Perhaps you have grand plans to party like a rock star on New Year’s Eve. But when it comes to that resolution you quietly made to improve your health and fitness next year, you have an itty, bitty, boring whisper of a notion that maybe you’ll drag yourself to a gym in January.
You know what’s likely to happen after that. Epic fail.
“Exercise should be engaging. If it’s not engaging, it’s not interesting and it’s probably not doing as much for you anyway,” says rock climbing extraordinaire Lynn Hill. Considered one of climbing’s all-time greats, the Boulder, Colorado-based 54-year-old owner of Lynn Hill Climbing, who is now retired from sport climbing, continues to push her limits on climbs around the world, while inspiring and instructing newbies. And she knows a thing or two about getting completely absorbed in her activity of choice. In 1993, a couple thousand feet above the Yosemite Valley floor in California, she became the first person on earth to free climb — with only ropes for safety and no equipment besides her body to advance her progress — The Nose, a route with a massive prow sticking out like its namesake on the iconic granite monolith El Capitan.
Speaking of which, don’t you have that snooze fest of a workout to get to? “Listen to your body,” says climber Chris Sharma, who is widely regarded as one of the top in the sport today. It’s telling you to do something more interesting. OK, just kidding, that’s not what the 34-year-old Sharma, who lives in Barcelona, Spain, meant. He was referring to the fact that listening to your body will help you determine if you can push harder or need to rest. But experts say the apathy that leads many of us to drag our feet on physical activity could be remedied — at least in part — by being truly excited about what it is we’re going to do physically. Moreover, repeatedly doing the same few exercises doesn’t cut it in the engagement or results department, fitness pros say. Not surprisingly, an increasing number of people are flocking to what used to be considered fringe activities — from zany obstacle course races to extreme sports, like rock climbing, which are burgeoning in popularity.
“Now climbing is such an accessible sport — there are gyms in just about every [major] city around the world,” says Sasha DiGiulian, a New York City-based student and rock climbing star. “While climbing is an authentically outdoor driven sport, you can learn the fundamentals of climbing in the gym and experience the sport while in urban locations.”
Climbing — whether indoors or outside — is, after all, the best way to achieve the rock-hard results that make the sport’s best so cut and fit, pros say. And climbing, which uniquely challenges people to maneuver their body in novel ways, is a good way to vary the muscles you work while avoiding boredom. “If it’s [done] just for general fitness, I would say climbing is a lot like gymnastics. It develops what I call ‘functional fitness,'” Hill says. “Because, you’re using your entire body — and on a spontaneous level — so you’re adapting to the features of the rock. You’ll probably do a different movement each climb, every time you do it.” That means less of the repetition that wears on the body and mind, she says, while also building your core and upper body strength, as you hoist yourself higher and higher.
All that being said, for the ground-bound who either prefer to leave climbing to Spiderman or feel physically limited in what they can do, the world’s best rock toppers offer a hand with fitness tips that don’t ascend higher than a pullup bar:
Mix it up. “Cross-training is a must,” Sharma says. Whether you intend to go full-on into an extreme sport, you should always make variety a centerpiece of your workout. In fact, that’s what’s best for you physically, experts say. In addition to climbing as many different styles as possible, Sharma seeks a balance between aerobic and anaerobic exercises — from doing pullups and situps and light- weight reps to leg presses and light running several days a week.
Hit the trail. Skip the treadmill and get outside. For the cold-averse this winter, many trail-running enthusiasts say it’s worth buying warmer workout clothes to trade static views of the wall-mounted gym TV for the great outdoors. And even a run on pavement or greenway can be a nice break from walled confines to get some fresh air. “I did a lot of trail running when training [to climb] El Cap in a day, including doing an ultramarathon, just to train for suffering and endurance,” says climber Steph Davis, 42, of Moab, Utah. One of the world leaders in the sport and true high-flyer, Davis is also a base jumper and wingsuit pilot — enabling her to descend from the tops of very tall rocks without hiking down (a parachute is eventually deployed).
For a great workout on slippery surfaces, Davis and Hill both suggest trying skate skiing, which typically involves using special skis to glide across frozen areas. “Skate skiing is very core intensive … full-body fitness for muscles, heart and lungs,” Davis says.
Up your pullup game. First, if you don’t know, a pullup involves gripping the bar with your palms facing away from your face. If you see the lines that reveal your future, you’re doing chin-ups, which still provide a good workout, but don’t require as much strength as their cousins do, Hill explains. While rock climbers make many moves, the sport’s cornerstone maneuver involves hoisting the body upward, so this exercise features prominently in their training. Think you’re already a pullup all-star? Try Hill’s approach: “I would pull not just to my chin — I would pull all the way up as far as I can go. Why, because I want more power, more strength.” She recommends pulling your chest up to the bar.
Pullup neophyte? Can’t do one? There’s no shame in scaling it down. “People have to do what they’re capable of doing,” she says. Step into elastic loops draped from the bar, careful to get a good foothold, to get some assistance, while still benefiting from resistance. “That way you feel what it’s like to pull your own body weight up,” she says.
Work your core. Much of what works for climbers is ballyhooed in other fitness circles as well, and that includes working the core. Not only does a strengthened core look great — if your abs do see the light of day in the next several months — but experts say less flab around the midsection can help with everything from overall strength to heart health.
In addition to exercises like skate skiing, Hill recommends V-sits. She’s hard core enough to do the rough approximation of that floor-bound exercise while hanging from a pullup bar. But for an introduction to the move, start by laying on your back, body straight (preferably on a mat), and bring your legs and upper body up in a V-position, holding and repeating at intervals that push your strength and stamina, while being careful not to move in jarring ways that could tweak your body.
“If there’s just one thing I’d choose to focus on, it would be core strength,” Davis says. “Usually I start with 10 to 15 minutes of yoga stretching, and at the end I lie flat on the yoga mat and raise both my upper body and lower body, never coming all the way back down until the end. I do sets of 10 to make the counting easier.” To add to the difficulty, she says, open your arms out to the sides as you raise and lower your body.
Pay attention to form. Speaking of not moving in awkward ways, Hill emphasizes the importance of following proper form irrespective of the exercise you’re doing. That way you can maximize results by pushing your limits, while minimizing injury.
Eat well and prosper. Climbers live on the edge, sure, but gone are the days where anything goes into the bodies of those pushing their physical limits. “Exercise is just one part of gaining fitness, but it really begins with eating habits,” Davis says. “If you haven’t already, cut out refined sugar and processed foods and work toward a plant-based, whole-food diet.” And, she adds: “Focus on hydration.”
After all, getting gimmicky isn’t your golden ticket to fitness in 2016. You still need to mind the fundamentals. Just make sure to find something that excites you enough to stick with it, experts say.
“I guess I’m an intense person, I like to be engaged. I like to be challenged,” Hill says of what drew her to climbing. “I think it keeps you young at heart, because you have to be supple and strong and perceptive, and sometimes it’s like a moving meditation.”
More from U.S. News
8 Resolutions Health Experts Want You to Make
Exercising After You’ve Gone Under (the Knife, That Is)
10 Ways to Avoid Winter Joint Pain
Train Like a Rock Climber to Take Your Fitness to the Next Level originally appeared on usnews.com
