Finger training picked up a pile of overlapping names over the last few years, and nobody agreed on them. Someone says "block pull," someone else says "no-hang," a third person says "edge lift," and they might all mean the exact same thing or three slightly different things. Here's the glossary, defined plainly.
The core idea
Most of these terms describe one basic action: you grip a device with your fingers and lift a load off the ground, instead of hanging your bodyweight from a mounted board. Your arm stays at your side or slightly in front of you. The load comes from plates, a loading pin, or a strain gauge. That's the family. The names below are variations and near-synonyms within it.
No-hang
Any finger training that doesn’t hang bodyweight from a board. Feet stay down; you lift or pull load.
Lifting edge
The tool: a portable edge with an attachment point you grip to lift weight.
Portable hangboard
Retail name for a lifting edge. You usually don’t hang from it.
No-hang vs hangboard training
These are related, not interchangeable.
- Hangboard training means you hang bodyweight (plus or minus load) from a mounted edge. Gravity is the load path. Shoulders and spine are in the chain.
- No-hang training means feet stay down and you lift or pull a load with your fingers. The edge is portable. You dial force with plates or a gauge instead of bodyweight.
Same finger flexors. Different setup, different recovery cost, different equipment. A max hang on a board and a one-arm max lift on a block can both train peak force, but only one is a "no hang." If a program says "no-hang," it is telling you the loading style, not a brand of protocol.
What beginners should ignore
When you are first sorting the vocabulary, skip the noise:
- Protocol names as tool names. Max hangs, repeaters, and density hangs are session designs. You can run them on a board or a lifting edge. The word does not pick the product for you.
- Marketing synonyms that sound like new methods. Portable hangboard, lifting edge, and no-hang device usually point at the same family of tools. Buy the edge depth and grip you need, not the trendiest label.
- Grip-sport jargon until you need it. Pick-up and armlifting terms describe the same off-the-ground idea. Useful later; optional on day one.
- Chasing every named protocol at once. Learn one clean no-hang lift, log the load, then add a second protocol. The glossary is a map, not a shopping list.
When you are ready for a simple edge that covers flat and mild unlevel work, the Dual Edge Block is a common first tool in this category. The names still mean the same thing if you train on something else.
The terms
No-hang
An umbrella term for any finger training that doesn't involve hanging from a board. If your feet stay on the ground and you're lifting or pulling load rather than suspending bodyweight, it's a no-hang. Broadest term on this list.
Lifting edge
The device itself: a small edge, usually with an attachment point, that you grip to lift weight. "Lifting edge" refers to the tool. "Edge lifting" refers to the action of using it.
Block lift / block pull
The most common names for the lift itself: gripping a block or edge and pulling it off the ground. "Block lift" and "block pull" are interchangeable, with "pull" slightly more common in strength and grip-sport circles and "lift" in climbing. Sometimes the phrasing emphasizes a chunkier block-shaped tool rather than a thin edge, but functionally it's the same movement as edge lifting.
Off-the-ground lift
A plain-language description of the same thing, used when someone wants to be unambiguous: the load starts on the floor and you lift it with your fingers. If a program says "off the ground lifts," it means block lifts.
Pick-up
Grip-sport phrasing. A "pick-up" is lifting an implement off the ground with your grip, tested to a max. You'll hear it in armlifting and grip contexts. Same mechanic, different scene.
Portable hangboard
A marketing-friendly name for a lifting edge, leaning on the "hangboard" people already know. Slightly misleading since you don't hang from it, but it communicates the purpose quickly.
No-hang device
The physical tool used for no-hang training. Ranges from a single edge to elaborate multi-grip units. Same category as a lifting edge, just named by what it isn't rather than what it is.
Quick reference
| Term | Refers to | Scene it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| No-hang | The method (not hanging) | Climbing |
| Lifting edge | The tool | Climbing |
| Edge lifting | The action | Climbing |
| Block lift / block pull | The lift itself | Climbing / grip sport |
| Off-the-ground lift | Same lift, plain-language name | Climbing |
| Pick-up | Max lift off the ground | Grip sport / armlifting |
| Portable hangboard | The tool (marketing name) | Climbing retail |
Terms that mean something different
A few related words that aren't synonyms, so you don't lump them in by accident:
Max hang is a protocol, not a tool.
- Hangboard / fingerboard: a mounted board you hang bodyweight from. The thing no-hangs are defined against.
- Max hang: a protocol, not a tool. Heavy load, short duration. Can be done on a board or a lifting edge.
- Repeaters: also a protocol. Interval hangs or pulls, work-to-rest ratios like 7 seconds on, 3 off.
- Crimp block / pinch block: lifting edges shaped for specific grips. Still no-hang tools, just grip-specific.
Why the naming mess matters
It doesn't, much, once you know the map. But it trips up beginners buying their first tool, and it makes searching for advice confusing when everyone uses different words for the same thing. Now you can read a forum thread or a product page and translate on the fly.
If you want the actual training comparison rather than the vocabulary, our post on no-hang lifts vs hangboarding covers when to use each and what the tradeoffs are.
Buying a first tool? Start with the portable hangboard buyer's guide, or how to train finger strength at home without a hangboard if you can't drill.
This is the canonical glossary for our training library. If you see the same terms defined elsewhere on the site, treat this page as the reference.