Hey, Mountain Men and Women!
Conquering a mountain is no easy feat. Breathing gets harder at higher altitudes and each step is work to lift yourself that much higher. But the feeling of accomplishment paired with a view that can’t be beat urges folks onward and upward to do what many others might say is impossible. Celebrated all over the world but on differing dates, today is Mountain Climbing Day in the USA.
You’ll want to have conditioned your body to be the best climber you can be.
There are a few different ways you can start your training. There’s no better practice than actually climbing—that’s for sure—but even before practicing, there are great exercises you can do at the gym or maybe even right at home. Here’s how I broke it down:
Upper Body Strength
Climbing, of course, takes a world of Upper Body Strength to hoist yourself into higher and higher positions. Any kind of muscle-building exercises will work—push-ups, pull-ups (if you have a bar available), or weightlifting (if you have the proper weights) are great ways to build strength in your arms and shoulders. Even more intricate of an exercise are Hand Grips. These will help develop the muscles in your fingers to build dexterity for those difficult-to-hold-onto-rocks.
Lower Body Strength
Sometimes when climbing, you’ll need your legs to make impossible strides upward and to push the rest of your body to the next point of pausing. Jogging is always a great way to build up those leg muscles. You’ll also want to incorporate some of the exercises we recommended for horse riding like Front Squats and Forward Lunges. Exercises like these are sure to sculpt your leg muscles for the job.
Flexibility
Stretches alone are a great means of training your body to be able to make far reaches and gliding steps. Sitting with your legs outstretched and touching your toes is one great way to extend the span of your stretching. For those with a chin-up bar available, you can practice what is called a ‘Deadhang’ in which you hold yourself up by your fingers. If you have a Finger-Board, that would be most convenient.
Rock climbing is fun, but extremely strenuous work. Make sure you’re ready for it when you head off to your mountainous adventures. Happy Mountain Climbing Day and, as always, thanks for reading.
- John