5 Assured Health Benefits of Rock Climbing

While it cannot be denied that all forms of extreme sports can be very dangerous for the participating athletes, there are most certainly some awesome health benefits associated with them as well. In case you are thinking of taking up rock climbing as a hobby, here are five health benefits that you can expect from it.

You Won’t Have to Hit the Gym as Much

Make no mistake, you will need to keep yourself as fit as possible by going to the gym during the off-season, but as long as you are climbing rocks on a regular basis, gym sessions will not be necessary anymore to stay fit. Rock climbing is a combination of resistance and cardiovascular training at the same time, which builds stamina, as well as strengthening the core, the upper body, and the lower body at the same time. You will need to be moderately fit to climb rocks in the first place, but by the time you become a regular climber, you will be as fit as they get!

Spitzkoppe Rock Climbing

Incredible Grip Strength

When you are holding on to a piece of jagged rock for your dear life, there’s bound to be some consequences, and, in this case, it happens to be incredible grip strength (provided you don’t fall off!). All expert rock climbers have enhanced grip strength by default, so that’s pretty much guaranteed if you make it past the first year or so.

A Toned Body

As mentioned in benefit number one, climbing rocks and keeping your strength and stamina up at the gym during the off-season are pretty much part of a climber’s daily life, so alongside real, functional strength and brilliant stamina, a toned body with impressive muscle to fat ratio is also pretty much par for the course after a year or two of rock climbing.

Flexibility

Professional bodybuilders generally would not make good rock climbers and that’s because they lack the extreme flexibility which every expert climber possesses. Increased range of motion is a necessity, as reaching, gripping, leaping, pulling and pushing with both your hands and legs is pretty much how you climb rocks. Progressive stretching exercises on a daily basis are a must for climbers.

”Rock Climbing on Mt. Olympus”

Psychological Strength

If you are climbing rocks without a harness, you are putting yourself in danger, and each time you complete a climb successfully, you will gain confidence and conquer your fears. If that isn’t a boost to one’s mental strength, nothing is. In addition, climbing rocks, ice and boulders require you to make decisions on the fly, which are based on calculating distances, planning routes, and matching everything to your own strength and stamina. In other words, your mind gets a workout that’s just as hard as your physical strain.

Now that you know what benefits life as a climber could bring to your health, it’s time that you also took a practical approach. As mentioned earlier, you can be a hardcore rock climber only if you are already quite fit,to begin with, but if you are not there yet, don’t worry. At Health Row, there are a bunch of helpful resources that you can use to shed fat and gain lean muscle within a very short time.

Once you have attained the minimum level of necessary fitness for rock climbing, the boulders will still be there, waiting for you to conquer them.