
Top 8 Awesome Reasons to Join a Rock Climbing Gym - mastertom
https://methodclimb.com/join-indoor-rock-climbing-gym/
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mooman219
I want to clarify the "full body workout" point. For one, it's not really a
full body workout, and you disproportionately work out your back. This, along
with an under developed chest can cause your shoulders to roll forward
resulting in bad posture. Another problem if you find you have a dominant hand
while climbing, which leads to half your body getting exercised more than the
other side. This is usually your right half because setters are usually right
handed and will set routes that lead to you working your right half more. If
you get a massage, it's normally pretty easy for them to immediately notice
this asymmetry. Like all exercise, try to find a balance. No one activity is
going to be a catch all for your whole body.

The other points are pretty spot on. I just wish climbing gyms weren't so
expensive haha.

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SketchySeaBeast
> This, along with an under developed chest can cause your shoulders to roll
> forward resulting in bad posture.

I would have thought they would have rolled back - a tight chest and unworked
back muscles will cause the shoulders to roll forward due to the pecs being in
a constant state of tension and the back being unable to balance it all out. I
wonder why the opposite would have the same effect.

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etrautmann
climbers tend to overdevelop back muscles. pecks are largely not involved -
it's all flexors not extensors.

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SketchySeaBeast
Yeah, so if the back is tight why would the shoulders roll forward?

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joeyrideout
I climbed when I was young and picked it up again as an adult hobby two years
ago. It's still a blast and I would recommend it to anyone who is bored of
lifting weights.

Bouldering in particular is easy to do routinely because you don't need a
partner with you in the gym holding a rope for you.

It also appeals to my gamer side, because routes are graded in terms of
difficulty. For bouldering that's V0 through V10, sometimes higher, with zero
being easy and 10 being... competitive. Progressing through levels is a great
mechanic. Routes also get reset by the gym owners every couple weeks so there
is always a new set of challenges.

The competitive scene is getting more and more connected with streams online,
too, so you have a sport you can enjoy watching between sessions. e.g.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWXWoziXtyM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWXWoziXtyM)

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SketchySeaBeast
I'm not sure if any of those arguments actually are unique to rock climbing. I
mean, it looks like it could be fun, but none of that is a strong argument
specifically for rock climbing.

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AlexandrB
Number 7 (Practice Mindfulness) is the killer app for me. I've done biking,
power-lifting, and swimming before and these do focus you, but not the way
rock climbing does. Planning out and executing a route has a higher level of
novelty than most exercises. This helps me turn off the part of my brain
that's always worrying about work because I need to focus not just on things
like form and breathing but the more analytical task of real-time planning as
I scale the wall.

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SketchySeaBeast
I've found mindfulness in powerlifting, as well as rowing and bicycling.
Powerlifting is an acute condition - I have ~30 seconds of absolute
concentration and focus, being totally focused on executing and knowing
nothing else, ignoring the agony of screaming muscles and intense pressure.
Rowing and bicycle are both much longer steady state, but at the right pace it
really focuses you in to the here and now.

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abstrct
Rock climbing is a really unique mesh of physical activity, community, and
puzzle solving. If you find the thought of gyms boring but want to start
getting some exercise, I'd definitely suggest trying it out.

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sigfubar
Rock climbing is the new CrossFit.

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SketchySeaBeast
That's not fair, there will probably be less ruptured Achilles with this.

