But I didn't manage to finish them until I gave up on sneakers and rented climbing shoes, so do that if you try it.
Feh. I did three days of rock climbing on Outward Bound when I was in high school (one day of bouldering, two of actual walls), and didn't need climbing shoes. Proper technique (getting your foot flat against the rock face) is far more important than anything else.
Surprisingly, even though I'm absolutely terrified of heights, rock climbing didn't bother me in the least, even when I fell.
Nothing physical anyone does in high school counts.
You didn't get laid until college, did you?
I agree - it's the mental thing that's the most exhausting. When I went rock scrambling last summer, my brain was so worn out by the end of the day.
You don't get to call it "going rock climbing" if it's in a gym.
It is fun -- our office party rented an athletic facility with a climbing wall last summer and I tried it out, again on the most pathetic setting. Trusting the belay was huge -- there were all sorts of things I could do because falling was unimportant, that I'd never have thought about doing without a rope.
Forget getting laid, I'm giving up dunking for the sake of my principles, man.
1: Thanks. Now I have this song stuck in my head.
Huh. I've always wanted to try it. I had a roommate for a year or so who did rock-climbing, and taught it at a gym, took inner-city school kids out on rock-climbing expeditions (builds character!)
Sounds like the perfect endeavor, actually.
6: The first actual climb I did, I got stuck at the crux for over an hour. (Everyone else was having lunch and going "where's Josh?") I was probably 6 feet from the top of the rock, but I absolutely could not make myself do the technique I needed to to get past that one spot. It wasn't a particularly difficult technique, it just required leaning out further from the face of the rock than I was comfortable with. Man that sucked.
I'm giving up dunking for the sake of my principles
Ogged, before he found principles.
That can't be me, I can't cross my eyes.
My sister has gone climbing at an indoor gym and has been very happy about it every time. It seems like it would be fun, and a way to get a workout without noticing.
I can't cross my eyes.
Really? It's never occurred to me that there were people who couldn't.
Really. Can't do those magic eye things, either.
a way to get a workout without noticing
It's not an aerobic workout, but I certainly noticed my burning forearms.
I can't do those magic eye things, and at the eye doctor's as a kid I was never able to do the test where they make you see double and ask you to line up the little squares.
Sober commenting: not what it's cracked up to be.
I was never able to do the test where they make you see double and ask you to line up the little squares
Strabismus (probably).
Probably. I would have described it as 'my left eye getting bored with a pointless task when it couldn't see anything and fucking off on the grounds that the right eye could handle it', but that sounds like the actual medical term for it.
I've never been able to see the Magic Eye things either.
I'm great at seeing Magic Eye stuff. I'm amazing. If you could only see what I see.
Okay, that looks really fun and all? But it is just really poor sportsmanship of you to say you went "rock climbing" and then deny me the opportunity to rub salt in your wounds by pointing out that white people love being outside.
I went for a couple-hour hike yesterday, B, so we're still good.
Not the magic eye stuff. That doesn't look fun at all. I bet Heebie is lying.
That's ok B. You know what white people love even more than being outside? Doing things inside that fake the experience they could have been having outside (sport climbing, exercise bikes, rowing machines ...). Extra bonus points if you can pay money to do something inside that you could have done for free outside.
color-coded nubbins
I didn't realize they were color-coded. Does this mean there's like a green route, a blue route, etc.? I've never been fake-rock climbing, either.
Oh hell no. Exercise bikes totally suck.
And gyms have become so omnipresent that I don't think they can be said to be a white thing. I think they're just an American thing. Sadly.
Does this mean there's like a green route, a blue route, etc.?
Yup, at least that's how it was at the place I went.
The funniest exercise equipment is the step.
And gyms have become so omnipresent that I don't think they can be said to be a white thing. I think they're just an American thing. Sadly.
Really? Gyms strike me as an extremely white thing. But then, I don't go to them, so maybe not.
32: I've heard of those. Is it as bad as it sounds?
29,31: Yeah, that's normal. Routes are marked by colored tape and generally have different difficulty levels. The green route might be easy, the maroon might be moderate, the yellow might be crazy hard.
