How to Rock On! Exercising Your Bouldering Muscles at Her Active Life

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How to Rock On! Exercising Your Bouldering Muscles

Posted June 26, 2007 at 01:00 PM by Kristin Bland

Section: Her Fitness, Athletics, Her Gear & Apparel, Her Health

female-bouldering Side-tracked by a perfect bouldering wall on a recent run through my favorite outdoor climbing park in Southern Colorado, I pulled off the trail to work through some bouldering problems. As an experienced climber, I felt confident enough to work out a bouldering slab alone. However, this day’s undertaking ended with a narly injury, and a limping battle through the park and back to my car.

My injury was bad enough to keep me off the rock for a few days, but luckily it was extremely mild compared to what can happen while bouldering. Therefore, my grounded and sedentary state has given me inspiration for outlining correct etiquette to bouldering properly and safely.

What is Bouldering?
Bouldering was originally invented as a conditioning method for climbers, but over the years has solidly evolved into its own sport, accounting for 90% of American adult competitive climbing. The technique is to stay not more than 10 to 18 feet off of the ground, (sometimes higher for more advanced “high-ball” competition), then traverse your way back and forth, or scale upwards and downwards- basically work out a series of moves and holds as you go. Focus on high-strength moves, and short routes.

It is a great way to exercise one’s upper-body strength, as awkward and riskier moves are a more reasonable undertaking because the climber is in an environment better protected from dangerous falls. Advanced boulderers take advantage of this aspect by lunging and jumping from one hold to another.

However, true climbers climb with their legs. Leg implementation, strength, and control, is the essence of climbing. An excellent exercise for lower body conditioning is to find an area of rock on which you can “walk” your way up the crux (solution to the rock problem, or found route), and back down again without using your arms or upper-body at all. This will obviously be a sub-vertical wall, with crash-pads and spotters positioned below.

The best advantage to working so closely to the ground is the opportunity to execute brand-new maneuvers, without the added element of a soaring vertical scale fundamental in most sport or trad routed climbs.

Safety Tips to Get You Started
First and foremost, I do not recommend bouldering alone, especially for beginner climbers. It takes a long time to build the experience of how leverage and counter strength keep a climber on, and the split second it takes to come off just when a bomber hold was thought to have been found.

There are several ways to ensure a safe return so you can boulder again tomorrow (unlike yours truly). One is to invest in a crash pad. Bouldering crash pads are sold at local outdoor stores (such as REI). They can be strapped to your back like a large pack, making it functional to hike to the bouldering site. Once there, place the mat on the ground below where you’ll be working out your ‘rock problem’, to help cushion an otherwise much more rocky and hard fall.

Another safe option is obviously bringing a partner. By taking a partner, the other person can spot you as you work through your moves. Instructions for spotters are to stand ready for the climber to fall, and to help direct their fall to the mat. Be prepared to support the neck and lower back to help brace them from injury. Keep the thumbs tucked in, and fingers together.

Visit www.drtopo.com to find bouldering sites throughout the U.S. Then grab your shoes, crash pad, spotter, and rock on!

Photo: ©istockphoto.com/David Safanda