If you’re new to rock climbing, you might be wondering why it’s worth trying it out. Or maybe you have a pesky friend who’s always annoying you about this, and you want to understand them better. Either way, you’ve come to the right place, because below are the top 10 attraction of rock climbing.
It gives you an adrenaline rush
We all know that rock climbing is deemed as a dangerous sport. After all who would be so crazy to climb a steep mountain wall with just some ropes and a flimsy-looking helmet on? But you’d be surprised at how safe that actually is. The rope and the carabineers can support a lot of weight, and you don’t have to take any unnecessary risks.
But even if you use the right equipment, doing the right moves and getting plenty of help from your partner, your brain sees a bit of danger too. That’s why it releases a mix of chemicals like endorphins, dopamine, and adrenaline which raise your excitement level through the roof.
It builds your confidence
Since now you’re getting all these chemicals flowing through your body, making you feel giddy and excited, it’s your turn to control them. If you use the adrenaline to see moves and holes you wouldn’t otherwise see, you’ll feel very accomplished.
Channeling all this energy to finish a trail faster than last time or to improve your rock climbing techniques, maybe even getting a few praises from your group is well worth it. So the way how you use the adrenaline rush improves your sense of self and confidence dramatically.
You’re part of a community
You won’t just get a few climbing buddies, you’re getting friends forever. Helping each other out through difficult portions of the trail, relying on each other and trusting each other with your lives, builds friendships like nothing else.
And once that’s done, you can sit around the campfire or go out for a drink and share war stories. You’ll now be part of the rock climbing community.
You experience nature in a different way
Exercising is great and exercising outdoors is better, but rock climbing comes with the added extra of controlling nature while you’re at its mercy. That way you can see how easily you can oscillate between feeling strong and skillful one second, and completely puzzled the next.
You’ll get home with sore feet, scratches on your arms, and knuckle pain, so you can really be reminded of your close encounter with the majestic nature.
You always have your brain working
Rock climbing doesn’t let you tune out like you would on the treadmill. So you need to be thinking the whole time about your next move and plan your route, even if you have the most accessible holes.
Since your brain is working full-time, you’re increasing your brain plasticity, by creating new links between the neurons. That will improve your long-term creativity, helping you use the same links and mindset to solve different everyday problems.
You can combine that with different activities
If you’re going on a longer rock climbing trip, you can also discover the pleasure of hiking, outdoor photography or star gazing. There are lots of different outdoor activities you can now discover or rediscover in the fresh light of rock climbing.
And since you’ve already made a lot of friends, you can try out some of their other hobbies. Who knows, maybe you’ll even get into ballet or yoga.
It’s affordable
This is another star attraction considering that most organized sports cost a lot of money until you get to practice them. But rock climbing means you’ll only have to invest in a pair of shoes, which don’t cost a lot especially if you get used ones.
The monthly gym membership fee isn’t that much either if you want some indoor practice and tips first. And you can build from that as you go, perfecting your gear each month with the new stuff you learn.
You get a full workout
Rock climbing means you’ll be exercising your whole body. Your legs obviously need to do a lot of work, since you’re always pushing for the ascent. The same goes for your upper body, you need very strong, sure arms with robust fingers that need to keep you steady at all times.
You’ll also be exercising your upper back since your rhomboid muscles, lats and shoulders always have to push a little bit harder when your climbing. And your core has to be tight during all this time so it can provide the needed support. But the best thing is that you’re only using your body weight, and all this training doesn’t feel like a chore.
It gives you goals
It’s great that we can have different goals apart from the ones we get at work so that we feel we actually work towards something important. Having goals decreases chances of depression because we feel more fulfilled when we reach them.
And rock climbing teaches you how to set different sort of goals, on the short, medium and long-term. So you’ll learn how to plan your trip, how to climb a route, and how to get better gear by setting different objectives, then working towards them.
You can get better fast
Rock climbing isn’t that difficult, contrary to all beliefs. You can have a very poor starting fitness level, but if you’re giving it 110% and if you have a strong sense of mental discipline, the results will start showing very quickly.
Besides, those hormones we were talking about earlier, all those endorphins, dopamine and adrenaline are pretty addictive. So you’ll constantly find yourself wanting to squeeze in another route, or at least another hour at the gym. And all that time dedicated to rock climbing is bound to make you better.
So, with all that, do you think that rock climbing pays off? What are your reasons for getting into rock climbing? The comment section awaits!
