A bouldering gym is an excellent alternative to a traditional gym! You can get in a great workout and enjoy pushing your limits in a new and exciting way! Traditional gyms focus on lifting heavy objects or doing so much cardio that you’re drenched in sweat by the end of your session. But if you’re not into gym culture and have thought about climbing, check out a bouldering gym!
Why Bouldering is a Great Gym Alternative
What is a Bouldering Gym?
A bouldering gym is a facility created for rock climbers to go bouldering! These gyms are designed with safety in mind, with large foam mats or crash pads placed strategically to cushion falls. Additionally, most bouldering gyms have trained staff on hand to provide guidance and ensure your safety.
Bouldering is a style of rock climbing performed without a rope or harness. It involves climbing only 10-15 feet above large foam mats or crash pads.
Bouldering gyms have boulder “problems” ranging in difficulty from beginner to advanced, which allows new climbers to break into the sport. Many bouldering gyms also have a workout area with weights and cardio equipment, so you can still get in a good workout if you’re sore from climbing or would instead lift weights!
Can I Build Strength While Bouldering?
Think of bouldering as a body-weight workout. You only need shoes, a chalk bag, and a bouldering wall. When climbing, you constantly use your major muscle groups (arms, shoulders, back, abdominal, and even legs) and many minor ones to climb the wall. This full-body workout can help you build strength, improve flexibility, and increase endurance. So, yes, you can build tremendous strength while bouldering. While climbing may not look like a workout, don’t knock it until you try it!
Bouldering may target large muscle groups, but it doesn’t target every one. You’ll likely want to incorporate some antagonistic (opposite muscle groups) workouts into your routine. For instance, when climbing, you typically pull yourself up the wall with your arms and push with your feet. To balance this, you can focus on the muscles you don’t use as much when climbing, such as the chest and triceps, with exercises like push-ups and bench presses.
Where Can I Find a Bouldering Gym?
With the rise of gyms after competition climbing debuted in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, most major metropolitan and many smaller areas have seen a surge in bouldering gyms, so a quick Google search will help you find the right gym near you. If there is more than one around, look for the gym that suits your interests the most, such as a large weightlifting area if you plan to maximize your workouts.
Why Should You Choose a Bouldering Gym Over a Traditional Gym?
While traditional gyms are great for improving your physique, they aren’t the most fun place to hang out! A bouldering gym combines climbing, strength training/cardio, and people just hanging out. Of course, you can go to the gym, focus on your workout, then leave. But if you want to find a community of welcoming people, a bouldering gym is the place to go.
A bouldering gym is an excellent alternative to a traditional gym because while you can still get a great workout, you can enjoy pushing your limits in a new and exciting way! Traditional gyms focus on lifting heavy objects or doing so much cardio that you’re drenched in sweat by the end of your session. But if you’re not into gym culture and have thought about climbing, check out a bouldering gym!
Climbing is Fun!
Another great reason to check out a bouldering gym instead of a traditional gym is to discover how fun climbing is! While setting personal records with heavy weights can be a rush, climbing something new can be just as exhilarating. The sense of accomplishment you can achieve in the bouldering gym is addictive, so be careful, or you might get hooked!
A significant aspect of bouldering gyms is that the walls don’t stay the same! A 40-lb dumbbell will always be a 40-lb dumbbell, but a V2 (grade of boulder problem difficulty) at the bouldering gym can look different with every ‘reset ‘. A ‘reset’ refers to the process of changing the holds and routes on the bouldering wall, which is typically done every few weeks. The setters (staff who design and create the boulder problems that the climbers try) rotate throughout the gym to provide fresh bouldering problems, so the gym never stays the same, and you always have something new to try!
Check out a bouldering gym today and learn how fun climbing can be!
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