Importance of shoulder girdle and finger flexor muscle endurance in advanced male climbers.

Aim: This study aimed to: (a) assess the relationships between climbing performance and finger and shoulder girdle muscle endurance; and (b) provide evidence on the validity of the specialized exercise tests used for the purpose.

Materials and methods: 28 male sport climbers (climbing ability 23 ± 2.43 IRCRA scale) performed four tests muscle failure, including two-finger hang tests (using 2.5 and 4 cm holds) and two variants of pull-up exercises (classical pull-ups and a combination of dynamic and isometric actions - the so-called Edlinger). Climbing performance and test results were subjected to correlation, taxonomic and regression analysis.

Results: The correlations between the results from all tests and climbing performance were notably strong ( $r$ between 0.54 and 0.61) and statistically significant ( $p<0.05$ ). The taxonomic analysis indicated that the two variants of each test type reflect two different latent variables 2.5 cm and 4 cm finger hang durations were highly correlated ( $r=0.76,p<0.01$ ). A similar correlation was found between the results from the pull-up tests ( $r=0.72,p<0.01$ ). Thus, the finger hang and pull-up test results were determined to a high extent (43% and 49%, respectively) by factors that cannot be assessed when only one test of each type is used. The regression model of the two-finger tests allowed individual endurance profiles to be assessed.

Conclusions: The muscular endurance of the elbow flexors and shoulder girdle muscles predicts climbing performance within the specific sport level studied to a comparable degree as finger flexor endurance.The use of two variants of a test intended to assess one physical ability provided important details on a climber's fitness.