Five amazing health benefits of bouldering
Bouldering is an intense physical activity that involves climbing up a wall while utilizing most of the body’s musculature. How intense? Research suggests that for every minute on a climbing wall, a person could burn eight to ten calories. In other words, it’s an excellent full-body exercise.
I began bouldering at the end of Summer 2020 and became hooked. Soon after starting, I observed a noticeable improvement in my health. It reduced my back pain, my mental health saw improvement, and I noticed I felt better than I did prior to climbing. With that said, it’s not like I wasn’t exercising before — in-fact, my exercise routine included a mix of jogging and lifting weights. Nonetheless, I learned bouldering added something more than standard physical activity. So with that in mind, here are five reasons bouldering is an excellent workout for both your mind and body.
It can improve your short-term memory!
A 2015 University of North Florida study analyzed proprioceptive activities (activities that use the body’s ability to sense location, movement, and action) and their effect on memory among three groups. The test group performed tasks including tree climbing, walking, and crawling on a narrow beam. Two different control groups were tested — the first, a yoga class and the second, a college class learning new information in a lecture setting.
The study concluded that the two control groups saw little to no improvement in working memory, however, in-contrast, the climbing and balance beam group observed a fifty percent increase in working memory two hours after completion of their task. In other words, physical activity that requires us to balance, exert aerobic and anerobic capacity, while utilizing the mind for balance and route planning resulted in a measurable benefit in short-term memory. Given that climbing is a fusion of problem solving, balance, and physical strength, it is ripe for exercising both mind and body and a great way to make some memory gains.
It can help with lower back pain!
If you suffer from lower-back pain, perhaps you may want to look at bouldering as a remedy. A 2016 study published in Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine looked at people with chronic lower back pain and no climbing experience. The study observed 30 people split into two groups, one group assigned to climb while the other group did not. The climbing group participated in a 10-session climbing program over a period of 8 weeks, which included completion of 5 different climbing routes. Upon completion of 10 sessions, significant improvements were observed in the climbing group versus the control group. Participants in the climbing group reported having decreased pain. Furthermore, MRI scans revealed a reduction in size of disc protrusion. To put it another way, bouldering as a treatment for lower-back pain may provide a method of pain reduction and increased performance in daily life. In-fact, according to Schinhan et al., it has the potential to improve posture, perception of the trunk midline, and muscle control.
It reduces depressive symptoms.
In 2018, Stelzer et al., published a study on bouldering as a psychotherapy to reduce depressive symptoms. What makes this study special is that they controlled for general physical activity (PA), psychotherapy, and usage of antidepressants. The results demonstrated that even when measuring against other PA, bouldering provided an additional reduction in depressive symptoms of climbers over a short period. Thus, if you’re feeling down and blue and standard PA isn’t cutting it, then bouldering could be an excellent activity to incorporate into your fitness repertoire.
It’s an excellent cardiovascular workout.
Climbing is an excellent cardiovascular workout. How good is it? A study from University of British Columbia evaluated the physiology of rock climbing and revealed that climbers use a significant portion of their whole body aerobic capacity. This type of workout is comparable to spinning and other intense aerobic exercises, making it a winner in cardio fitness.
It helps to build muscle strength while not killing your joints.
If you suffer from joint pain, climbing is an excellent low-impact high-intensity exercise. Low-impact exercises are great for people who suffer from health conditions like arthritis. With climbing, you can enjoy the benefits of building strength through high-intensity exercise while not wrecking your joints. As you climb, you are including a full-body workout, cardio workout, and strength training altogether in one routine. It’s an excellent exercise to build strength, particularly for your arms, wrists, chest, stomach, and core muscles.
So there you have it, a brief summary of why bouldering is a great physical activity. It’s good for your body, mind, and it’s really fun! Give it a try if you can!
