Rock climbing is a great way to exercise. It uses your full body, you can meet people while doing it, and it’s an incredibly challenging new skill to master! If you’re wondering if rock climbing is for you, then keep reading below for how to get into the challenging sport of rock climbing, as if you don’t have enough real-life challenges to face already.
Clear your schedule.
An awesome thing about rock climbing is that you cannot do it anywhere! You have to go to a special rock climbing gym that’s really expensive and probably far away from your house. So clear a good chunk of time out of your schedule even though you can’t, and prepare from some challenging climbs as if this is really something you should be adding to your overflowing plate right now. Ropes up! (This isn’t real rock climbing lingo, but you don’t have time to learn that either).
Try out bouldering.
On a standard rock climbing wall, you’ll be strapped in with a harness and a belayer keeping you from falling, but if you’re getting into the sport, you should also try bouldering, which is harder and more dangerous. Bouldering involves crawling around short walls at impossible angles with no harness, and you basically fall all the time. This is great for your upper body strength and endorphins, but should you really be risking a broken ankle when your roommate is insisting you split medical bills on her decrepit cat because you pet him sometimes? Seems like you shouldn’t be taking this on right now, but up to you, sport!
Focus on the climb ahead of you.
Like “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus says, “it’s the climb.” When you’ve put in the work, excelled beyond novice status, and are truly ready to take on harder ascents, all of your physical and mental energy will be channeled into the present moment, and the only thing on your mind will be reaching that next handhold. This might sound healthy, but frankly, is this where your energy should be going? You haven’t been able to get a job in your desired field in the seven years since you graduated. Maybe focus on that and then in your free time chill out and read a book or something? Life is hard enough!
So if you’re curious about rock climbing, but you still have a lot of real challenges in your life, then beginning rock climbing sounds like a pretty insane idea. Anyway, seems like your heart is set on it, so go buy some non-returnable specialty equipment. What’s a little more debt at this point anyway!?
