Maybe you’re thinking about if is rock climbing a good workout? Or maybe you’ve just begun and are thinking if this is the correct exercise for your fitness objectives. Rock climbing is exciting, inspiring, and enjoyable, but is it a good workout?
Climbing rocks is a fantastic all-around, full-body workout. Your muscles, heart, and mind will appreciate you whether you work out indoors or climb genuine rock surfaces outside. Climbing rocks is ideal for people aiming for weight loss, cardio, or muscle-building exercise. With these benefits in mind, we can say for sure that rock climbing is a great workout to get in shape.
Cruxcrush helps you to check your indoor rock climbing gears before you get started.
We’ll go into more depth now that we’ve established the several advantages of rock climbing. Let’s get started! Even though climbing indoors and climbing outside have the same benefits, it has been shown that climbing outside burns a few more calories than climbing indoors.
This Is Due To A Variety Of Factors, Including:
- The Thrill of Outdoor Climbing: The terrain might involve a trek to the peak you’re climbing or a more difficult ascent than you imagined.
- If you use a classic climbing system (or “trad climb,” as experienced climbers call it), you will have to carry more weight.
How Many Calories Does Rock Climbing Burn?
Of course, this will differ for each individual depending on their body shape. A low-intensity climb burns around 400-550 calories per hour, whereas a high-intensity climb burns roughly 575-775 calories per hour.
Rock climbing is a wonderful workout, whether you do it indoors at a local rock-climbing club or out in the mountains on real rocks. This is due to the fact that, even when you’re indoors, your body is still working all of those muscles to maintain your body close to the wall, keep your body weight above the ground, and pull yourself up to the next rock formation. These actions combine to make one powerful exercise!
Is Rock Climbing Beneficial For Weight Loss?
Rock climbing is a thorough and dynamic workout that includes stretching, cardio, and muscular activity, making it ideal for weight loss. The amount of weight you can lose while doing this workout is determined by a variety of factors.
Being consistent with an exercise regimen and increasing intensity, as well as adopting other lifestyle adjustments such as food, all have an impact on how much weight a person may lose.
Also, if you make your workouts more intense and start climbing all the time. You may start to build more muscle, which will throw off your weight loss results because muscle weighs more than fat.
Is Rock Climbing Good For Your Cardio?
Rock climbing is a wonderful aerobic or cardio activity since it may raise your heart rate to levels between 120 and 180! The intensity of your workout will be determined by how hard you push yourself and the boundaries of your body. One hour of rock climbing has been shown to provide the same cardiovascular benefits as one hour of spin class!
Does Rock Climbing Help You Gain Muscle?
With all the small muscle movements that happen during a climb, like stepping, pulling, holding, and clenching, it’s no surprise that rock climbing is a great way to build muscle, as well as lose weight and keep your heart healthy.
Rock climbing is a full-body workout, which means that many portions of your body are not used during this sport. If you’re curious, we’ve included a detailed analysis of what and how your muscles are engaged when you’re surfing those rocks below.
Shoulders and upper back: used when pushing your body up and stretching your arms to the next movement.
Arms: This comprises your forearms, biceps, and triceps, all of which are needed to pull your body up to the next exercise. In fact, in novice climbers, the forearm is the first muscle to develop strength. This muscle is responsible for forming a firm grasp on the rock you’re holding onto.
Your core, or abdomen, is a very crucial element of our bodies’ equilibrium, which comes into play a lot when climbing. Your core will most likely be engaged without you even realizing it. Your core is in charge of keeping your body stable, whether you’re attempting to hold yourself close to the wall or preserving your balance while reaching for the next rock.
Lower Body: Flexing, stretching, and propelling our bodies upward requires the use of muscles such as the hip flexors, calves, glutes, and quads. When lifting yourself up, you’ll discover that it’s preferable to let your legs do most of the work and let your arms guide your body.
The Advantages of Rock Climbing
As you can probably see from reading this essay, rock climbing provides a lot of advantages. It is beneficial for weight loss, cardiovascular health, and muscular strength. However, there are a few more advantages to rock climbing!
1. Lower Your BMI
Rock climbing is also an excellent way to lose weight because of the cardiovascular nature of the exercise and the level of stamina required. You’ll also notice that your flexibility has increased as a result of the stretching.
2. Improve Cognitive Function
Aside from the physical advantages that rock climbing has on your body, it has also been shown to offer mental health benefits. According to one study, people who engaged in rock climbing had less anxiety and despair. Activities that engage our brains to employ balance, motor coordination, and spatial bearing may improve memory and other cognitive functions.
How Frequently Should You Climb Rocks?
There is no limit to how much rock climbing you should or should not do. However, if you are a novice, it is crucial to go at a pace and intensity that you are comfortable with to avoid injury. Pushing oneself too far, too soon, may impede rather than develop your skills. In fact, you may wind up with a pulled or strained muscle.
In general, like any workout, it is best, to begin with, a solid 3 times a week. After gaining expertise and confidence, you can progress to rock climbing four, five, or even six days in a row.
Rock Climbing Workout Suggestions
Now that we’ve covered the fundamentals of rock climbing and how excellent of a workout it can be for your body, let’s look at some recommendations to help you improve your experience.
- Stretch Before and After Rock Climbing needs the utilization of the majority of your body’s muscles. It is critical to warm them up before beginning your workout. This will increase your function and flexibility when climbing. It’s also important to stretch after a workout because it helps your muscles heal.
- Drink Water: This suggestion applies to every type of activity, but it is critical! Keeping your body hydrated allows you to work out longer, harder, and more frequently since it replenishes what you lose throughout the activity. Hydration is essential for achieving any fitness goal!
- Breathe: It may sound obvious, but you’d be shocked how often we hold our breath during a difficult workout. This is the inverse of what we should be doing. Deep breaths help oxygen circulate to our muscles, but a lack of oxygen produces cramps and shivering. Taking a deep breath is also beneficial to our mental health since it allows us to remain calm and focused.
Summary
Climbing is a full-body workout. Rock climbing is good for weight reduction, cardio, and muscle-building. Outdoor climbing burns more calories than indoors. Low-intensity climbing consumes 400-550 calories per hour. Rock climbing helps develop muscle, shed weight, and maintain heart health.
Rock climbing provides the same cardiovascular advantages as spin class. How hard you push yourself and your body’s limits define your workout’s intensity. Increasing exercise intensity can help you lose weight. If you make your workouts more strenuous and start climbing often, you may gain muscle and lose weight. Rock climbing helps with weight loss, cardio, and strength.
