Author Topic: Finger strength training  (Read 5776 times)

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Offline bjb39

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Finger strength training
« on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 10:13:20 »
I just bought one of these



to strengthen my fingers on my left hand for guitar playing, but I was thinking of switch-hitting it on both hands to train up to use MX Greens instead of Blues. Anyone have experience with finger strength training for using heavier switches?

Offline absyrd

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 10:14:21 »
The heavier actuation force switches are the training. You should have just bought greens to start out with. :p
My wife I a also push her button . But now she have her button push by a different men. So I buy a keyboard a mechanicale, she a reliable like a Fiat.

Offline bjb39

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 10:15:03 »
The heavier actuation force switches are the training. You should have just bought greens to start out with. :p

Ha! Good point. I almost did, but I was worried they'd be too heavy having only tested a single switch on a tester.

Offline SamirD

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 12:12:39 »
That's a great idea!  Those are great for guitar players.

I also use a stress ball and one of those forearm spring things.

Offline 3K

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 13:46:59 »
I just bought one of these

Show Image


to strengthen my fingers on my left hand for guitar playing, but I was thinking of switch-hitting it on both hands to train up to use MX Greens instead of Blues. Anyone have experience with finger strength training for using heavier switches?

Never tried to train for switches. I don't know how heavy the springs of this thingy are, but I guess one could just as good do pullups on some bar?

                   Model M '88    | Model M SSK '87 | HHKB P2  | Zowie FK1

Offline KnivesM

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 14:13:49 »
I just bought one of these

Show Image


to strengthen my fingers on my left hand for guitar playing, but I was thinking of switch-hitting it on both hands to train up to use MX Greens instead of Blues. Anyone have experience with finger strength training for using heavier switches?

I have what looks to be the same one as you.
[WTT] Bros | HWS | Nightcaps [WTTF] Bros | KBK/KWK | CC

                               
           LZ-FE                 Kpad           Poker II                   Leopold 980M          TGR Tris       TGR-Jane   
72g Vintage Blacks      Blacks            Blues                        Silent Pinks                Coming Soon™
 
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Leopold 750RT - Reds, Smart68 Coming Soon™, Steelseries 6Gv2 - Reds

Offline GL1TCH3D

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 14:25:34 »
Get yourself 120g sprit springs =P

Offline asdfjkl36

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #7 on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 14:36:46 »
I never understood how people needed to adjust or work up to heavier switches like greens.

I typed on greens and tactile Greys with no problem at all.

Now 120g had a bit of adjusting to do, and then decided I'll stick to a bit less for now haha.

Offline 1swt2gs

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #8 on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 14:42:56 »
I never understood how people needed to adjust or work up to heavier switches like greens.

I typed on greens and tactile Greys with no problem at all.

Now 120g had a bit of adjusting to do, and then decided I'll stick to a bit less for now haha.

Agreed. Heaviest switches I have are green, lightest switches are red.

I jump back and forth with no problems and really need no time to adjust to the new switch.
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Offline SamirD

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 14:54:40 »
I don't necessarily have to adjust to a switch, but I do feel my hands to be 'tired' without some exercise other than typing.

Offline inanis

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 15:17:17 »
I concur with people saying they don't need to work up to a heavier switch. I can go between heavy and light switches without any trouble. I don't even really notice a difference. I want to be able to tell the differences between spring weights, but my fingers and brain just don't seem capable.

The only time I could really tell a difference was with Gateron Linears. I had 72g Spirt springs in for a while and I swapped them out for 65g. I like those better. But anything that has tactility, my brain just can't process the minute differences.

My husband has one of those grip strength things. He got it to improve his Softball skillz. I tried it, it just made my hand sore.  :-[
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Offline SamirD

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #11 on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 16:50:19 »
I tried it, it just made my hand sore.  :-[
I got sore the first few times I tried my squeeze ball and spring thingy.  But I kept them around the desk so in moment of stress I would use them. :D  That seemed to work.


