March 29, 2019: Climbing Class Part 1: It's the legs, dummy

My body aches as I extend from the wall, trying to hold as much weight as I can with my skeleton instead of my biceps. I take a deep breath and slowly place my foot on the next hold.

            “Nice move,” says Joe. “Remember to keep those feet quiet.”

            What he means is that I shouldn’t stomp my foot on a hold, like I often do when I’m desperate to prevent myself from falling. Joe is the instructor of the class I’m taking at my gym: “Movement for Beginners.” If you want to know what Joe looks like, picture the first image that pops into your head when you read, “Arizona hippy,” and you’re probably right.

The purpose of the class, amazingly enough, is to teach beginners how to climb properly. Since I’ve only been climbing since January, I’m still a beginner. A rock climbing training book I’m reading says you can’t really call yourself an intermediate until you’ve been climbing at least for two years, and I can see why. As I’ve learned from Joe and from my own experience, the act of rock climbing is not a natural act, at least not for adults.

Joe explains that adult male climbers tend to use their upper bodies too much. On a fundamental level, climbing isn’t any different from other sports. The power comes from the legs. I think a lot of people, myself included, pictured climbing as they great act of arm strength. Having done a little bouldering, I know that some upper body strength is needed to solve a bouldering problem. Yet for long endurance climbs, the legs are really the motor that moves you up the wall. Your hands and arms are only meant to be anchors that keep you from falling. In fact, most climbing instructors will tell you not to overgrip handholds, because that’s a good way to pump out your arms after ten minutes of climbing.

Now of course it’s easy to say not to overgrip a handhold. I don’t have a crippling fear of heights, and I still hold onto handholds for dear life.