How to start climbing
Somehow we reassuredwhy you shouldn’t divide sports into male and female, as a preface to a series of materials about “non-female” sports activities. We have already figured out how to start boxing, crossfit, rugby and football, and now we will tell you how to conquer the climbing walls - artificial climbing structures that mimic natural reliefs. Rock climbing itself is an extremely exciting sport; it can be practiced together or alone. “More often, rock-climbing is performed by a pair: there is one who climbs and one who insures. It is important to have an adequate and sensible partner who can be trusted with his life.
"The special features of climbing are the constant diversity of training grounds and the informal organization of the process," says climber Anastasia Yermishina. Classes are really non-standard - an amateur can train from two and a half to four hours, but a half will be enough for a beginner. For those and others, the exercise necessarily begins with warming up and warming up the muscles. Next - the choice of several tracks of medium difficulty, corresponding to the level of the athlete, and work on them. At first, they will teach you how to move and carry weight; after that you can try to climb the tracks at the maximum limits of its capabilities. “From the beginners, we initially climb the volume and learn elementary skills: working with the hands in the cross, correct placement of the body, setting the legs,” says trainer Elena Temereva. Completion of the training session is "a hitch" and exercises for general physical training: campus board (finger training), pull-ups, pumping the press, and squats. “It’s imperative to tell the work plan before starting the training and, at the end, to analyze the results,” says Elena. Katya Belkina warns: "We need to be prepared for the fact that due to the strong tension on her hands, it will be difficult to do something with her hands for the next few days. Usually, this does not stop anyone."
"Climbing makes you experience incredible sensations of movement not only in the plane of the floor, but in 3D. Of course, an untrained person will immediately feel that he lacks muscles in some places, as well as sly things like which leg or arm you need to move in order to rise above" - says Anastasia Yermishina. Climbing helps to develop resistance to physical and psychological stress and learn how to take full control over your actions. “The greatest problem will not be physical training, but the fear of heights. And this is normal. You can learn to manage it,” says Katya. “In my opinion, climbing develops the head much more than the body. You learn to think strategically, to concentrate on the main thing in stress "Physical abilities develop endurance, fine motor skills and the ability to knit all sorts of rope knots." Ksenia Vasilyeva adds: "From the very first lesson you get rid of fears and learn to overcome yourself - even if you already have no strength at all, you should try to reach higher."
Having enough of climbing on artificial climbing walls, you can go on natural reliefs: "This sport is very closely associated with traveling, almost every climber travels to different countries, honing skills on different rocks. I'm sure, even if you start in the gym, still the moment you get to the mountains ", - says Xenia.
When climbing, the muscles of the back and arms first appear. "Even if you do not specifically pull up, after a year of regular training can easily pull up at least eight times," - says coach Elena. Since the load is aerobic, over time the body is dried, tightened, can press through the cubes. Kate sums up: "The average climber is thin, fit and wiry."
As with all sports, diet plays an important role. It is clear that here the friend is healthy food, and the enemies are fast food and soda. Ksenia says: "Lasagna burns a lot of calories, but the trick is that the less you weigh, the easier you climb." To consolidate the result of the day and give the muscles faster recovery, after a workout, you need to fill the food "window" of protein-carbohydrate foods. “Everything is individual here, but many people like the“ carbohydrate to protein ”scheme: in order to have strength to climb, in the morning and before training it is useful to recharge with slow carbohydrates - cereals with dried fruits and seeds, for example - that will produce energy, and in the evening - proteins.
Rock climbing is a serious sport that requires specific equipment, the selection and purchase of which can take some time. First of all, you need a comfortable sporting form, covering your knees and not constraining movements. After you need to pick up shoes - rubberized shoes for climbers, which is specially chosen for the size (or two) less for better contact with the terrain. It is necessary to purchase a safety system to which the rope is attached. It consists of a harness and a special safety device (for example, gri-gri) with a carbine. It will take magnesia - a talcum-type substance that prevents the hands from sliding along the hooks. It is placed in a special bag, which is hung on the belt of the climber. "Climbing is quite an expensive hobby, so if a person is not sure about the seriousness of his intentions, it’s better not to buy anything, but to take it at a rental point at a climbing gym," advises Katya Belkina. It is convenient to carry removable shoes like slates, which can be easily removed and put on when necessary.
There should be no questions when looking for a good and close climbing wall - in both capitals it can be found in almost every district. Other cities, large and not so, are not lagging behind - there are now almost everywhere climbing walls.
Where to work out:
Climbing school in the shopping center "Extreme", climbing walls MSTU. Bauman "GoClimb", "Red Point", "Climbing X8", "Elma", "Skatoratoriya", "Rock Town" and "Igels Club"; Skala City, BigWall, RockZona and Tramontana specialized climbing centers.
Photo: cover photo, 1 via Shutterstock and Flickr