Just Hangin’
If you have never been climbing or bouldering then I honestly feel it is safe to say that you are missing out on a unique workout and a tremendously fun pass time. Climbing is inherent to our nature as primates and, for many people, it can be as natural as walking down the road. Climbing is a skill which most people have either forgotten or never spent much time with but it hosts a variety of unique benefits which make sport climbers extremely athletic. The complexity of body movement, demands for grip strength, and the explosive strength needed to leap from hold to hold make climbing a dynamic exercise category. While many of the strength demands are similar to those required for calisthenics, Climbing offers a unique degree of complexity both physically and mentally.
Climbing comes in a few different forms. Most commonly climbers partake in partner climbs with a belayer on the ground maintaining control of the harness while their partner climbs. While bouldering has no safety harness but rather focuses on brief & complicated routes up shorter heights. These routes usually focus on explosive strength and a quick wit to complete. A Lesser known form is what is called crack or krag climbing which involves wedging your hand into a crack in the wall and climb up. This style is incredibly painful and difficult and often separates pro climbers from hobbyists. Then, of course there’s free climbing, which is climbing just about anything without a safety harness. Don’t do that.
But what’s The point? Why bother climbing?
Climbing is a movement pattern which is natural to all primates, however mankind has chosen to forget about it and allow our upper bodies to evolve much weaker than out gorilla or chimp cousins. Climbing combines all of the muscles of your upper body to keep stable on the side of the wall, from there your lower body has to be capable of powering the movement upwards and, on occasion, act as point of leverage not dissimilar to having a third arm. You see this when experienced climbers use the tops of their feet to cling to ceilings and wide ledges. It’s quite impressive.
This form of control over the body borders on the superhuman and the athletic benefits which can be reaped from achieving these skills is also near superhuman. Control over the body in space is one of the core principles I preach to anyone looking to make gains in strength or athleticism. the ability to control your body in space builds foundational musculature which helps to build structure which, when applied to heavy lifts, allows for greater utilization of power. In short, the better you can control your own weight, the better you can control external loads.
This goes hand in hand with gymnastics and calisthenic training with the added complexity of puzzle and problem solving under stress. It challenges body and mind and forces the two to act in unison. Climbing requires knowledge, wit, alongside tremendous athleticism. It is a useful tool, a challenging hobby, and an intense workout all rolled into one.
Embrace Tradition.
Return to Monkey.
Get after it.
God bless.
