Your Guide to the Benefits of Rock Climbing Fitness
Want a physically engaging, full-body workout that gets you in top shape and prime fitness condition? Then, rock climbing could be the sport for you.
Rock climbing fitness is a challenging sport that can test your physical and mental stamina. It actually reduces stress.
The climb tests your body and mind’s endurance, strength, agility, and balance. Rock climbing can be performed on an indoor rock climbing wall or out in nature.
With the right mindset and the best climbing equipment, shoes and gear for safe rock climbing, plus the right climbing strategies, you can be on your way to a lean, toned body and a more focused brain.
It’s one of the best total body workouts you can do and offers mega benefits.
What are the Benefits of Rock Climbing?
1. Rock Climbing Gives You Cardio and Strength Building In One Workout
Whether you’re rock climbing indoors or out, the rock climbing session provides a good workout. During this time you build stamina, strengthen your muscles and increase your heart rate to work cardio.
You need strength to pull yourself up on the rope with your arms. But the sport also tests your core body muscles and legs to enable you to find a right balance during your climb.
2. Muscle Groups Strengthened During Rock Climbing
As you build a rock climber body, you work a variety of muscles in your body:
- Abs
- Obliques
- Biceps
- Traps
- Delts
- Quads
- Lats
- Calves
In fact, as you strengthen your grip, you work your forearms. So, you’re literally increasing strength every major muscle group during your a rock climbing session. Climbing can also lower your BMI and decrease body fat.
3. Rock Climbing Improves Flexibility
Rock climbing raises the range of motion. This occurs because the sport requires flexibility as you climb, and adaptability as you spring and reach the handholds and footholds during your climb.
To increase your circulation and flexibility, make sure you stretch a few times a week to prepare for your climb
4. Rock Climbing Reduces Stress
When you raise norepinephrine levels, a neurotransmitter in your body, you release stress.
Being involved in the actions of climbing, reaching and leaping can often create a sense of exhilaration or feel like a natural “high.” This occurs as norepinephrine levels increase with each step you take.
To add, rock climbers who climb outdoors get an extra boost of energy from the sun’s rays that emit Vitamin D, which, as you may know, also reduces stress.
5. You Increase Mental Strength
Rock climbing is also useful for your brain. While you navigate routes, you test your problem-solving skills. Climbing also requires good hand-eye coordination so you can determine the right reach on the face of the rock.
These skills help you judge the proper reach, abilities, and strength needed to move on to the next step. It also tests your mental endurance and route calculation.
These skills are especially essential when you do rock climbing without safety harnesses and ropes, known as bouldering. Only recommended for advanced rock climbers.
6. Rock Climbing Helps Us Conquer Fear
Our fears offer the most significant challenges that stop us from achieving our dreams, experiencing success and living our life to the fullest.
Two of the biggest fears is a fear of heights and a fear of falling. While rock climbing helps our body, it’s a great way to challenge these fears. Challenging the fear of rock climbing provides a great way to strengthen our confidence and build self-esteem.
Climbing with a safety harness also provides an added security and comfort when we’re fighting our fears. If we lose our grip, the harness acts as a safety measure. And they can be used both for indoor climbs or outdoor climbs.
7. Rock Climbing Can Ward Off Chronic Illnesses
The exercises needed in climbing can aid as a deterrent to chronic disease. Some of these illnesses include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease.
According to health.gov, cardiovascular exercise that builds endurance and strengthens muscles can prevent chronic illnesses. Since rock climbing has these physical benefits, it helps to avoid the risk for chronic diseases.
8. A Rock Climbing Session Burns Calories
Did you know that rock climbing is a calorie-burning sport? In fact, in 30 minutes or uphill rock climbing, a person can burn between 330 and 498 calories, depending on their weight.
Harvard Health reports that a person weighing 125 pounds will burn 330 calories. An individual weighing 155 pounds will burn 409 calories, and a person who weighs 185 pounds can burn 498 calories.
9. An Amazing Experience
Whether you climb a mountain or in an indoor rock climbing course, reaching the summit will put you in a state of euphoria. You’ll feel like you’re on top of the world, fulfilled and feel like you are on top of the world.
Reaching the top, you’ll have a bird’s eye view that’s wonderful and amazing. Rock climbing also gives climbers an adrenaline rush when they reach the top of the rocks. Can’t you picture the view below?
You’ll feel a sense of pride and accomplishment from all the hard work you put in to reach the summit.
10. A Sense of Victory
Busting out of your comfort zone, you’ll know you challenged yourself, whether you’ve tested your fears, your physical limitations or your mental abilities.
Many climbers fill the climb is a win-win. The challenge offers a feeling like you are ready for the next challenge. They want to grow their potential and challenge more complex routes with increasing difficulties.
Final Words On The Benefits of Rock Climbing Fitness
The feeling of winning over the challenge often makes climbers want to challenge other aspects of their lives because they’ve achieved a sense of victory.
Our company loves everything about rock climbing and provides new, and veteran rock climbers access to some of the most excellent rock climbing tips, education, gear, and equipment.
Visit our website to discover more about the climb, the people and the news about this unique sport.