Pros of Rock Climbing

There are many positives of rock climbing. Most people view these benefits as far outweighing the possibility of injury.

When you consider the positive aspects of rock climbing, you usually think first of the physical benefits. Although rock climbing is practiced by both genders and almost all ages, it is a sport that requires a great deal of physical strength. Upper body strength is extremely important. Most people who become involved in the sport soon realize that they must be in excellent shape to even begin to enjoy it. This leads to an increase in physical conditioning that is most often beneficial to the participants overall health.

The sport also requires a great deal of mental self discipline. Many adherents of rock climbing point to this as one of the biggest positives. It demands total body awareness. Rock climbers often tell of how they never feel more alive than they do when they are clinging to the side of a rock. They must be aware of exactly where their feet and hands are located and every movement must be careful, slow, and deliberate.

Among the other positives is the relatively low cost of the equipment needed. Most experts claim that the rock climber can be outfitted with the best possible equipment for a little over $300. This is not expensive compared to the investment needed for equipment in some of the other extreme sports that are popular today.

Perhaps, the most important benefit of rock climbing is what it does for your personal self confidence. This is something that is a bit hard to explain and really has to be felt to be completely appreciated. Rock climbers will speak of the tremendous sense of accomplishment and the exhilaration that comes at the end of a successful climb. When a person stands at the base of a rock face and looks up, the climb appears impossible. It is something that can not be done. Yet, when you have done it, you begin to feel that there is little that you can not do.

Rock climbing has many positives. They are mental, physical, emotional, and financial benefits. There are some risks of injury as well, but the thousands of people who are taking up the sport and spreading it across the country feel the benefits far outweigh the risks. The indoor climbing hills have given more and more people a chance to taste these benefits in a place where the risks are the least, and many people who first experience rock climbing on the artificial climbs there are soon hooked and ready for the real thing outdoors.