I've been interested in indoor rock climbing since my best friend took it up a few years ago but the idea of strapping my significant weight into a harness and trusting someone not to let me plummet is a deter for me.
A month ago I discovered through mutual friends a different kind of rock climbing called 'bouldering' which does not use a harness or belay system. This was something I was willing to try if the opportunity ever arose.
You may be scratching your head as to why I would be more willing to try something that might be less safe. It's all about the illusion of control. The harness and belay puts the control in the hands of the person on the ground, or so my brain argues. Whereas, I'm in complete control of the climb in bouldering. I know it doesn't make sense but my brain believes it.
Opportunity arose two weeks later with a $5 coupon (including shoe rental) for a Friday evening climb at the Summit Climbing indoor facility. I was committed and antsy.
Could a fat girl like me actually climb? Naturally, I started to research and found a piddling of articles.
- Fat Girl's Guide to Indoor Rock Climbing - The best of the bunch but not really a "guide".
- No Excuses: Two Heavy Climbers Who Crushed - About male climbers.
- Do I Weigh Too Much to Go Rock Climbing? - Has some good advice.
These didn't help with my anxiety because everything I read said the same things whether for a fat person or an athlete.
- Stay as close to the wall as possible.
- Push up with your legs.
- The shoes are supposed to be snug and uncomfortable....
I was disappointed that there were no pictures of the climbers or acknowledgments of weight/size/height because I know there are different categories of corpulent figures which may or may not affect the successful of a climb.
Though I have insecurities about confessing my size (and feel the need to defend myself by saying that I am working on losing the excess weight slowly having lost 2 pant sizes since January), I hope the information below will benefit anyone else who goes looking for information.
I am currently a size 22 (Lane Bryant Short Pants), 5 foot 4 inches tall, I'm guessing about 250 lbs and I climbed a wall. My goal was to just get off the ground and on the wall. I think that's a good beginner goal to have and it's surprisingly hard to do. With some trial and error I figured out what works best for me. My highest climb was 3 handhold and 2 footholds before I fell off and bounced.
Lessons Learned:
- Look for the wall that is 0 degree or as close to vertical as you can find because gravity is a bitch who is going to be pulling hard on your butt. I actually started off on a slight overhang, about 20 degree angle, and was only successful in pulling myself up on to the wall two times before gravity yanked me off as I reached for another handhold.
- Make sure you stick to the easy paths as mapped out - "V0" or "VB"
- The average beginner who has been through orientation or with experienced friends will try to start by grabbing the first handhold with both hands and hang down, thus putting all their weight on their shoulders. Then you are supposed to maneuver your feet onto the footholds and push up with your legs while balancing with your arms. I was having significant trouble doing this. Finally, my friends and I decided that the position was putting too much weight on my shoulders.
Instead of using the lowest handhold, I secured myself to the wall using the two higher handholds that were a little more than shoulder width apart. This helped because it evenly distributed my weight and I was not hanging quite so low to the ground.
All the weight on my shoulders and hanging so low to the ground made it difficult to push up onto the wall. - The boobs, the belly, and the thighs will get in the way. Embrace it. When you are trying to reach for the next handhold or foothold, these things will physically block you and visually block you. You will want to push away from the wall so you can look down to see why your foot hasn't found the next foothold. You will also need to push away from the wall so your boobs or belly doesn't catch on the wall holds. Then the bitch gravity starts pulling on you hard. (Lesson 5 will help combat these issues.)
- Plot out your climb and take it step by step, hand by hand. When you fall off, don't give up. Sit down with your friends or other beginners and talk about what to do. If you try something that doesn't work, try something else. For instance, I was trying to step up on the left foothold which is actually higher than the right one but my belly was visually blocking me and I would miss it. After sitting down, I noticed that the right foothold was lower and decided to try that foothold first, push up with my right thigh and then lift up my left leg onto the left foothold. This worked and then I fell while trying to reach the next handhold. Sit back and repeat.
- When you're tired take a break and when your hands hurt, you might need to stop.
Indoor rock climbing is surprisingly low-key, socially engaging activity. I felt no pressure to perform at a certain level and no shame in bowing out sooner than my more active counterparts. Though I was no longer approaching the climbing wall, I was still welcome to sit with my friends and discuss climbing techniques or observe climb paths and movements. You don't have to be climbing to continue to engage in the activity. These factors will entice me to go climbing again and the climbing will motivate me to increase my strength and flexibility workouts.
No comments:
Post a Comment