Yoga for Rock Climbing

I recently tried indoor rock climbing for the first time at Steep Rock Bouldering on the Upper East Side and absolutely loved it! It’s definitely harder than it looks, and I got a great workout. The staff at Steep Rock Bouldering were super friendly and made the overall experience fun and doable for an amateur like me.

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It was such an empowering feeling to be able to support myself with my own strength, I felt a real sense of achievement each time I hit the top. I realized that bouldering takes some serious upper body strength to lift myself up; and flexibility to be able to find the right arm and foot placement. As you can see I look like batman here, stretched scaling walls:

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My practice in yoga helped me be somewhat of a “natural” on the rock climbing wall. The two activities really compliment each other because they both focus on strength, balance and flexibility. If you’re a rock climber, or are interested in getting started, below are 3 simple yoga poses you can incorporate into your daily routine in order to help improve your upper body strength and overall flexibility:

 

  1. Crow Pose: Great pose for building upper body strength and challenging your balance.

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2Chaturanga: The ultimate exercise to really strengthen your upper body to be able to support yourself. Also works your abdominal muscles and improves core strength which is needed for balance!

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3. Standing Leg Extension: Works balance, core strength and improves flexibility in your hamstrings.

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I’m really excited to go back for another rock climbing session. I visited Steep Rock Bouldering during open climbing; but they also offer beginner classes, a special women’s climbing class and you can even host your child’s Birthday party there! I think it would be really fun to have a Birthday part for Timothy there when he’s a little older, he’s a natural climber. The prices were reasonable – an adult day pass is $20, which is less than most fitness classes in NYC and you get more time.

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