Everything you need to know about rock climbing

Looking for a new challenge? Here are four reasons rock climbing might be right for you.

Rock climbing is an imposing sport. You might have seen the 2018 documentary Free Solo, which follows one intrepid climber’s unharnessed ascent up a 900-metre vertical rock face in Yosemite national park. Just watching it alone is a nail-biting experience.

But the beauty of rock climbing is that it’s an accessible hobby that can be as easy or difficult as you choose to make it. From building strength to improving overall wellbeing, climbing is packed full of benefits, and these days you don’t have to stray too far to get moving. Indoor facilities are popping up all over the country, letting people test their mettle in a safe and controlled environment.

For Leo Bi, operations manager and social media coordinator at North Walls, an indoor climbing centre in Melbourne’s inner-north, climbing is a 12-year-long passion.

“Climbing presents challenges in a way that I find really compelling,” says Leo. “People who engage in the sport find it really palpable,” – so much so, it seems, that it’s even debuting as an event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

If you’re curious about reaching new heights, here are four reasons why climbing might be right for you.

Rock climbing isn’t your usual workout. As well as the challenge of ascending a vertical wall, it engages muscles throughout your entire body like few exercises can. In short, it’s a full-body workout.

“When you're pulling on the wall, you're engaging your hands, you're using muscles in your forearms, you're driving power from your legs,” says Leo. “You're engaging muscles all at once in various ways, and you're doing that against gravity.”

Climbing is also very different from regular gym workouts because while the goal of each route is the same (to reach the top), the means of doing so varies from climb to climb. “The cool thing with climbing is the activity itself is really compelling,” Leo tells us.

Rock climbing requires incredible mental strength and balance, as your brain works to orient your body on the wall.

“The whole time, your whole body is engaged in balancing itself,” says Leo. “It creates not just strength, but [also] coordination. It also trains proprioception, your body's ability to understand where it is and what's happening [around you] without actually seeing what your doing.”

Of course, climbing goes hand-in-hand with (safely) falling – which is an experience that Leo embraces. "One of the biggest things this sport has taught me is that you can have a lot of fun being bad at something.” In fact, he credits his climbing experiences with changing his outlook on life. “It’s one of the biggest things that sport has taught me: failure is really important to getting better at anything.”

Like the activity itself, rock climbing is a sport with constant upward momentum. In Australia, there are levels of difficulty that range from novice (grades 9–11) to super-elite (grades 34–38). Currently, the title of hardest climb in the world belongs to ‘Silence’ in Norway – completed by Czech climber Adam Ondra, and graded at 39.

“They're very incremental to begin with,” says Leo. “And as the numbers get higher, it will get harder.”

Everything up to 12 is quite accessible for beginners (Leo describes these routes as “inconvenient ladders”), and climbs become more advanced as they move into the late teens and 20s – with the skill gap between each becoming gradually more pronounced. “The difference between 25 and 26 is really tangible,” says Leo. “When you're climbing a 26 you can feel it.”

Leo says that while a grade system might seem imposing, it shouldn’t discourage you from getting into the sport. “When I first started climbing, I sucked,” he laughs.

Staff writers come from a range of backgrounds including health, wellbeing, music, tech, culture and the arts. They spend their time researching the latest data and trends in the health market to deliver up-to-date information, helping everyday Australians live healthier lives. This is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances. The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances 

Disclaimer:
The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as financial, medical, health, nutritional, tax or other advice. It does not take into account any individual’s personal situation or needs. You should consider obtaining professional advice from a financial adviser and/or tax specialist, or medical or health practitioner, in relation to your own circumstances and before acting on this information.