I Climb Like A Girl

I Climb Like A Girl Rock Climbing Hero: Chris Sharma

2007-09-15T19:02:00.001-04:00

Chris Sharma is one of the best American rock climbers. Chris Sharma's talents were discovered at age 12. He is very famous as a spiritual climber and has appeared in numerous rock climbing and bouldering competitions around the globe.

Chris Sharma's famous project Realization

All Videos are property of Youtube, LLC.

How often should you climb?

2007-09-07T17:18:00.000-04:00

Whether you're doing indoor climbing or outdoor climbing, it's best if you can climb about 3-4 times a week. Climb for about 3 hours each time is good enough.

When you're in a rock gym, you can either climb the big wall or boulder. Bouldering is low-to-the-ground climbing without a rope. Most bouldering routes are harder and require more strength. I personally like bouldering better because it's more challenging and there's no need for a harness, belay device, or a partner. All I need is climbing shoes and chalk and I'm good to boulder!

You probably want to work hard to become a better climber faster, but you should do that without pushing yourself too much. DON'T CLIMB EVERYDAY. Your body needs to rest and your muscles need time recover. Make sure you take days off because those days are very important for your body. Climb every other day instead.

How To Rock Climb Like A Girl

2007-09-06T01:15:00.000-04:00

"To climb like a girl is to climb with finesse, technique, flexibility, creativity, and strength. It should appear like dancing and not look or sound like a one-armed pull up."

Sounds good! Girls (and guys, too :) ), techniques are the most important! Strength will automatically come with climbing, but techniques won't! You have to learn the techniques and practice using them. Next time when you go to a rock gym, watch the other climbers and learn their techniques! Don't learn everyone's techniques, though. Some might be beginners and don't have the proper techniques. Watch for people who have climbed for a long time. The easiest way to spot experienced climbers is that when they climb, their hands and feet don't make sounds when touching the holds on the wall/boulder. These climbers make a route looks very easy. Or if you're not sure, then just ask!

Another important factor to consider when rock climbing for girls is that unless you're a gymnast, you usually don't have a lot of upperbody strength. We all had that moment when we tried to do a pull up or a push up and didn't succeed. Don't be discouraged. Climbing is not doing pull ups with your arms and fingers! Always use your feet (use it even more if you spend a lot of money on those climbing shoes). Try walking up the wall with your feet and don't pull with your arms too much. Your leg muscles are stronger so use them!

Have fun climbing! Let me know about your experience!

I Climb Like A Girl Rock Climbing Hero: Tori Allen

2007-09-03T13:46:00.001-04:00

The first time I ever thought about rock climbing was when I saw rock climber Tori Allen on a show called More Than Human on the Discovery Channel. You can watch it here:

Tori Allen was born in the United States but spent 4 years of her childhood in a West African countries called Benin. While she was there, she had a pet mona monkey named Georgie. Tori then started climbing trees with this monkey which resulted in her overly long fingers and arms. When she was 8 years old, she moved back to the United States where she climbed a wall for the first time. Her talent was discovered as she started entering competitions and kept winning. At the age of 13, she entered adult rock climbing and bouldering competitions and became undefeated in both categories. Tori is also the younger woman ever to climb Yosemite's, El Capitan.

More videos on Tori Allen:
14 year-old American climber Tori Allen blew out last year record by almost 4 seconds at the X-Games in 2002. This is Tori Allen's winning race against Olga Zakharova.

*All videos are properties of Youtube, LLC.

First Time Climbing?

2007-09-02T15:28:00.004-04:00

Start by searching for a local rock gym near where you live. This can be done easily by looking up on google or other search engines. Most rock gyms have all the equipment for rent, but you should wear clothes that are easy to move around in. If it's your first time climbing, you should ask a worker there to be your belayer (the person on the ground that holds and controls the rope).

Equipments that you need:
1. A harness:

www.spadout.com

2. Climbing shoes

www.w-strek.com

Rock climbing shoes should be half a size smaller than your regular shoes. They should fit tight and shouldn't be very comfortable to walk in.
3. Chalk

www.howstuffworks.com

As I mentioned above, most of these equipments can be rent at any rock gym. Expect to pay about $5 for each equipment, and about $10 for admission.