This is a sponsored collaboration with MoveGB
My mission for 2019 was to say yes to things that scare me. As you may have seen on my Instagram Stories I’m working with #MoveGB as a Brand Ambassador which meant I could start saying those “yes'” immediately in January. You see, this awesome gym membership doesn’t just include your traditional gyms, each plan is pretty unique, and extremely flexible – it doesn’t just get you access to one gym, but in fact to thousands of different venues that offer some sort of exercise or sports programme which is the beauty of it. We love the outdoors so we decided to give Rock Climbing a whirl with our first use of the MoveGB membership! We are absolute novices so wanted to impart some of my first-time knowledge with anyone who might be thinking of taking up Rock Climbing as a hobby. I mean, how cool that the plan includes access to climbing centre’s among other things. Here’s a first-timers guide to indoor rock climbing with #MoveGB.
First things first, you need to book an induction with your local Indoor Climbing Centre, there’s a lot of these centre’s included in the #MoveGB membership. You will need to pay for the induction outside of your membership, but this allows a 1-2-1 tuition with a climbing instructor for round about an hour. This usually costs about £19 – £20 per person, but after you’ve paid for that induction & been signed off and deemed to be at a safe standard to climb, you can use your membership to gain access if you are on the plan that includes it.
We chose the Awesome Walls centre in Sheffield and our instructor Chris was extremely patient with us, helped up learn how to set up our harnesses, do the “8 knot” and also how you can be a great belayer for the person who is rock climbing.
Once our induction finished and we were signed off, we checked in on our #MoveGB app and started our first lonesome session together – we had so much fun!
Although you’re probably about to get hot and sweaty during rock climbing, the essential thing is to layer up! The rock climbing centre was extremely cold because of the sheer size of the warehouse it was in, so make sure you are wearing base layers under your trousers and tops, and a fleece is a must. This way, if you layer up and you do happen to get too warm, you can strip down (not to your knackers though!)
In terms of footwear, we just wore trainers. We did see people wearing proper rock climbing shoes, but I think if you are a beginner and you’re just testing the waters there’s no need to invest in a pair of them just yet, because they are around £50 and upwards for a good pair.
If you wear lots of rings, take them off, there’s a chance you could fall and catch the ring and scarily, tear a huge chunk of skin out of your fingers!
Tie your hair up, like any sport, long hair can get in the way and could get tied up in the rope. Make sure you bring a bobble with you.
Like any form of exercise, you need to warm up before you go for it. I learnt the hard way. I was aching for days after our first session and the pain hit different parts of my body as the week went on! Get stretching and using muscles beforehand to try to eliminate as much chance of hurting afterwards. Finally, make sure you do a cool off too. Shake those legs and arms out and stretch! You’ll thank me for that one!
Make sure you listen to your instructor, and if there’s anything you don’t understand make sure you ask – this is a dangerous sport and things can go wrong, so make sure you are fully aware of what they teach you.
This tip also goes for when you and your partner go off and rock climb together. Often one of you will be high up off the ground so it’s wise to have clear words that mean something to you. For example, our instructor advised the word “take” is good for the belayer to shout when they are ready for the person who is climbing to come down. Decide on clear and concise words to shout to one another before setting off.
Rock Climbing is very different to most gyms you find on the #MoveGB membership. There’s a slight competitiveness to seeing who can get to the top quickest or who can get the highest. If you’re not comfortable going all the way to the top, don’t feel pressured to do so. Also, the climber needs to remember that if they are going fast, they need to consider the pace that the belayer can go too. If you’re a beginner, take it steady and don’t push yourself too hard! You want to enjoy yourself and make sure you come back again.
By using my #MoveGB membership I will be saving myself a whopping £8.50 per session – isn’t that a bargain?!
Bee
Twitter | Instagram | BlogLovin | Pinterest | Facebook
Sign up to the QueenBeady Community Newsletter here!
