Rock climbing: Going up the walls!

By Tanya Tiessen, BCRPA, ACE PT, MS

Rating ***

In the last decade, the sport  of rock climbing, once only seen as an extreme sport for outdoors, has become mainstream sport  and has grown in numbers annually.  Also,  the popularity of indoor rock climbing has increased too and not only athletes can do it but ordinary people looking for a physical and mental challenge… even kids looking for a fun sport to do. Whether you are a seasoned outdoor athlete or somebody looking for a workout that is fun also, outdoor and indoor climbing both have different challenges.  A rock climbing center has different levels just like outdoor rock climbing.  Both indoor and outdoor facilities have different levels of climbing involving strength, flexibility, power and endurance.  Indoor rock climbing can help you in outdoor rock climbing also, as indoor is available  when the weather makes the outdoor pursuits inaccessible during the winter months.

This article has changed my thought on indoor and outdoor rock climbing.  They are both the same in the some ways but also completely different from each other in other ways.  For example, the physical and mental challenge and the endurance and the power requirements could be different. This article made me think that anyone can do this, not just athletes but ordinary people as well. People from different walks of life can have this fun workout and also kids can go to get their daily exercises too.  The thing I learned from this article  was that rock climbers have to have strong fingers so they can hold on to the edge of a rock.   You also need balance and self-confidence.  This article inspired me to try rock climbing again to improve my strength and my balance.  This article also changed my behaviour to rock climbing so I will try it again and try not to look down or scare myself by thinking the clips will break or unclip by itself.   Now I am excited to go rock climbing soon.  I’m still a bit scared but I think I can do it! 
  
go to:http://www.alive.com/articles/view/20163/rock_climbing to read more on this article.