Rock Climbing - A Joyful Pursuit
Belaying my granddaughter
Emotional Impact:
- Confidence and Self-Discovery: It's empowering to overcome the instinctive fear of heights and reach the top of that first climb. Your confidence grows as you acquire new skills, and getting stronger builds your confidence even more. It's a powerful positive feedback loop.
- FUN! Remember the simple joy of climbing as a boy or girl? That exhilaration is still available to you! As you climb you are secured to a steel anchor system at the top of the climbing route. Indoor climbing features a world class fall prevention system - perfect for older adults.
- Goal Setting/Achievement: Every climbing route has a difficulty rating; setting a goal to reach the top of that next-higher rated route is a great way to challenge yourself and your friends. Achieving goals builds self-esteem.
- Aging Successfully: The keys to successful aging are well known - good friendships, being physically and socially active, a healthy heart, achieving and maintaining a healthy weight and building strength and endurance. Acquiring new interests and skills that you enjoy and look forward to is also extremely important. Climbing is socially, physically and psychologically rewarding.
- Teamwork: Couples and groups taking the Boomer Climbers' Movement Class are immersed in a wonderful team-building environment. As successes are cheered and fears are vanquished, new friendships are forged. By the end of the four-week class students leave feeling great about the whole experience.
- Problem Solving: The least apparent aspect of climbing for the beginner, problem-solving is why climbing is so psychologically and emotionally rewarding. Which path to take to get to the top and how to position hands, feet and body to get there is often not obvious. Successfully topping-out ('sending') a route after repeatedly analyzing the route to determine why you failed is gratifying. Problem solving is a big part of the reason for indoor rock climbing's rapidly growing popularity, and why it never gets old.
- Stress Relief: As you climb you are so focused on foot placement, balance, handholds and climbing tactics that you are completely 'in the moment'. Life's everyday stresses disappear, endorphins kick in and you feel great.
- Social: As you climb with a group of your peers expect support, camaraderie and some friendly kidding. If you climb with or belay your grandkids, expect to be considered the coolest grandparent ever! When you climb with younger adults, expect to be just another climber having fun and trying to improve.
- The Bottom Line: Better quality of life, weight loss, improved strength, endurance, balance, flexibility, enhanced cardiovascular health, a huge boost in self-confidence ('I made it!') and interesting new friends.
