• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Daily Climbing

Daily Climbing

Rock Climbing and Bouldering Information

  • About
  • Contact

Am I Too Old to Get into Climbing?

March 5, 2019 By Jake Traynor Leave a Comment

Okay, let’s face it. Climbing is something that requires at least some degree of strength and flexibility for it to be even possible.

I’m not talking about some crazy olympic-level powerlifting contortionist kind of fitness here. More like you need to be able to at least move your arms and legs, and be strong enough to clamber up the stairs on all fours like you did when you were a kid.

That being said, unless a five-year-old can beat you at an arm wrestle, you shouldn’t be too old to climb.

What Level of Fitness is Required for Climbing?

Here’s another way of thinking about it: if you’re fit enough to bounce on a trampoline, then you’re fit enough to start climbing.

I’d say the cutoff point would be if you’re unable to walk without a walking stick.

If you use one because you’re getting older, but you can still make do without it, then you’re still golden. The great thing about climbing is that it really whips you into shape.

Besides, you’ll be surprised by how easy the beginner routes are. To be honest, you can have plenty of fun just doing those.

There’s so many of them, and you’ll build up your confidence pretty quickly. You’ll be challenging yourself with the harder color routes before you know it, throwing yourself at them like a crazed animal desperate to reach its prey.

Should I Go Rock Climbing, or Bouldering?

Here’s one piece of advice:

Go rock climbing, because you’ll have a harness to hold you up, and a friend down below who’s keeping you pulled up. It does take a lot of your weight off you, so it’ll kinda feel like cheating compared to bouldering, but cheating is what you need when it’s not a level playing field to begin with.

Another thing that’s great about the whole harness and rope situation is that you don’t fall very far when you’ve reached your limit. In bouldering, you usually jump down when you’ve reached the top of the route.

As you can imagine, that’s not particularly knee-friendly.

If your knees are made of glass, you can still climb just fine, and the exercise will eventually make your muscles strong enough to mitigate some of the impact on your joints.

This brings me onto one of the most incredible benefits of climbing for those who are soon to enter their golden years…

Why Every Middle-Aged or Older Person Should Climb

For the folks out there with a greater tenure on Earth than most, there is one benefit of climbing that really stands out, and it pertains to your personal survival.

That is, you’ll never have to worry about having a fall.

Yes, I know, having a fall when you’re older is something you don’t even want to think about, and that’s exactly why you should start climbing right now.

The mechanism behind this is obvious. If you don’t train your muscles into older age, they’ll deteriorate in function. This biologically unfortunate occurrence is responsible for the sheer effort it seems to take to make it though a standard day.

“I’m getting old,” you say, as you slip into a chair for a good rest after a long and arduous trip to the kitchen.

That experience is completely avoidable.

Many people use walking sticks to make movement “easier,” but that only aids the muscular degeneration. You’ll be reliant on the walking stick before you know it, with your muscles wasting away beyond all sense.

Don’t let that happen. Start climbing while you still can.

With regular climbing sessions, you’ll be training your body to adapt to a range of movement, of a nature more strenuous than your usual daily happenings.

In comparison, daily life will seem easy. You’ll be equipped for it too.

The strength and dexterity that you’ll be blessed with, courtesy of your regular climbs, will make you feel more like a fine, well-aged scotch than an old, rusty car chugging away, stalling miserably at regular intervals.

Why Older Age Won’t Stop You Climbing

Climbing is like no other sport.

By that, I’m not just saying that climbing is amazing; I mean it literally.

That is, climbing is fundamentally different from other sports right down to the biomechanic level.

You see, what usually stops older people from enjoying sports is that sports almost always rely on a combination of large compressive forces and fast twitch movements.

Climbing doesn’t have either of these.

It doesn’t have a set minimum pace either.

If you were playing baseball, you’d have to hit the ball before it reaches the catcher, or pitch fast enough to be able to get past the hitter. There is a minimum pace required to be able to play it.

Climbing is something that you can do at your own pace, and at your own intensity, and that is what makes it so accessible.

Filed Under: Informational, Q&A

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Social Stuff

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Featured Posts

The Best Crash Pads for Bouldering in 2019

by Jake Traynor

The Best Climbing Shoes for 2019

by Jake Traynor

Photo by Laurel F

The Best Crack Climbing Gloves

by Jake Traynor

Black Diamonds Liquid Climbing Chalk

The Best Liquid Chalk For Climbing & Bouldering

by Jamie Taylor

How to Clean Your Climbing Shoes (Super Easy)

by Jake Traynor

Recent Posts

The Best Vertical Climber for 2020

by Jake Traynor

The Best Crash Pads for Bouldering in 2019

by Jake Traynor

The Best Climbing Shoes for 2019

by Jake Traynor

The Best Belay Devices for 2019

by Jamie Taylor

The Best Auto Belay for Climbing

by Jake Traynor

Secret Climbing Hacks to Help You Push Your Grade

by Jamie Taylor

Photo by Laurel F

The Best Crack Climbing Gloves

by Jake Traynor

6 Reasons Why You Might Find Lead Climbing More Fun Than Top Roping

by Jake Traynor

The Best Rope Bag for Climbing

by Jake Traynor

The Best Climbing Movies To Watch If You Enjoyed Free Solo

by Jamie Taylor

The Definitive Guide To Resistance Bands For Climbers

by Jamie Taylor

The Best Bolt Hangers for Climbing

by Jake Traynor

Black Diamonds Liquid Climbing Chalk

The Best Liquid Chalk For Climbing & Bouldering

by Jamie Taylor

How Close Should Bolts Be Placed When Setting a Route?

by Jake Traynor

What Shoes Does Janja Garnbret Use?

by Jamie Taylor

Recent Comments

  • Tyler Johnson on Save Your Climbing Shoes By Getting The Soles Repaired & Resoled.
  • Jake Traynor on The Best Climbing Shoes for 2019
  • Jake Traynor on Climbing on a Budget: How to Spend as Little Money as Possible
  • Tobias Brunner on Climbing on a Budget: How to Spend as Little Money as Possible
  • Evans on The Best Climbing Shoes for 2019

Archives

  • December 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018

Categories

  • Featured
  • Informational
  • Q&A

Footer

Disclaimer

Climbing and bouldering present inherent risks and hazards. Neither Daily Climbing, nor any of its employees, shall be held liable for any harm to persons or property that results from use of the information described and/or contained herein.

All images on this website belong to their respective owners. If any graphic or image on this site is under your own copyright, then please contact us and we will remove it promptly.

 

Daily Climbing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

We also participate in the Avantlink affiliate advertising program, designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to participating websites, such as the online stores of many climbing manufacturers, or those of reputable resellers.

Copyright © 2019 Daily Climbing