As always, there are technical terms, and you should mock the people that take the technical terms too seriously.
The funniest exercise equipment is the step.
No way. The funniest one is the one where the seat moves forward and up, and you pull the handles toward you, and look like you're humping the air.
All exercise equipment is pretty funny, actually.
37: Yeah, I could never bear to do more than a couple of reps on those without wanting to die of shame.
The funniest exercise equipment is the step.
Clearly you have not seen me on the treadmill when "Bizarre Love Triangle," for example, comes on my ipod.
Today it was 70 and sunny outside, and I drove to campus to ride the stationary bike at the gym.
I'm rehabbing and never sure how many miles I've got, but still.
The elliptical is very funny. Hamster! Hamster! burning bright!
My problem lately is that I'm developing a hatred of aerobic exercise. The elliptical is sooo boring.
Music is the answer, Cala. I don't think of it as exercise time, but as time to listen to things I want to listen to.
I would think that submersion in water would be bad for headphones, iPods, and other personal electronic things?
She mentioned the elliptical, but there are waterproof mp3 players and waterproof casings for ipods (not that I use them).
Empirical research suggests that iPods do not swim.
There's a climbing place right around the corner from me. I should really go. Though I'll have to lose 20lbs first.
Should we expect posts lusting after autocockblocking teh hott climber ladies? Of whom there are loads. The ur-one is of course Lynn Hill who was the first person [sic] to free-climb The Nose on El Capitan (ATM).
teh hott climber ladies? Of whom there are loads.
So, so true. But aren't ogged's autocockblocking days behind him? (Not that he'd tell us, I'm sure.)
47: You could climb as a way to lose 20lbs.
"Hott," "autocockblocking:" it's like you guys are speaking some kind of insidery language that I don't understand.
I'd respectfully disagree with 3. If you're doing roped climbs in the 5.3-5.5 range then you're mostly on less than vertical ground and can usually get by with just tennis shoes.
But bouldering in gyms is usually between slightly and significantly overhanging. If a V0 bouldering problem were a 40' roped climb it would be rated as a 5.10 or higher. And when the rating system was invented back in the 70s, 5.10 was the highest rating there was. Of course, then came sticky rubber and now there are 5.15s, but that's a different story.
The footholds on indoor bouldering routes are typically very small, sometimes so small that they are nailed on because they aren't big enough for a bolt.
This is something to be said for practicing in tennis shoes from time to time to see if you can do certain moves using smearing instead of edging, but for the most part bouldering is hard enough that sticky rubber is practically a necessity.
47: You could climb as a way to lose 20lbs.
Right now, I'm dealing with getting back into a little running and more biking, which is enough to be going on with. The goal is to lose as much as my bike weighs.
50: it's the language of "shame" and "self-loathing" so common among reflective affluent Americans. Some day you'll understand.
A buddy built one of these in his basement. It is great for the kids.
Ogged:
It doesnt really count as a workout until you gain a little weight.
How hard can it be to lift 135 pds?
A lot of climbers get super skinny (low single-digit body fat) to make it easier to climb the steep overhanging routes. Maybe it's psychological, but I've seen people simple remove a sweatshirt and suddenly be able to pull a move that they'd already flailed on a dozen times. The smallest amount of weight can make a big difference.
Serious climbing shoes are completely awesome. After borrowing someone's for a scramble once, I finally realised what I'd been missing. (I tend to have such low-traction shoes that I used to scramble barefoot. In Joshua Tree.)
Oh, I guess it'd be bouldering without a plan.
I'm so totally thrilled that I have no idea what any of this "exercise equipment" (except the step) is. I have a vague idea that an elliptical is something like a stationary bike.
I had the vague impression that bouldering is vertical - you're climbing with arms and legs, not far from the ground - while scrambling is more horizontal - you're moving along uneven terrain, but aren't constantly in need of using your hands and arms for anything more than balance.
I'm no longer interested in rock climbing, but even when I was I didn't really like climbing walls. I only used one a couple of times, though, I think in Emeryville.
