Have you ever watched a video of famous climbers? If you are a fan of Adam Ondra like me, then you would have probably watched his ascent of the Silence multiple times. It really is breathtaking. But then you watch a few more climbers and you notice something similar to all climbers. They are all pretty skinny!
So why are rock climbers so skinny? The most obvious reason that you might have thought of is the fact they need to pull their own body weight. So a lower weight means it is easier to climb. But that is not the case for climbers being so skinny. There are multiple other reasons why they are skinny which I will be discussing.
Key Takeaways
- For rock climbing, maintaining both BMI and strength-weight ratios is important. That is why rock climbers are so skinny.
- Losing weight for climbing is important so it is important to do cardio, namely running and HIIT, while also maintaining a balanced diet for climbing.
- Core, shoulder, arm, and finger strengths are important for climbing so you have to do exercises to improve them for rock climbing.
- While bigger people may struggle, climbing should be fun for a person before wanting to improve.
The Weight Ratios You Want to Maintain
For climbing, certain rations need to be maintained to gain maximum efficiency. This deals with two such ratios, both of which are about weight but in different aspects.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
As with any climbers, the reason they are so skinny is that they want to be at a low but still healthy body mass index. This is the ratio of your body’s height to its weight. Obviously, the lower the BMI you have, the skinnier you would be.
There is the height in question here. Tall climbers are in general heavier as they are naturally bigger. But they offset this by being able to reach edges easier than others. Shorter climbers are nimbler and can make movements that a naturally tall person can’t.
Both tall and short climbers need to maintain a BMI which puts them at an advantage weight-wise, but also at a healthy weight too! If you are too skinny, you will definitely lose strength in your arms. But if you are too fat, you will need to carry more of your weight which becomes increasingly more difficult during longer or intricate climbs. The ideal BMI of a climber is between 20 to 23.
Strength-Weight Ratio
From that last point about losing too much weight causing you to lose strength comes the concept of how much weight you can carry. This is called the strength-weight ratio, which can help determine how heavy of an object you can carry. In rock climbing, that weight is primarily you.
For example, if you are about 150 pounds and can carry something that is about 250 to 300 pounds, that would put your strength-weight ratio at about 1.67 to 2. The heavier you can carry, the easier it is for you to carry your own weight.
This is why a healthy weight has to be maintained along with being skinny. For skinny people, their weight is mostly muscle mass, the primary part of your body which will determine your strength-weight ratio. A healthy weight with lean muscles means that you will be strong enough to not only carry your weight around during a climb but also do it for a longer time.
Losing Weight for Climbing
Losing weight for climbing involves losing it healthily. Alongside exercise, you also need to maintain a healthy diet with it.
Diet
Diet is probably the important thing about losing weight for climbing. To improve in climbing, you need to lose that extra weight so you maneuver better during a climb. So watching what you eat is pretty important.
In short, whatever you eat gives you calories. If you don’t burn those calories, then any extra calories get stored as fat in your body, which is how you gain weight. You want your body to be more muscle than fat so eating right and maintaining a diet are important. By creating a calorie deficit, you are burning more than your intake. This in turn burns that fat and helps you lose weight.
That is why a climber’s diet consists of a high protein and high fiber diet. Carbohydrates are also important, but you should avoid refined carbs like sugar and snacks. You don’t have to be a vegan to become a climber, as you will be missing essential proteins to help build your muscles. Fish and chicken should then be on your diet to help you get those, along with fruits and vegetables to give you the minerals that your body will lose when exercising.
Long-Distance Running
Cardio is probably one of the best ways to lose weight. During long-distance running, your body is burning fat while also not putting your body under too much stress. Any climbers will know how much their joints hurt when climbing or during practice so it is important to keep them under less pressure.
It also improves your overall stamina as well, something that you desperately need during climbing. While running long distances is good, it doesn’t mean that greater distance is always better. Running a distance that your body is accustomed to will help you lose weight while also keeping your body healthy.
