Test — Critical Force 4-min All-Out (monthly benchmark)

Full session

1. 0. What this is How much work your forearms can sustain when there's no pacing left — the engine behind 'holding on late in the route'. The lab version measures force; this field version counts what you can actually hang. Monthly, a DIFFERENT day from the Max Hang test, 48h clear of hard finger work.
2. 1. Warm-up (8 min) Pulse-raiser, forearm massage, progressive hangs to one short moderate 20 mm hang, 90 s between. Warm and springy — this test hurts enough without starting cold.
3. 2. The test — 4 minutes, all-out, timer runs no matter what Set the interval timer: 7 s on / 3 s off / 24 rounds. Hang EVERY work interval for as much of the 7 s as you can hold — from round one this is maximal, not paced (all-out is the protocol; pacing invalidates it). When you can no longer hold the full 7 s, hang whatever seconds you can each round, resting only the 3 s beeps, until the 4 minutes end. It gets grim in the middle; that plateau IS the measurement.
4. 3. The result RECORD: total accumulated hang seconds across the window (a partner counts, or video and count after — don't self-count, you'll be busy). Perfect score 168 s means conditions were too easy — this test at bodyweight should always end in the grim plateau.
5. 4. Stop rules Sharp pain = stop instantly (muscular burn and desperation are expected; joint/tendon pain is not). Nothing else on fingers that day. If you bailed early for pain, log nothing — a partial isn't a data point.