There's the shivbunny workout: get your rig stuck in the middle of a Michigan field in the middle of winter, and walk two miles back to camp while carrying 65 pounds of dynamite. Arrive at hotel. Call wife. Whimper.
I figure we could probably market it as an exercise holiday to certain types.
"Scrambling" also describes what I'm doing right now trying to find a place to stay for March. I don't know why I had to live this so late, given that I've known for months I'd have to move at the end of February.
"leave this so late"
By the way, I've noticed people are using some kind of notation to set apart off-topic comments. When did that start?
It started a few months ago, inspired by B's kid holding up his two index fingers side by side to denote a request to "pause" the conversation: people are making pause and play symbols to indicate that they want to share something, but don't expect a response and don't want to derail the discussion.
Huh, I thought Di started it. I should really pay way more attention.
Ogged, you are becoming such a pussy in your old age.
Ogged, you are becoming such a pussy in your old age.
Why must that mean weak?
Those are typos. There are no on-topic comments here, so why would we need special notation for off-topic ones?
Will, you sexist. Maybe I meant that Ogged is becoming a nicer, warmer person.
Ok, I can go with the nice and warm meaning.
Will, you sexist. Maybe I meant
Or maybe you meant he is licking his butt more often, and coughing up the occasional hairball.
Exactly! It could have meant anything, really.
37
I love that thing. It's called the Health Rider and the infomercials for it were awesome.
I can't believe no one has come up with a way to charge your iPod/phone/whatever using a treadmill.
I can't believe no one has come up with a way to charge your iPod/phone/whatever using a treadmill.
Why, hello, there.
I was more referring to using the treadmill itself, but I guess that works.
Sober commenting: not what it's cracked up to be.
Tequila: God's way of trying to convicne us that maybe He's there after all.
re: 49
Don't know about Gonerill, but, for me, I'd just be too heavy to get much out of indoor climbing at all. Stuff that's easy if you weigh 140lbs would be near impossible if you weigh 220 [unless you are seriously strong] so it wouldn't really serve as a weight-loss method.
Looks like a cool thing to do after the weight loss, though.
Heh. I bet you end up at the same gym as my blogfriend Justin.
My college roommate was a rock climber, and he and his climbing pals had the most amazing upper-body strength. (He also looked almost exactly like Bernini's David.) They used to do this thing where they'd do finger pull-ups on the door trim, starting at one and adding one per round, then going back down; I vaguely remember that they could get up to 12, so 144 total.
re: 84
Yeah, there used to be a sort of 'grip' training board at the gym I used to go to in Glasgow. Like a block of concrete with a couple of lumps on it and a few tiny holes for fingers. I used to watch the climbers hanging from those little holes with a couple of finger tips and doing pull-ups.
Amazing strength-to-weight ratio.
I don't climb, but I take my daughter to a rock gym every so often. It's a great activity for kids - her friends loved it when we had her birthday party there - and people are very encouraging and helpful to her, offering tips and 'go girl's all the time.
I'd just be too heavy to get much out of indoor climbing at all. Stuff that's easy if you weigh 140lbs would be near impossible if you weigh 220
I agree with Nattar. I'm just to heavy/weak to do the indoor climbing now. I'd love to do it, but it isnt in the cards until I lose a bunch of weight.
Climbing rules. Wiry, lean, and tall is a good build for it.
Josh is on crack. Shoes make a huge difference.
If you decide to get your own shoes, Moccasyms are probably the perfect all around shoe. Five Ten makes a great shoe, loads of the top climbers like Sharma use them. Don't hesitate to tell the sales guy you're a noob and need help picking the right fit. They need to be a much tighter, more glove like fit than regular shoes.
re: 87
Yeah. In terms of the raw mass I could move, in a dead-lift or similar, I'm sure I'd do fine. But ask me to move my own flab vertically using the power of my arms and shoulders, I'm screwed.
strabismus
if ogged has strabismus, his stereoscopic vision'd be worse 40-200 times than average and related coordination of movements crucial for sports would be weak or for example he'd hit someone while driving because he wouldn't know for sure whether the moving object is close or far from him
as i was told
he seems to be a fine sportsmen, so most probably he does not have strabismus
But ask me to move my own flab vertically using the power of my arms and shoulders, I'm screwed.
