There are a lot of benefits to rock climbing. When you are thinking about family fun activities, you may want to look for adventure parks in your area. If you are planning a family vacation, going to an area with an adventure park may be just the thing to get everyone into the vacation spirit. Climbing walls, both on vacation and and for fitness can be great for a host of reasons. Here are just a few ways climbing indoors can be a great activity for everyone.
- It is a safe way to conquer a fear of heights. Researchers and scientists believe that there are only a few things that humans are born scared of. We are hardwired through our genes to be wary of snakes, afraid of heights and to be alarmed by sudden, loud noises. All of this makes sense, from an evolutionary perspective. Loud noises can mean danger is nearby, snakes can kill you and it is easy to tumble from a tall place and have some pretty bad injuries or worse. For people who are scared of heights, getting over that fear is often easier said than done. When you work on a climbing wall, you can face that fear in a completely safe environment. You are roped up and have your safety gear so you really have to work at it to become injured. This can be very empowering for a lot of people.
- Using a climbing wall can be great for your self confidence. When you reach the top of the indoor climbing wall for the first time, it is impossible to not feel a sense of great accomplishment. And you should feel this way. That is a great accomplishment. Setting and reaching goals is great for a person’s sense of self and their self esteem. If you have kids who are shy or not as sure of themselves, helping them achieve this goal can do a lot to make them feel better about themselves.
- Climbing walls can be used regardless of the weather. If you are an avid rock climber, you may want to train when you cannot. If you live in a colder climate or where it rains a lot, even if you have places nearby where you can do some rock climbing outdoors, that may not always be possible due to the weather conditions. If you have a place to do your climbing indoors, and more and more communities are being served by facilities that have climbing areas such as rock climbing gyms and adventure parks, you can work on your climbing skills even when the weather is bad.
- Rock climbing is a great cardio exercise. Whether you are doing it out in the wild or on a climbing wall, you can get your heart rate going to a cardio work out levels. When most people get started rock climbing, they take their time. This makes a lot of sense because they are just learning the ins and outs of the sport. Even when you take your climbing at a slower pace, you get your heart going at a good pace for cardio workouts. Experts in physical fitness say that a rock climbing work out can get the heart going to the same levels that are reached when you go jogging or use a stair master. Some estimate that you can burn more than 700 calories an hour on the climbing wall.
- Climbing is good for strength building. Many people who work out to lose weight do not do much in the way of strength training. Rock climbing gets you the cardio you want to lose weight but can also be great for building muscles, The core muscles, that are responsible for keeping your back happy, among other things, get a great workout on a climbing wall. All of your muscles will be put through the paces with a rock climbing workout.
It can often be a real challenge to find fun activities for your entire family. Finding a park that offers things such as climbing walls, zip lines, giant slides and ropes courses can get everyone out having fun together. These are all also very healthy ways to have a great time.