Get Fit and Have Fun with This New Olympic Sport – Here's How to Get Started!
Modern indoor rock climbing has been around since the 1960s, when the first attempt to mimic the experience of outdoor rock climbing was made by Don Robinson on a brick wall at Leeds University in 1964. Its impact was immediate; fitness fans who had never given climbing any thought attempted to traverse the wall and many extolled the mental and physical benefits of climbing for the first time.
2020 will mark a historic year after the sport was officially declared a new Olympic sport by the International Olympic Committee. Climbing will now be added to the roster for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
There are lots of different types of indoor climbing on offer, but rope-free bouldering is the grade that attracts most first-timers. While outdoor climbers use indoor walls, primarily, as a way to practise their technique in a safe environment, now bouldering has become a hobby in its own right.
Bouldering is rock climbing stripped down to the raw essentials; no ropes or harnesses, just using climbing shoes and a bag of chalk to maximise your grip. Boulderers are challenged to decipher a set of ‘problems’ – finding a route from one side of the wall to another, that involves a mixture of balance, strength and problem-solving.
Many proponents of bouldering are attracted to the freedom of it; not being attached to a rope allowed for much more creativity of movement. They also find it a lot more social. When you climb with ropes, you spend a decent amount of time alone, miles up above your climbing partner. When you go bouldering, you can work on climbs together with a group of friends, supporting each others fitness goals in 2020.
There is also evidence – according to a study by the University of Arizona – to suggest bouldering can boost confidence, alleviate the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and even help with acrophobia (study here).
So what are your waiting for, in the year that rock climbing will become an olympic sport go and find the local climbing wall near you and give your mental and physical goals a boost in 2020…
