Give Climbing a Try...Here Is Why
- Kevin Dumapit
- Apr 2, 2015
- 4 min read
Have you ever wanted to get up and be active but you just didn't know if you wanted to try a traditional gym? Or have you ever tried to go run, bike, swim etc?
In this day and age, many people want so desperately to be in shape but have trouble justifying the need to work out traditionally. With the world being so health conscious, it is crazy about how many options you have. There is yoga and its many styles, Crossfit, Soulcycle and of course the traditional gym. One thing I have observed over the years is that friends and family (and random hot chics at bars) would always ask what I did and how I stayed in shape. Sometimes, said people would try and guess and ask, "how much do you bench / squat" or "you must do a lot of cardio and diet hard." Well, I am here to finally settle the score straight and tell you that most, if not all, of my health benefits have come from climbing. Thats really it...no secret here.
Climbing is pretty awesome as the activity engages almost all of your muscles in your body. Different kinds of steepness will work on different body positions as well as engage those muscles needed to perform the task. Best part about all of this is that you usually won't think about your muscles as all you want to do is to find a way up the climb. After various attempts, you are bound to get sore! Some friends that I have taken over the years have always said that the next morning, muscles that they have never knew they had were sore.
Cardio you say? Sure. Climbing can give you cardio as well. Take any climb on a rope and climb 10 laps at a moderate pace and you will see what I am talking about. Plus, while your adrenaline may be running, your heart rate will go up in the process too thus, burning more calories.
Mentally, climbing makes you focus like crazy as one wrong move...well...yeah you get this one. Strangely, it also calms your mind. Some of the scariest looking climbs are sometimes some of the most peaceful (Trad Climbing multipitch at the Gunks or out west on an amazing Spring morning). It's a great activity to do if you have some demons you are battling.
As I mentioned before, the steepness of a wall makes a huge difference. Check out the pic on the left. Climbing something completely overhung is a timed recipe for forearm and abdominal meltdown. But, as you get more familiar with the terrain and keep up with it, it gets a lot easier and you get a lot more ripped. Something that is more flat or slab based (when the wall tends to go inward) works your legs like crazy as you have to maintain balance and move incredibly slowly.
Lets talk about the grips as well. The climbing community calls them "holds" as you usually hold them. There are so many shapes and orientations that a hold can be set so your body never gets bored with a movement. As your strength evolves, well, so will the holds. Eventually you are gonna end up being able to hold dime edges and squeeze water out of rock. You can have all of this but: You must give climbing an honest try. One and done ain't gonna cut it. Sound good? Great. Keep reading.
Probably my most favorite thing about climbing is the social aspect. At traditional gyms or
other activities, you dont get to interact too much with the people you are surrounded by. At a gym, people are more than willing to help you enough with something you may struggle on because lets face it: the struggle is real and we all can relate. Having people around to help push you is a huge reason why people keep coming back. You learn new techniques, help each other climb and make some great friends in the process. There is also the diversity factor. So many different personalities from so many different backgrounds climb. There are no cliques. Oh, and this community can make some pretty banging vegan food. Hell i'll say that trust factor involved from the nature of climbing has given those friends ive made the title of family to me. Never have I found an activity that is so valuable in what it can provide for you on a physical and mental level.
Being able to be out in nature with people you love being around is incredible as they share beta (how to climb something), stories or just plain joking around. Climbing is so unique as to what it had offered me, I can only hope you give it an honest try and let it find you. The pic on the right shows you some of the people I have had the honor of getting to know and climb with (there are so many more...so so many more and they are just as lovely).
I'll leave you with this: If you want a clear mind, a sexy bod and a great community you can call family, climbing may just be for you.
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