My weight has increased and my strength has decreased. Just the other day someone said to me, "Wow, you can move all that weight through the water pretty well."
Yea. Screw off.
Heh. Yeah, there's a couple top climbers who are maybe 180 or something, but that's unusually large.
re: 91
On the other hand, I do like the fact that people assume, wrongly, that because I'm chunky and carrying a fair bit of flab that I will be slow and/or lacking in agility when sparring. Luckily, being fat doesn't seem to affect my abilities in that area much at all since my lower body strength and flexibility is good.
who are maybe 180 or something, but that's unusually large.
Ouch, gswift. Ouch.
Last fall, I played water polo against some college kids. They were talking about how the players on a recent opponent's team were so large. "A lot of those guys were hitting a buck 80!"
Ouch.
93: I suppose the proportion of upper body strength to lower would make a difference in how well you moved in rock climbing vs. fighting. You're about the same size as shivbunny's max recent weight, but he could always do chinups on the door frame. He'd probably break if he had to kick something, though.
he could always do chinups on the door frame. He'd probably break if he had to kick something, though.
Cage match! Shiv v. Nattar! No explosives allowed.
Those of you who are worried about strenght/weight ration are missing the point of rock climbing. Sure, being strong and light is an advantage to serious rock climbers, but it's far more about technique than anything else. I used to climb 5.9 and 5.10 indoors as a relatively heavy (180 lbs) female with not much upper body strength. If I can haul my ass up those walls, so can you.
Scottish tough vs. Canadian redneck would be funny.
Ouch, gswift. Ouch.
Heh. Between doing mostly lifting, and damn near totally ignoring my diet and cardio for the last year or two I started pushing 180 or so. Then starting climbing in a gym again after a 4 year hiatus. Noticeably more difficult. I'm still in process of trying to strip back down to 165. Trying to find a happy medium that'll let me keep my lifting, but ease up on the fingers for climbing.
Aren't you like 4'2" though, gswift?
I would like to climb, just as I would like to do yoga.
But, I need to spend my gym time on cardio and lifting now. I've been consistent for a couple of months now. My strength is decent, but the weight hasn't improved much. Obviously, it will take time to get where I want to be.
Aren't you like 4'2" though, gswift?
I tower (over the Mexicans and Asians) at 5'9''.
Probably fortunate to be as tall as I am with parents that are 5'3'' and 5'6''.
re: 95
Yeah, my upper body strength relative to body weight is pathetic. But I am quite agile. I can do all the leapy/spinny/head-kicky sort of stuff.
re: 99
He has dynamite. Also, oil exploration rough-neck outdoor manly type versus philosophy grad student. Heh. Who wins?
I think it would depend on whether you had time to get off a head-kicky kick.
re: 106
Almost certainly not.
Not that I'd actually try to kick someone in the head in a real fight anyway. Boxing, pretty much. Followed by running away.
Boxing, pretty much. Followed by running away.
Me too. Except less boxing and more urination.
108: If you aim for the eyes, it's a surprisingly effective fighting technique.
re: 109
There's a reason the Scots favour the kilt.
The wise man fears the zip fastening, and the button fly. For this is the way of pee-fu.
the elliptical is less hamster-ish to me than a treadmill, & a hell of a lot more pleasant than stairmasters, which it seems to have replaced.
I finally broke down and joined a gym last month. I didn't like either the expense or atmosphere but it is too! fucking! cold! here to exercise outside.
I've always liked scrambling around on rocks outside, but whenever I've tried indoor climbing walls it's been impossible--the holds are too small, I am too weak, & I absolutely can't do it when the wall angles out at me.
After I permanently wrecked my arch and ankle bouldering, my friend the rock climber invited me to go out again. "It's all about managing your injuries," he said. But any activity that may from time to time require you to wedge your fist in a rock cleft and use it to support your body weight is an activity in which I refuse to engage.
