How important is upper body strength in rock climbing?
Written by climber on January 30th, 2010
Karie A asked:
I’ve always wanted to try rock climbing but I don’t have a whole lot of upper body strength. I now have to opportunity to try it at a friend’s gym with an instructor but I am worried that I won’t have enough upper body strength to do it.
I’ve always wanted to try rock climbing but I don’t have a whole lot of upper body strength. I now have to opportunity to try it at a friend’s gym with an instructor but I am worried that I won’t have enough upper body strength to do it.
Tags: Rock Climbing, Upper Body Strength
6 Comments at "How important is upper body strength in rock climbing?"
important
Upper body strength is very important. It is also helpful to have less body weight, because you have to lift your body weight on your own. Lower body graviity and great balance are also helpful. I am not a climbing expert by any means, i just quite a few climbers back in the day when I lived in Yosemite and got tips from them.
its pretty important but if you have lower body strength it helps to just lean into the wall a bit and start out on easy flat walls.
even if you dont have enough strength its really fun and you can build some while your at it
Women are actually better than men at rock climbing, even though they do not have the upper body strength per weight that men have. This is because they have to think and plan better, so eventually they are more skilled. A strong person just bullies his way up the wall without really learning technique.The gym will have easy routes to start on, and with an insructor you can learn to use your legs more. Also, if you have a good belayer and learn to trust that, you can really do a lot better. Try falling on purpose a few times just so you aren’t afraid of it. It’s a lot of fun and a TOTAL body workout. Good luck
upper body strength is important, but i started at the rock wall at my school’s gym. Upper body strength was the only reason why i was scared to do it.
I started out on the easy courses to work up my endurance and strength, over time with some encouragement and self-determination, you gradually, i mean gradually, work your way up. There is no doubt you will sore, time and time again, but its worth it nd the self-fulillment in rock climbing is addicting.
Try it out, its best to start at your friends gym, if you start anywhere, start there.
It’s an amazing sport, you’ll love it!
I have been climbing for 10 months, and I never worked out before starting my rock climbing regime. I have little upper body strength and I throw like a girl, because I have no strength in my arms. In rock climbing, it’s very important that you use your legs, because they are much more powerful than your arms. In the beginning stages, you will rely on your arms more, because it’s just your natural instinct to pull yourself up, instead of stepping up. As you climb more, your upper body strengh will improve. If you take a climbing class (about 2hrs) in the beginning instead of going climbing for a day just for fun, all this and other tips will be explained to you. All in all, you don’t need to have out of the ordinary upper body strength, but body type is very important. The best climbers are generally slender, or petite. The more weight you carry, the tougher it is to go up, logically because you have more weight to carry with you. Good Luck, hope this helps!
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