Designed for those who are passionate about adrenaline , sport climbing has three categories (speed, difficulty and bouldering) that are intense and require proper preparation: physical, mental and emotional. If you want to know a little more, see below the characteristics of the practice, benefits and curiosities!

Getting to Know Sport Climbing

Inspired by mountaineering, sport climbing is a practice that trains climbing skills, however, it is not done on outdoor mountains, but on artificial walls and walls. This is for the athlete’s safety, and it is still possible to enjoy all the sensation of climbing, but without getting hurt!

Considered an intense modality, sport climbing works several muscle groups and requires a lot of strength, endurance and flexibility, after all, it is necessary to deal with body movement in a different and challenging environment .

Compared to other practices, climbing is one of the best choices for developing strength and balance, so much so that a class can burn an average of 600 calories per workout!

Sport Climbing at the Olympics

As seen, sport climbing is an indoor practice and quite challenging. Practice was one of the modalities in the last Olympics (Tokyo 2020), and brought a highlight and also curiosity in most people.

It was conventional to think that climbing should be done in an open place, however, as there is the possibility for the athlete to know the place to climb, the modality on artificial walls promotes competition without giving advantage to anyone. Thus, the sport gained due prominence and proved to be a great sport for international competitions.

How does sport climbing work?

It is not enough just to climb, it is necessary to have the ideal equipment, suitable clothes and technique to perform the 3 challenges of this competition. These are the ones you can find below:

Speed

Here, the athlete who is faster wins! The speed is characterized by a wall 15 meters high and 5º of negative inclination, therefore, the challenge requires concentration and refined technique to be overcome.

In speed, the dispute takes place between two athletes and, to win, the climber must press the button to stop the timer. Whoever has the shortest running time wins.

Difficulty

In difficulty, it is possible to remember the traditional rock climbing, however, the competition is made with height and use of rope. In this competition, athletes have a time limit of 6 minutes to complete the route, which is a 15-meter-high wall that needs to pass the ropes through the protections in sequence.

With each pass, the ropes will allow for small falls that, if the athlete does not have resistance, will fail. The grips (climbing support points) used on the route have a score, and at the end of the route, it will have a value for the use of that support. The route will be completed when the climber passes the rope in the last protection.

A curiosity of this competition is that the competitors cannot see each other, so each one makes his route without worrying about the opponent’s score.

Bouldering

Finally, to close the challenges, bouldering is an individual competition that needs strategy and reasoning!

Here, climbing is done on smaller walls (up to 4 meters high), as the focus is on the obstacles on the route and not the height. The walls have modules, which characterize the challenge of climbing, so it is necessary to master the techniques so that the movements are perfect to score well.

The benefits of sport climbing

Now you know about sport climbing and its challenges. As said, this sport demands strength and resistance from the practitioner, skills that will be built throughout training.

If you want more incentives to invest in sports, see some of the many benefits of this practice.

  • Increases physical endurance.
  • Reduces body fat .
  • Defines body musculature.
  • Tones and strengthens the muscles.
  • Develop body awareness.
  • Improves motor coordination.
  • Combat stress and tiredness .
  • Improves mood in everyday life.
  • Increases flexibility.
  • Improves focus on daily activities.
  • Prevents the development of chronic diseases.
  • Increases self-esteem.
  • And many other benefits.

Sport climbing is for everyone!

This modality is welcome in everyone’s life, as long as it is done with the proper professional support. The only caution goes to the physical effort that needs to be worked on in class, so if you have joint problems, have medical approval so you don’t get injured!

Sport climbing is beneficial, versatile and brings many results, so if you were inspired by this content, be sure to practice.