I found the only tolerable form of exercise.

Well, the only one I can tolerate.

I've been struggling finding a way to exercise that I don't hate or doesn't depend on the willingness of other people to join me for a long time. Like the last 12 years long time. About 12 years ago I graduated high school and no longer had an abundance of classmates that were always down to go play tennis or racquetball.

Enter adulthood... sure friends want to meet up and hit some balls around from time to time, but you can't rely on other people with their own busy lives to meet up multiple times a week to get the blood pumping.

A few months ago I had my yearly physical, and my blood tests showed that I had unreasonably high cholesterol for my age (just about 30). The doctor said my diet looked fine and that this is probably just genetic. He asked me about my exercise. I was honest. Basically none. He said start doing that. Yeah. Easier said than done.

Fast forward another week or so, and a few of my friends ask me if I want to go climbing. Life has a nice way of dropping opportunity in your lap. I fought the urge to be lazy and did it. So glad I did.

I'll start with the reasons I thought I was going to hate it. I thought (like many new sports you try) I was going to be woefully shitty at it, and that I'd feel judging eyes from a bunch of blowhards at the climbing gym. First, at any climbing gym, there are climbs easy enough that most people of any athletic ability will be able to handle. That boost of confidence is huge. Second, the people that are typically into climbing are way more supportive and friendly than any other gym I've been to.

Since that day, I've been going a couple times a week, and I've gotten in the best shape I've been in in the last 10 years.

Here are five reasons why climbing is all it's cragged up to be (heh).

1. You don't think about it being exercise.

You definitely think about it being strenuous or physically demanding, but I never have "ugh, this sucks" thoughts like I do when lifting weights or running. You don't have to suffer through the burn because it'll be worth it later- the burn is just telling you next time you climb, you'll be even strong and more prepared to tackle difficult climbs. That in turn will boost your confidence and give you more incentive to keep going at it.

2. It gives you tangible goals.

If you start off like me, you'll be looking for the easiest possible climbs you can find because as a total narccisistic tool, you don't want to look stupid doing something you have no business not looking stupid doing. You want to tackle something you can nail without knowing the extending amount of technique there is to learn. You get through all of the most basic climbs in the gym while learning a thing or two about how to do it and also realizing that failing and falling on your ass isn't a bad thing. The best climbers in the gym are falling on their booboos constantly. That's part of the process. So then you try some harder climbs. Woah- you can actually do like 80% of a climb you didn't think was in your grasp. That tricky part though... that's your goal for the week. You come back onyour next visit and nail it in one shot. Boom. On to the next one.

3. It's a brain exersize as much as a physical.

Part of what I liked so much about the sports I played in high school and college was the competition of playing against an opponent. You are using all the skills you've learned to outwit the person on the other side of the court. I didn't think I'd be able to get into a "sport" like climbing because it wouldn't trigger my competitive side. It's different. To use video games as an analogy, tennis or racquetball felt like a fighting game to me. You've got a move list and someone across from you with a different set of moves and you have to use your abilities in a way that caught them off guard and punished their mistakes. Climbing is like a boss fight in an adventure game. You learn the patterns of the boss and then you use your ever-growing arsenal of abilities to take them down. You learn the nuances of different holds and moves as you go in climbing and you learn new ways to approach similar problems.

4. It's not prohibitively expensive.

Compared to so many different recreational activities, climbing isn't so bad at all. I never felt ok getting an $80 a month gym membership only to go 4 times a month. That's like $20 a visit. Then I'd start to resent myself for not taking advantage of my membership which, more often than not, would just further diminish my desire to go at all. Starting climbing shoes are between $50-$100. Chalk bag costs no more than $20. My climbing gym costs about $50 a month. I go 2-4 times a week. That's between like $3 and $6 a visit. Totally affordable. There are cheaper gyms too.

5. The people.

Like I mentioned before, I thought "climbers" were going to be like the worst kind of vegans. Judgy, preachy, and probably believe in healing crystals. I don't know where that preconception came from, but I was very happily very wrong. Because the climbs at a climbing gym are basically a puzzle, there's a sense of cooperation between people working on them.
Lots of, "have tried that yellow climb?"
"Yeah, I was working on it earlier."
"Oh dude, how do you do that part with the big reach?"
"See that foot hold right there? Drop your heel on that so you have the leverage to reach up top with your left hand."
"Ahhhhh, I didn't even see that hook."
"Here, I'll beta it for you.."

Beta-ing is when you demo a climb for someone to watch so they can get an idea of how it's done, and the fact that it's such a staple of climbing culture says a lot about the cooperative spirit among climbers.

If you've been looking for a way to get in shape that doesn't suck, I really recommend giving climbing a try. Most gyms have day passes or guest passes to be able to check it out. I had resisted going for months when friends would invite me, but I'm so glad I finally found something like this. Thanks for reading!