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Climbing is the 2020 exercise for a full-body workout—and will give you a mega-high



I don’t know about you, but suddenly my Instagram feed is full of colourful snaps of climbing walls. A quick search of #bouldering throws up 3.6 million hits on the app, confirming my suspicion: climbing is officially cool.

Making it even more relevant, sport climbing will make its Olympics debut in Tokyo this summer (Mattel has even launched a new sport climbing Barbie doll to celebrate), alongside surfing, karate and skateboarding, meaning daredevils will finally be able to scoop gold thanks to their iron-clad grip.

Speaking to The Guardian, Shauna Coxsey, Team GB’s first qualifier and two-times winner of the bouldering World Cup, said: “As kids we all climb trees and want to get as high as possible. We stop when we’re older but there’s no reason to do that, is there? Hopefully this summer we will show you can still do it and have fun no matter what your ability. Climbing is something everyone can relate to from their childhood.”


And it’s not just the pros who’ve been gearing up for the action. The Association of British Climbing Walls (ABC) estimates 1.5 million people climbed indoors in the UK in 2018, including 120,000 regulars. The indoor climbing demographic is fairly diverse, it says, in terms of gender (one in three climbers are women), geography and age – some 500,000 of those climbers were under 18. 

Once considered somewhat of a dad pursuit, the coolness of climbing has been undoubtedly helped along by the release of the terrifying 2018 documentary Free Solo, which sees rock climber Alex Honnold take on El Capitan’s 900-metre vertical rock face ropeless at Yosemite National Park.

Spurred on by my Insta peers and the upcoming games in Tokyo, I decided to give it a go myself with the help of self-confessed adrenaline junkie and movement coach Kim Hartwell, who now hosts the rock climbing and yoga adventure retreat series Rock & Soul.

Hartwell says she believes climbing can be particularly empowering for women. “They often think they don’t have the upper body strength to be good at climbing, but actually they’re often better than men because they have more mobility, it requires a lot of flexibility,” she tells me on our first climb, adding that most of the power should actually come from your legs. 

“It’s a thorough full-body workout, the lower body is used to propel you up, while the upper back, core and shoulder strength help to keep you on the wall,” she explains. “It’s particularly good for people who sit at a desk all day as it really opens up the back and spine.”

We’ve opted for bouldering (rather than rope climbing), which is now the most popular form of indoor climbing in the UK, with three-quarters of large walls solely or predominantly for bouldering, according to the ABC. 

At The Climbing Hangar in Parsons Green, it’s quiet first thing on a Thursday morning, but already I get a sense of the different things climbing can offer people. Two friends chat away while taking it in turns to snake their way up the colour-coded routes, which, like ski slopes, are categorised depending on difficulty. Later another guy enters alone, earphones in, hood up, and he’s off. “It’s a great way to be alone and practice mindfulness,” Hartwell says. 

Our turn now. First we warm up, as with any kind of exercise, a proper warm-up is essential. Begin with some dynamic stretches, followed by a few pulse-raisers, like star jumps, skipping or running on the spot. We then set off on some easy routes with larger holds, including some traversing sideways across the wall. It quickly dawns on me that I wouldn’t have had a clue where to start if I’d come alone, so it’s definitely worth taking a more experienced climber with you, or signing up for a beginner’s induction on your first time. 

I’m also semi afraid of heights, so I was pretty relieved to discover that a bouldering wall doesn’t feel that high (it’s about 5m), and the floor is basically a giant crash pad, though obviously I’m hoping I don’t need that. 

Working my way along grey (easiest), then green (slightly less easy) routes I found myself buzzing once I’d hit the top, this is by far the easiest way ot getting an adrenaline in before breakfast. Fobs or tags mark where climbs start – the rule is you begin each climb with both hands and feet on the wall, then once you reach the top of a given climb, tap the highest hold of the route with both hands to complete it before making your way back down any way you like. Simple.

Hartwell tells me to climb with the balls of the feet. “You’ll be able to use your footwork more precisely and have more grip through the feet,” and to keep my hip as close to the wall as possible for a more efficient technique. 

There’s a problem-solving aspect to climbing which is seriously cathartic, just thinking about which next step to take so that I don’t fall off is enough to completely empty my mind. According to the British Mountaineering Council, the concentration and focus that climbing requires can help to sharpen your brain.

It’s sociable, too, and surprisingly easy to both interview and gossip with Hartwell while we take turns on the wall. About half way through the climb I’m seriously sweating, but it’s too much fun to call a workout. Fitness freaks need not fret, though… you’re guaranteed to feel it in your abs and arms the next day. 

Hartwell, who is also a yoga teacher, tells me yoga is the perfect practice to complement regular climbing because it uses opposite dominant muscle forces. “Rock climbing is predominantly pull-focused, when you reach for a hold and you pull yourself up the wall you’re using muscles such as the hamstrings, lats, biceps, forearms, obliques and abs.

“Yoga uses a lot of push muscles so it’s a great way to balance it all out, in down dog, up dog or chaturunga (half push up) you’re literally pushing the floor away, so you’re using push muscles like the quads, calves, pecs and triceps.”

An hour’s up and I need to head into work, but I could have spent at least another on the wall, and most people do, according to The Hangar many regulars stay for several hours at a time or whole evenings while taking breaks for coffee and cake in the cafe and hanging out with friends on the mats – so at £12 a pop for as long as you want on the wall this is good value exercise for London. 

Climbing has been steadily growing in popularity for the last few years. Now we’ve all finally stopped talking about fitness solely for weight loss, with the focus instead on uplifting activities that nourish both your body and mind, like hiking, surfing and dancing, climbing is bound to blow up.

Fancy taking your climbing outdoors in the Spanish sunshine? Kim Hartwell’s Rock and Soul Adventure Retreat is happening in the Costa Blanca between May 28 and June 2 this year rockandsouladventures.com





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