Reaching new heights with Rock Over Climbing
A few weeks ago, I was invited to try out indoor rock climbing at the Rock Over Climbing Centre in Manchester. I was really excited to try rock climbing because it’s an amazing strength and cardio workout that utilises so many different muscle groups and focuses on balance and co-ordination, aka the fundamentals of fitness.
I hate admitting this, but I’m really scared of heights. It’s the reason why I hate rollercoasters and why I don’t appreciate films that have romantic scenes on big Ferris wheels (The Notebook, I’m looking at you). Honestly, the thought of climbing up to the top of a wall terrifies me, but it’s good to push yourself to do things that scare you (like the time I got swallowed up in mud doing the Major Series Run). So I grabbed my best girl Ellie and joined the rest of the gang, aka some amazing Manchester health and fitness bloggers, for a day of fun on the climbing wall.
What to expect when climbing as a newbie
Rock Over Climbing is an indoor climbing centre that offers several different types of climbing wall, depending on your age and experience. As it was our first time, we tried a variety of different climbing techniques including toproping, belaying and finally bouldering. The first involved ropes and harnesses, so if you fell you would be caught by the rope and slowly pulled back down. For the second type, we were strapped to harnesses and our partner held onto the ropes to support our weight.
Before we were unleashed on the bouldering wall, we practised the skills by moving horizontally across a small wall (imagine doing crab walks along a wall) to help us learn the technique. I really struggled to stay on the wall and I got quite frustrated with myself because I couldn’t do it as fast as some of the other people. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so when I can’t automatically do something well I want to give up.
After practising, we moved onto climbing the actual wall. I was quite nervous to climb it, and I tried to back out a few times but in the end forced myself to climb. I was really pleased I’d given it a go, even if my technique wasn’t perfect. We finished off our session by doing some animal movements with Skoti and then chowed down on some delicious vegan chilli among other tasty treats.
I had a fantastic day at Rock Over Climbing, and I’m sure the other bloggers would agree. Last but not least, I want to thank the team and mention how patient Skoti and the rest of the instructors were. They went out of their way to make sure we were all comfortable before climbing and focused on helping us learn the proper techniques, while encouraging us to push ourselves. If you are a newbie to rock climbing, like me, you will feel at ease with these guys.
Rock over climbing are offering a 20% discount for all Hannah Gets Hench readers on the bouldering courses or rope climbing courses at the centre. Just enter code BL-HG-TR when booking over the phone, website or via email to redeem the code.
Have you tried rock climbing before? I’d love to know in the comments 🙂
Hannah x
