How many gym sessions involve you working on your arms, abs, obliques, delts, biceps, traps, lats, quads, calves and forearms all at once?
There is a lot to be said for focussing on specific muscle groups, training under tension and alternating muscle groups, however, why not discover how working all of these muscles together can do for your fitness, your physique and your mental strength with climbing?
Climbing uses the same cardiovascular intensity as jogging, even for beginners. As your mind is elsewhere working out where the next hold is and your body is working to stay stable on the wall, you don’t get any of the mental fatigue commonly experienced with running on a treadmill.
Climbing uses every limb, every digit and every thought as you become immersed in the challenge of staying on the wall, finding your next hold and completing the route. Take your mind off work and the day-to-day stresses of life with the exciting physical and mental challenge of climbing.
It is easy to forget to include stretching in your workout and you often don’t feel the benefit of stretching. However, with climbing you will constantly stretch your arms or bring your foot up to reach the next position. Holding your body under tension whilst stretching is a great way to discover your potential and develop new limits.
Whether your partner is belaying or taking a great Instagram story for you, climbing is a sociable workout. It also helps improve your communication skills as you work with your belay partner to achieve your 10 metre mission.
A climber’s formidable grip is useful for lots of different sports from badminton to tennis to netball, basketball or rugby. An hour long session on the climbing wall will improve your forearm strength and grip immensely.
Discover more about climbing at University of Birmingham Sport & Fitness