94: Mmm . . . waterpolo players.
I thank you, Will, for inspiring my office-bound reverie of the waterpolo player I dated in high school.
Mmm . . . waterpolo players.
I thank you, Will, for inspiring my office-bound reverie of the waterpolo player I dated in high school.
I thought you were talking about me at first. Then, I read the second sentence. So sad. My day was almost made.
the elliptical is less hamster-ish to me than a treadmill, & a hell of a lot more pleasant than stairmasters, which it seems to have replaced.
Agree. When they stopped having good musix at my gym I was unable to do the treadmill anymore but could still do the EFX5506 or whatever it's called.
My biggest tip for starting climbers is to make your legs do the work. Optimally, you push with your legs rather than pulling with your arms. Of course in practice it all comes down to the nature of the holds and the slope.
98: Yeah, upper body strength is overrated. I heard about a girl who could do V10s before she could do a single pull-up. Also, there's a guy I see bouldering all the time who's built like Curly and can do most V1s.
Josh is on crack. Shoes make a huge difference.
I'm sure they do. I was responding more to the notion that they're a necessity rather than a luxury, at least for a beginner.
(As one of the instructors on Outward Bound said when one of the other students was whining about not being able to smear with their running shoes, "I've seen people do this wearing cowboy boots. If they can do it, you can do it.")
My biggest tip for starting climbers is to make your legs do the work. Optimally, you push with your legs rather than pulling with your arms.
That's exactly what the instructor said when I got stuck on my first climb. I kept trying to pull myself up, and the instructor was like "Do you walk on your hands? No? Then maybe your legs are stronger and you should use *them* to get up."
The floor in that pic looks nice. Back when I was in Madison, the only climbing gym in the area had a gravel floor. Good times.
One of my friends is a serious mountaineer, and says that women usually have better technique because they don't try to rely too much on pure upper body strength to pull themselves up.
116: Will, I can't even comment on your comments when I am in my office, for I am far, far too hot and bothered.
124:
That is much better. See, was that so hard?
There's such a thing as taking self-deprecation too far, will.
Will, certain forms of yoga (vinyasa styles) can give you a bit of a cardio workout. Be prepared to sweat a lot though, since the yoga studio will probably be heated to 80 degrees.
re: 127
A bit of a cardio workout, yeah, but if that's what you really needed/wanted, something else would be a more efficient use of your time, surely? 10 minutes of interval training, or something. Of course if you have other reasons for wanting to do yoga [or just really like yoga] the bit of a cardio workout is a bonus.
Will was just saying that he wanted to try yoga, so I was just saying that if he wanted to try it, it wouldn't be a total waste, cardio-wise.
I like ashtanga yoga a lot. You get to do funky uijayii (Darth Vader breathing) which helps me to focus--I get easily bored doing most forms of cardio. It also seems to keep me from getting dizzy, though yesterday it didn't. I started to go black getting up from something and had to be very gentle even in a "beginner" class. I like ashtanga a lot, because it demands a good balance between strength and flexibility. I need to work hard on the strength stuff, and the push up thingies definitely challenge me, but then I get to feel better when I do hip-opening exercises, since mine are already pretty flexible.
I agree that it wouldnt be a total waste, BG. But I need more right now. Later, I hope to make it part of my regular workout. My time is just better spent elsewhere right now.
For long term health, I am very interested in the flexibility benefits of yoga.
re: 130
There are also other ways of getting the flexibility, although yoga seems pretty good for that, any kind of regular stretching routine would work.
That said, lest it seem like I am down on yoga, the period when my wife was on a bit of a yoga binge, she was in incredible shape. Really impressive muscle tone and definition.
Further to 130 and re: flexibility -
http://trickstutorials.com/index.php?page=content/flexibility
That's a pretty good resource if you can get over the fact that the dirty hippie involved is into 'tricking'.
http://trickstutorials.com/index.php?page=content/flx2
and
http://trickstutorials.com/index.php?page=content/flx3