Offline bjb39

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #12 on: Mon, 02 November 2015, 16:59:36 »
Interesting! When I got my latest board I went with blues, but I was really conflicted about greens because I felt like the blues could use a little more weight. I read as much as I could find about them and I came to the conclusion that most people found them fatiguing after a full day of work. I'm a software engineer, so I'm more-or-less typing non-stop 8-5, and I didn't want to get something I would have to switch out after 5-6 hours.

Anyway, after using this bad-boy for a few weeks I'm sure it will be a non-issue  ;D

Offline treefinger

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #13 on: Tue, 03 November 2015, 07:47:18 »
I never understood how people needed to adjust or work up to heavier switches like greens.

I typed on greens and tactile Greys with no problem at all.

Now 120g had a bit of adjusting to do, and then decided I'll stick to a bit less for now haha.


Agreed, I had a similar experience going to Blacks and then back to Reds. That being said, grip strength is a great thing to work on for keyboarding as well as other things...like a strong handshake and the ability to open that jar of jelly for your s/o.

Offline SamirD

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #14 on: Tue, 03 November 2015, 11:43:25 »
...and the ability to open that jar of jelly for your s/o.

I actually came up with a method to do that without using your hand strength but your whole upper body, lol.  There's almost no jar I can't open now unless I can't get a grip on it. ;D


Offline xorian

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #15 on: Wed, 04 November 2015, 15:12:39 »
When I started getting into mechanical keyboards earlier this year, I tried MX browns on a borrowed Das and I didn't like how I constantly bottomed out on them and could barely feel the tactile bump.  I switched to MX clears on a used G80 which I liked much better, but I still found myself consistently bottoming out unless I concentrated on typing gently.  Also I couldn't really understand why some people said they found MX clears fatiguing.  Currently I'm using MX tactile greys and really enjoying them.  The heavier springs feel much more bouncy to me, more like a trampoline than like hitting a solid surface (what I feel when bottoming out on lighter switches).  To me, rebounding off the spring seems more ergonomic.

Several people have accused me of having freakish Hulk hands, but I suspect it has more to do with 20+ years of martial arts training (wrist grab escapes, staff spinning, sword cutting) and related fitness activities (free weights, gymnastic rings, pull-ups).  My point is that finger/forearm strength does seem, to me at least, to be related to how different switches feel.
« Last Edit: Wed, 04 November 2015, 15:33:51 by xorian »

Offline rowdy

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #16 on: Wed, 04 November 2015, 19:57:35 »
Just do pushups on your finger tips :p
"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

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Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline SamirD

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #17 on: Wed, 04 November 2015, 20:27:21 »
Just do pushups on your finger tips :p
I don't think many of us can do pushups, moreless on fingertips.  :-[


Offline rowdy

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #18 on: Wed, 04 November 2015, 23:07:05 »
Just do pushups on your finger tips :p

I don't think many of us can do pushups, moreless on fingertips.  :-[

Yes, that would be a problem :))
"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline Connly33

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #19 on: Wed, 30 December 2015, 15:14:25 »
When I started getting into mechanical keyboards earlier this year, I tried MX browns on a borrowed Das and I didn't like how I constantly bottomed out on them and could barely feel the tactile bump.  I switched to MX clears on a used G80 which I liked much better, but I still found myself consistently bottoming out unless I concentrated on typing gently.  Also I couldn't really understand why some people said they found MX clears fatiguing.  Currently I'm using MX tactile greys and really enjoying them.  The heavier springs feel much more bouncy to me, more like a trampoline than like hitting a solid surface (what I feel when bottoming out on lighter switches).  To me, rebounding off the spring seems more ergonomic.

Several people have accused me of having freakish Hulk hands, but I suspect it has more to do with 20+ years of martial arts training (wrist grab escapes, staff spinning, sword cutting) and related fitness activities (free weights, gymnastic rings, pull-ups).  My point is that finger/forearm strength does seem, to me at least, to be related to how different switches feel.
I had the same experience with blues, i really like them but i bottom out constantly, hearing the controversy over clears i tried them and i really like them for typing, i dont bottom out so much and my wrists dont get as tired. I do want to try the tactile greys though.

Custom 60% with Cherry MX Clear

Offline OTD

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Re: Finger strength training
« Reply #20 on: Wed, 30 December 2015, 15:17:32 »
Get one of those gateron yellows.