller lankier

maybe more of a wiry physique

but they always seem to have these steel

cable like tendons

and if you know what you're looking for

you know when somebody has strong

tendons just like in arm wrestling if if

you look at somebody they might not look

the strongest they might not have the

biggest muscles

but when you grip up with that person

and they have a superior strength

advantage over you

that's probably because they have more

seasoned more developed tendons

so as a rock climber what's some of the

ways that we develop our tendons

um not only is it from climbing in a gym

multiple times per week uh sometimes two

to four hours per session

but it's from using

what we call a hangboard

i've been using one of these for eight

to ten years now

the majority of my rock climbing career

and basically what this is

um all these pockets are different

depths

some of them you can fit four fingers

some three

and some pockets you can only fit two

fingers

a standard hangboard workout

might take me approximately 30 minutes

i'll do three sets

so one set is when i complete every hold

for 10 to 12 seconds

and one set generally takes about 10

minutes

like i said i do three sets

so we'll get a little more detail on

what the hang board actually looks like

up close

i'm also gonna do a quick hangboard

workout

at the conclusion of the workout we'll

definitely have a forearm pump

you'll know your tendons were stressed

and let's go ahead and let's do it

so for those of you who aren't familiar

with the hangboard i just wanted to give

you a little insight of what this looks

like up close

um some of these pockets you can fit all

your fingers in there

and the depth on that one's pretty well

other ones

you can fit all four fingers however the

depth is very shallow a lot harder to

hold on to

these ones up top you can fit your whole

hand on there however they're very

sloppy

and your hand just wants to slide off

um

these larger ones up top

pretty easy to grab onto

as we get towards the bottom

this one's pretty shallow here you can

only fit three fingers

the ones at the bottom you could fit all

four fingers but they are pretty shallow

this one you can only fit two fingers

but they do go in pretty far

this pocket is probably the worst

you can only fit two fingers and it is

very shallow

uh sometimes i do have to add a third

finger into another pocket just to help

assist myself

but yeah i just wanted to give you guys

a little close-up of what this thing

actually looked like

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so

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so i like to keep my arms at 90 degree

angle

some rock climbers will tell you it's

best to be almost fully extended

with just a slight angle in the arm

however i've always done it at a 90

degree

i believe that's why i developed such a

good lock

and

just feels more comfortable in my

opinion

um another thing

once it gets harder you're going to want

to flare your elbows out

try to keep your elbows in

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so

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so

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you won't believe how hard it is just

hang in there for 10 to 12 seconds

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not only do you get it in your forearms

you get it in your abs your core

your back

it's a full body workout

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so i also have these which are called

rock rings it's a little different feel

from the hang board

because they're free hanging

like i said just a little bit different

feel just a little bit added extra for

the hangboard workout

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once you get to the two finger pocket on

the rock rings

it really becomes pretty hard

a lot of times i'll just keep my feet on

the floor

and kind of lean into it

we'll see if i can actually hang right

now

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i was able to hang

the stress

on the finger tendons

pretty high

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so

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so that concludes the hangboard workout

definitely have a forearm pump

definitely gonna feel it in this area my

forearm tomorrow

if you guys are going to try this or

you're new to doing hang boards

please take it slow

this stresses the tendons like no other

if you're doing it multiple times per

week or

too fast too soon you could end up over

stressing the tendons and developing an

injury

i'd highly recommend you guys find a

rock climbing gym in your area

even if you go once per week you're

gonna see vast improvement

uh you can also purchase a hangboard

online

uh just go on google type in hangboard a

bunch of different models will pop up

they're usually about 80 to 100 bucks

so hope you guys enjoyed the video

hope you guys start your journey to

developing steel cable like tendons

if you guys have any comments or

recommendations for future videos

please give me a comment down below and

we will see you on the next video