High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
High-intensity interval training or HIIT is great for losing weight. It involves short bursts of intense workouts with intervals of rest. In this way, your body becomes accustomed to burning calories efficiently. Not to mention it also helps build strength for your body, especially your legs.
The great thing about HIIT is that it’s versatile, so you get to choose any sort of exercise, like rowing, running, cycling, and even with weights! It is also short, ranging from 15 to 45 minutes at most, so it gives you great output with little time. As its name says, the training is intense so you will have to watch your body so that you don’t overwork it and end up injured because of it.
Increasing Strength for Climbing
With cardio, increasing strength for climbing is also important. Your muscles have to be lean and strong to be able to improve your climbing, so let’s see how you can improve your strength.
Practice
There is nothing better than practicing your climbing. It improves your strength in key areas, such as the core, finger, grips, and legs. It’s an all-purpose way to slowly build your strength. Many beginners will have muscle imbalance as they are focusing on only one part of their body during training. Through practice, you can train all the vital parts simultaneously.
Hangboarding
In certain climbing situations, your fingers are going to be the only way that you support the whole weight of your body. That is why your fingers, even though they are delicate, have to be strengthened efficiently. One way to do this is to use a hangboard to help increase not only your finger strength but also practice different types of grip. Have the hangboard at a height that you are comfortable with and practice deadhanging to increase your overall finger strength. You should also practice different type sort of grips and how your body position will be when you hang. That way, not only are you improving your finger but also building core strength.
Weight Training
For your shoulders and muscles in your arm, there is no better training than training with weights. As your arms will be important to help you hang on the side of a rock, having strength in your shoulders and arms will help you pull your weight up.
Make sure that you are focusing on both the left and right sides of your body. A muscle imbalance will make you use more strength for one side but not for the other, causing improper weight distribution of your body.
Calisthenics
Calisthenics is just a fancy word for free-hand exercising using your own body weight to train your body. This includes push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, etc. Getting used to your body weight is important in climbing as you will be pulling yourself up the side of a mountain or climbing a rock formation in the cave. These sorts of exercises will improve your core strength and make it easier to move your body around during a climb.
Can Bigger People Climb
While it is important to maintain a proper body weight and muscle ratio, it does not mean bigger people cannot climb. All of the above suggestions are for climbers that want to become serious sports climbers. If you are taking up climbing as a hobby, it is perfectly fine if you are bigger in terms of weight or height. At the end of the day, it is about how much fun you are having. If you aren’t having fun climbing in your gym, then it would be pointless to want to improve no matter what your starting weight is.
Do Climbers Get Skinny Through Climbing Practice?
The good thing is that if you like climbing and enjoy doing it, then you would eventually get skinnier! The reason being is that climbing puts your body under a lot of pressure that will promote the burning of excess calories and fat. It is fun to note that climbing is almost equivalent to about two gym sessions. So yes, you will eventually get skinny through climbing practices. But do remember not to overdo it! As I mentioned, your body is under massive amounts of stress which will put a burden on your joints. This can lead to injuries if you climb too much in a week. Keep climbing to 1 to 2 times a week to maintain a healthy body.
FAQs
What is the ideal weight for rock climbing?
For rock climbing, it is ideal to be at around 20 to 24 BMI. As long as you can pull your weight during a climb, you should be fine. But to improve, you will have to shed some weight.
What is the best body type for rock climbing?
A lean body that is packed with muscles is probably the best for rock climbing. A skinny rock climber might look weak, but their body is made up of mostly muscles!
Is climbing better than gym?
Climbing is better than the gym in that a session of climbing burns more calories than a session at the gym. However, you should be careful as climbing puts your body under more strain than a regular gym which could lead to injuries.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it! Rock climbers are skinnier because they want to improve their chances of climbing more difficult climbs (that are 6a+ or 5.10 and above in rating). While it is important to improve your climbing by lowering your weight and improving your strength, it shouldn’t deter you from starting to climb. Even if you are on the heavier side, through climbing you can also get skinnier. Just make sure that you maintain a good balance of workouts and diet to ensure that your body is healthy. And you will be skinny in no time through climbing and climbing exercises!
