If you are the adventurous type and an adrenaline junkie, rock climbing may be the perfect workout routine for you. Rock climbing is a sport that challenges your physical and mental stamina. The activity will test your strength, endurance, patience, balance, and agility. Whether you are climbing in an indoor fitness gym or you are climbing a rock mountain, you will be surprised at how much sweat you are producing and how much muscles you are working out even if you are moving at a slow pace.
Rock climbing is one of the best total body workouts. You have to have the correct mindset and best climbing gear and equipment for you to be able to do the activity and for your safety. There’s no such thing in rock climbing as “climbing light”. Even the easiest rock climbing surfaces will require your whole body to make an effort and maximum concentration. Moreover, the toughest routes will push yourself to the limits.
If you are utterly bored of your daily exercise routine and want to spice it up and take the extra challenges, there’s no stopping you in trying out rock climbing. We have listed the full benefits of this activity.
Rock climbing provides strength-building workout and cardio in one.
If you are in your usual gym, you do the treadmill for your cardio and weight lifting to strengthen your muscles. Rock climbing can provide all those benefits in just a single climb. Whether you’re climbing indoors or out, the activity provides a good body workout. Once you pull yourself up to climb already requires your muscles to exert any effort, thus strengthening it and increasing your heart rate at the same time for your cardio workout. Now you do not have to worry about joint-jarring effects of high-impact activities like plyometrics and jogging as your feet won’t even touch the ground while climbing.
Rock climbing strengthens your muscle groups.
Since rock climbing is a total body workout, needless to say, there are a lot of muscles involved while doing this activity:
- Core – you need to hold your body close to the wall when you climb, and your core allows you to do that.
- Arms – you rely on the strength of your forearms when you do rock climbing if your legs don’t have enough power to do so. Your arms will have a real workout, especially your upper arms and shoulders.
- Legs – same as your arms, most of the time, your legs will do most of the work as you work your way upwards.
- Glutes – propelling yourself upwards doesn’t only require leg power; it also relies on your glute muscles. Together, it gives you enough energy to climb.
- Back – together with your core, your back muscles like rhomboids, trapezius, and lats work hand in hand to give you stability while you climb.
In other words, the more you climb, the more you push your muscles to work harder, literally increasing the strength of each muscle involved. Thus, giving you climber muscles which makes your BMI lower and decreases your body fat.
Rock climbing offers Flexibility, Aerobics, and Competitive Sport.
Yes. Rock climbing is distinguished as a competitive sport in some parts of the world with teams emerging here and there. Either you do rock climbing as a sport, or just for fun, it requires you to have a wide range of movements. You tend to reach out and stretch yourself to reach one hold after the other, thus improving your flexibility skills. And while this activity is considered extreme like any other strenuous activity, it increases your heart rate beyond normal, giving you an aerobic workout on its own.
Rock climbing is a great stress reliever.
Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter in your body which involves stress reduction when released. When you rock climb, your body can have a sense of exhilaration and excitement with climbing, reaching and leaping. This sense of happiness and excitement occurs when norepinephrine is released in your body. Thus, reducing your stress and even anxiety.
Rock climbing increases your mental strength.
Rock climbing not only requires your strength and power to conquer each climb. It also involves your hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills as you work your way through the course. Rock climbing is not an easy task, and there are advanced routes that will need you to leap from one place to another. These skills will help you to navigate your way throughout the course.
Rock climbing helps us conquer our fears.
Whether you have acrophobia (fear of heights) or basophobia (fear of falling), rock climbing can help you conquer those. With your safety always ensured when you are climbing, you can let go of those fears as you are aware that you won’t get hurt in the process. Once you have successfully finished a course, you know that you already conquered these fears; thus, the feeling of confidence and self-esteem sets in.
Rock climbing wards off chronic heart diseases and diabetes.
Diseases associated with the heart and diabetes often come from unhealthy lifestyles and too much bad cholesterol in our body. Since rock climbing decreases our body fat and tone our muscles, it lessens the risk of you developing these types of diseases.
Rock climbing gives you a fantastic experience and a sense of victory.
Rock climbing only has one goal – to reach the top of the rock surface. Whether you are climbing indoors or outdoors, reaching the summit gives you fulfilment and satisfaction. It puts you in a state of euphoria as you know that all your hard work and efforts have paid off. You will also feel a sense of pride and accomplishment after what you’ve been through, and this newfound self-esteem will help you to achieve your goals in real-life situations.
Rock climbing is not for everyone. Though it is a fun activity, there are a lot of limitations, and it is not for the faint of heart. If you’re a beginner and you just decided to try rock climbing, you must assess yourself first for your safety if you are capable. If you know you have a health condition, it is best to seek professional advice before trying the sport. Otherwise, if you are used to these kinds of activities, and you are positive that you are in good shape, there’s no reason for you not to try rock climbing.
