4 reasons rock climbing might just become your new favourite workout

IT’S A FUNCTIONAL WORKOUT

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 low-impact workout.

Working against gravity and using your own body weight as resistance, you’re using a combination of muscles all in tandem without stress or impact. Forget “arm or leg day” – climbing requires several muscles to both stretch, push, and pull your body at the same time.

Climbing is also very different from regular gym workouts. While the goal of each route is the same (to reach the top), the means of doing so varies from climb to climb and from climber to climber. Not only is climbing a physical work-out but it’s also a mental work-out, kicking your brain into problem-solving mode at the same time.

IT CAN ENHANCE YOUR BRAINPOWER

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

There aren’t many activities where, on one hand, your body is balancing itself, and on the other hand, your mind needs to think about how and where your next move will be at the same time. Needing to think on your feet (literally!) increases problem solving capabilities, and the more you climb, the more intuitive and focused you will get in knowing your body and your limits.

Many climbers become so focused and aware of the wall, their bodies and the connection between the two that it puts them into what athletes describe as the “flow state”. Similar to yoga, rock climbing can become a physical type of meditating.

Of course, climbing goes hand-in-hand with (safely) falling. Indoor climbing centres are the perfect place to test this out in a controlled environment, with trained instructors and spotters on hand for assistance. Falling isn’t failure though, and while it’s not the aim of the game, it’s still a fun part of the process. Sure, you need to get back on the wall and try a different route but that’s all part of knowing your body, learning your capabilities, and solving this vertical gravity maze.   

IT CONSTANTLY CHALLENGES YOU

Like the activity itself, rock climbing is a sport with constant upward momentum. In New Zealand, 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.

Everything up to 12 is quite accessible for beginners and climbs become more advanced as they move into the late teens and 20s – with the skill gap between each becoming gradually more pronounced. Once you have mastered a grade, you can move up to the next and constantly push your body, on your own terms and when you’re ready. Boredom and routine won’t be found on a rock wall!

For the more adventurous climbers, there are plenty of beautiful outdoor climbing opportunities around New Zealand to explore, and where better to combine a full-body work-out with some sightseeing, than our own backyard.