Would you ever try...

Rock climbing in a gym?

If you have, what did you think? If not, why not?

I want to try and my friend and I check on it when we go to her gym... but it is always SO full and there's so many people so we haven't yet!  I'd rather do it when there's fewer people, just because I've never done it and don't want to make a fool of myself =P

I also want to make sure I wear workout pants instead of shorts that day because I don't want people seein up my shorts! haha

I tried it, and it petrified me. I got up maybe two feet, and that was enough for me. Not because I'm afraid of height but because I'm so heavy that I was scared the person in charge of holding the rope and letting me down wouldn't be able to hold on and I'd just come plummeting to the ground.

But really, that's my own insecurities. I've known someone who swears by it. She would do it every day if she could, for hours. When we went (I went with a wellness group for people with psychosis) a lot of people caught on really quick and absolutely loved it.

I think it's totally worth trying out.

DEAR GOD NO!!! lol im the type of person that closes her eyes when riding over a long bridge... i cant walk over a pedestrian airway (i think thats what theyre called, goes over busy streets for pedestrians), i cant even look UP at a tall building lol.

But my bf has n he LOVED it... but that was at 6 Flags not a gym lol.

I've done it a few times, and its a lot of fun. It takes a lot of upper body strength so I'm always sore afterwards. I've always gone with friends who do it a lot and really know what they're doing so I let them tie all my knots and belay me.

This is right up my alley. =)

The SO and I have been going rock climbing at the local gym for a 3 or 4 months now and it's awesome!!

I got certified to belay there so he could go up as well. The first time I went I was terrified of the height, but after a while you just get used to it. I can practically run up the easy wall now and I can get up the level 2s and 3s and I'm working on 4s and 5s right now.

It's so much fun and it's a great workout.

Even better, there's also sorts of cute accessories. haha. I got rock shoes, so I don't have to rent them, and a chalk bag (which I highly recommend!!) as well as a harness.

Oh! and make sure you wear comfortable clothes. pants that are too lose could rub your legs funny under the harness.

Let us know if you go!!

I've done it a few times before and I really enjoyed it. I wasn't able to go as far up as I would have liked (my poor upper body strength mixed with my slight fear of heights) but it's really fun and does build up your upper body strength - after I'd done it a couple times I was able to climb up higher each time.

I tried it a couple of years ago - and it was kinda fun (well, apart from the fact that I'm terrified of heights) - I didn't manage to climb all the way to the top... but I did get to around 3 meters

Love to rockclimb. See if your local Community College has a class. That way you can also get the outdoor experience which is amazing.

For all of you concerned about not having enough upper body strength -- that can actually work in your favor. Climbing is more about balance and using your legs than brute arm strength to pull yourself up. That's why women make such good climbers :) we have to use our legs! You're going to tire yourself out far too quickly if you try to pull yourself up with your arms.

Definitely try it!

the only one near me closed because the spotter person wasn't doing their job right and the cord that let's you repel nice and slow broke and a man died. I'm sure the odds of this are slim, but i'm alittle nervous now

I love rock climbing! I've done roped climbing a few times but I actually prefer bouldering (climbing less high without a harness or rope). I have to say though that chalk is definitely important, especially with bouldering. Last time I went I attempted to climb just a bit too far without putting more chalk on my hands, and my profile picture will tell you why that's a bad idea.

I don't want that to put anyone off rock climbing though! I also managed to land one-footed on the edge of a mat, which is really what caused the nice broken ankle, and isn't likely to happen to most people. I certainly plan on climbing again as soon as I'm allowed to walk. =)

If you're nervous, using a rope is probably the way to go, and like jesnie said, upper-body strength is definitely important, but you're really supposed to use your legs as much as your arms to get yourself to the top.

i've done it (indoor and outdoor), and i like it, but i have to know and trust the person on the other end of the line.  i've used a self-belayer and i like that better.

I love it! And prettymuch everywhere I've lived for the past 14 years has had at least one full rock climbing gym.  The one near me now has an upstairs with exercise machines you can only get to by climbing and an upstairs for bouldering where you have to climb the slanted ceiling to get up.  I haven't gone muchin the past year (it's expensive) but I love bouldering way more than straight up climbing with a harness.  Going straight up is too easy.  There are also different 'trails' to complete with the bouldering, where they are different inclines and different levels, so it never gets boring.  I would suggest trying it if you haven't yet.

 

And for all beginners and people afraid of heights, you can start off just traversing the wall.  It's basically walking along the wall (from one side to the other) and it can be done on the lowest footholds of the ground if you're afraid of heights.  It definitely helps your arm muscles get used to it to (the lower arms get a killer work out from all the gripping and those are muscles most people don't use often, so it may hurt the next day.)

I've always wanted to try but I don't think anything around me offers that :\
Still, I'd think it'd be amazing - I'd love to try it outdoors after indoors (although I'd want to be more fit then)

I have done it but I was too wide to fit the harness so I couldn't go as high as I wanted to.  Hopefully sometime next year I can fit the harness and go higher.

Yesterday I was rock climbing, just that my rock climbing was the pile of rocks that you find on the side of most every farmer's field. We needed some rocks for a baby barn we are building and were climbing up that all rock pile.

I would like to do real rock climbing. I've seen shows talking about it and there seems to be a lot of challenging climbs out there.