I am thin girl. But i would not say in shape. I have like no muscle. Is there training i should do?
Should i take classes? Or just got to rock climbing gym place?
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Take classes at a climbing gym
Being in good shape certainly helps in terms of endurance. As for the specific muscles that you use for climbing – the back and arms mostly – you’ll automatically develop those by climbing.
You’ll probably find that your climbing improves by leaps and bounds during the first several months as you start to develop those muscles and learn various climbing techniques, and that you then hit a plateau where you have to get more serious about training to advance further. Generally this happens at the easy 5.10 routes (US grading system) or 6a (French grading system).
If you can climb 2 to 3 times per week, and climb hard every time, you’ll make progress fastest. Climbing more often than that is counter productive because your muscles and tendons need time to repair (and get stronger) between sessions.
Having a regular climbing partner – or group of climbing friends – at your own level or slightly better is also a great help.
Push yourself to get better, study what other climbers are doing on routes that are just beyond your current ability, and take a class if you think you can benefit from one. Personally I enjoyed taking a technique class when I got stuck at a certain level. It helped me to try new things and my climbing improved again. Then when I got bored with climbing in the gym, I took a few lead climbing courses and started climbing on real rock. Along the way I collected hundreds of dollars worth of climbing and camping equipment, met loads of interesting people and made a few new friends.
I’ve been doing this for over a decade now and although I don’t chase grades anymore, I never stopped having a great time!
Gear to start out with… none if you can rent it at the gym. Not until you’re sure this sport is for you. If it is, you’ll need the following for climbing in gyms (more stuff for lead climbing and climbing outdoors)
* A locking carabiner
* Friction shoes – see previous questions in this category for picking a good pair.
* A harness
* A belay device (I personally prefer tubes over a figure
* A chalk bag
All together that will probably cost between $120 and $300 at places like REI.
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added:
Yes, most of the upward momentum comes from the legs. But since the leg muscles are already much larger & stronger than the arms, it’s the arms that require more development.
Sport vs. trad? How about just having some fun top-roping (100% focused on the climbing) until you’re ready to throw the additional aspects of quickdraws, protection, and extra techniques into the mix?
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(Just a different opinion, the thumbs-down wasn’t mine.)
The second poster above had some good ideas, but I would argue that for rock climbing, technique with your legs are way more important than your arms. Anyone who thinks that climbing is about upper body strength does not know much about it.
There are 2 different types of rock climbing — sport and trad. Trad pretty much is outdoors, the real serious stuff, on routes that are not “bolted” — i.e. no one has gone and put in bolts in the rocks to help you climb. Sport, as the word implies, is entirely for sport purposes — these routes are bolted, and these could be indoors or outdoors, and usually in relative safety compared to trad.
As a long-time climber, I would recommend the following –
* Join a climbing gym and start off bouldering and climbing some easy routes
* Find a mentor, or an instructor who can help you get started
* After you get some practice, start off with the harder routes
* In the meanwhile, work on working out to make sure that you’re well conditioned
* Start climbing serious trad or sport depending on your preference
* Depending on how good you are, you can look for challenges in either trad or sport.
But the most important thing to do is just to start climbing — good climbing and good diet combined with a good workout regimen will help you a great deal. You will build muscle over time, and it’s not something that would happen overnight.
Take classes at a climbing gym