Learning how to get better at indoor rock climbing comes with tons of surprising benefits for your body and mind. However, you aren’t alone if you aren’t sure what to do or have a few nervous jitters about how to begin. Understanding what to expect calms your nerves and gets you off to a great start on a fascinating new hobby that improves nearly every aspect of your health.
Check out the different ways you can benefit from indoor rock climbing:
Running, biking, hiking and dancing all work your heart and lower body. However, indoor rock climbing incorporates your upper body muscles into the mix. Although you’ll still use your legs plenty, your shoulders, back, biceps, and triceps handle much of the overall load. Indoor rock climbing even works often neglected fitness areas — like your grip strength.
The more muscle groups you get moving at one time, the harder your heart has to work to supply them all with nutrients and oxygen. As a result, it’s easy to elevate your heart rate without jumping or jarring your joints.
Indoor rock climbing is a fabulous alternative if lower-body injuries make it hard for you to meet your cardio requirements. Many people find that elevating their arms above their heads increases their heart rate, especially when you must also hoist your body weight.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of getting better at indoor rock climbing occurs in your mind, not your body. You begin to build new confidence in yourself the first time you overcome fear sufficiently to get on the wall. It takes a great deal of courage to trust your strength to hold you several feet above the ground, and stepping up to tackle this risk creates the sense that you can overcome any adversity with the right approach.
You might start off feeling intimidated, but as you master more complex and difficult climbs, you deepen your trust in your mental and physical capabilities.
Ready to begin? Use these seven simple steps as your guide to how to get better at indoor rock climbing.
To get better at indoor rock climbing, you need a place to practice. Fortunately, you may not have to join a separate rock climbing gym. Many community recreational and aquatic centers now feature these walls as part of their standard offerings. However, you may have to schedule a time to use the equipment or attend mandatory safety training before use — ask about the procedure when you sign up.
Even if you are a weightlifter, you may need to alter your upper body training days slightly. Most experts recommend going for lower weights and higher repetitions to build the kind of endurance you’ll need on the wall. After all, much of the time, your arms won’t be actively pulling you into position but rather holding you while you find a toe grip.
Fortunately, you can perform many upper body strength training exercises at home, not only at the gym. For example, use lightweight resistance bands to do overhead lat pulldowns while watching television. A pull-up bar is a worthy addition to a tall doorway, and you can use resistance bands as aids until you get strong enough to hoist your body weight.
The first time you hit the wall, you’ll probably find your heart pounding like you were sprinting. Cardiovascular conditioning helps, especially as you progress to more challenging maneuvers. While you’ll get your ticker pumping plenty every time you climb, include additional exercises to work your endurance, such as biking or speed-walking. Rowing is a particularly beneficial choice as it works your lat muscles, which also help you climb.
Some indoor rock climbing supports are tiny — you may feel as if you are hanging on by your fingernails. While you’ll also improve grip strength on the wall, it helps to practice when you aren’t on the ropes. Fortunately, you can invest in an inexpensive grip trainer. Keep it by your work desk and let it double as a stress ball or fidget toy.
Everyone benefits from a routine yoga practice, but you might find it particularly helpful when you want to get better at indoor rock climbing. While on the wall, you’ll sometimes have to stretch to make a difficult ascent or move your body in ways it hasn’t bent in years. YouTube is a fantastic resource, with many popular channels featuring shorter flows you can complete in just 10 to 20 minutes.
Flexibility training also reduces injury risk from strains and muscle tears. It gently acclimates your body to the stress of different positions, making you less likely to rip something while attempting a tricky climb.
As much as you may love your new hobby and what it does to your body, it’s as important to rest as to build. When you engage in physical activity, you create microscopic muscle tears that make you stronger when they heal. However, if you don’t give them adequate time to knit back together, you can hinder your progress and increase your chances of injury.
Finally, the easiest way to learn how to get better at indoor rock climbing could be to hire a coach. Select someone with ample climbing experience and let them guide you on proper grip and techniques. Many also have personal trainer credentials and can recommend a program to improve your skills when not on the wall.
Learning how to get better at indoor rock climbing imparts tons of benefits for your body and mind. Join your local gym today and begin your journey. You’ll enjoy a fabulous full-body workout and develop your confidence by hitting the wall regularly.
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