How to get into rock climbing?

Rock climbing's popularity has been steadily increasing over the years, with a significant surge in interest following its debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This newfound attention is evident in Google Trends, where the term "climbing" reached its highest level of popularity in the past five years during the week of August 1–7, 2021. The sport is a great all around workout that combines strength, flexibility and cardio. So how would someone get into it?

In terms of equipment if you’re going to boulder you just need a chalk bag and some shoes! However most beginners prefer to top rope which also requires a harness and a belay device. All in this would probably cost ~$250-$400, but really you could just rent until you’ve decided you’re ready to commit.

The indoor gyms are arguably the safest place to start off. They have padded floors designed to absorb impact when bouldering and their ropes will be routinely checked. There are also a ton of safety procedures setup to keep you and everyone else safe. After you’ve found a gym, the next step is to learn the technique. Most guys start off with the ability to climb higher grades because they can muscle through things. Whereas girls typically progress faster because they don’t have the upper body strength they need to learn the technique.

You’ll see a lot of new climbers holding their body, with their arms constantly at a 90 degree angle. This doesn’t utilize the strong, skeletal structure and will quickly burn out your forearms. Another common mistake is placing your foot horizontal with the wall and not stepping on your toe. This creates an awkward body position and doesn’t help with weight distribution, causing you to expend extra energy trying to stay on the wall.

After you’ve gotten comfortable with the hands / footwork the only other thing your need to do is CLIMB! As you climb you’ll learn what body positions work for you and you will become more and more efficient in your movements. The final thing I’d recommend is joining a group or finding stronger climbers to climb with. You learn an immeasurable amount just by watching and there’s a lot of dead time (time spent off the wall) which is just more enjoyable when you’re amongst friends. And you’re more likely to stick with something if you’re having fun :)

🔥🔥🔥 Hot Take 🔥🔥🔥

Dyno moves are not climbing, they are gymnastics.

PS: These are not my personal opinions - this is meant to spark discussion

My Thoughts

It’s super exciting to see the sport start to take off. As the sport continues to grow there’s definitely an opportunity to capitalize on the gym space. I was actually just talking to a friend about this, but there currently aren’t many chain climbing gyms. The only one I can think of is Triangle Rock Club, but it’s primarily based in North Carolina. So, it will be interesting to see if some sort of regional gym forms from all the hype.

As you’ve learned from my previous article, The One Who Started it All, I learned a lot from just watching Arthur. And when you first start off the BABY gains are so real! You’ll progress so quickly and I found it pretty easy to stay motivated because of that. Everything’s right in reach and you’re constantly able to climb routes just days before you struggled on. Climbing has introduced me to a ton of great people and has taken me to some pretty cool spots (like the one above). I think it’s something everyone should try at least once in their life.