My 50th birthday was looming and I decided that in my new decade, I wanted to be fitter and stronger.
For years I'd been taking my children to the local climbing wall, and waiting while they scaled the walls, so when my kids encouraged me to try bouldering in my quest for strength and fitness, it was hard to come up with reasons not to.
Despite having spent plenty of time watching the action on the bouldering wall, scurrying along it myself was daunting at first. I was scared of falling and I worried about my validity to be there. I was a beginner and surrounded by all these amazing climbers doing really hard routes.
Luckily, everyone was so encouraging and my nerves quickly faded. I started off going once a week but I was unable to climb for long because I was so unfit and I found my hands hurt from the roughness of the holds, plus all my muscles ached.
I slowly progressed and now I boulder two or three times a week for hours at a time. I am so much stronger and feel such a sense of achievement when I reach the top.
My strength has grown, my fitness has increased and my ability and technique have also improved. Bouldering has changed my life for the better - the only downside is I no longer have long nails!
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Ollie Rooke, Marketing Manager of London Climbing Centres, explained the physical and mental benefits of bouldering, sharing: “Climbing delivers a full-body workout, exercising major and minor muscles and tendons from your feet all the way to, quite literally, the tips of your fingers. It’s not just a physical workout though, part of the challenge in climbing is working out the solution required to reach the top of the route in front of you. That means climbing offers a unique blend of physical and mental challenge, which encourages mindfulness and has a noticeable positive effect on mental health."
A new community
The staff and other climbers have such a passion for the sport and are keen for everyone to join in and enjoy it too.
I started to get to know the other parents who were there with their children and found a supportive community all keen to see me progress.
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I love the community I have found at Harrowall, my local spot, part of London Climbing Centres. Climbing on my own is not as satisfying and I am less motivated without them. I now have a close-knit group of parents who I climb with each week. We cheer each other on and give advice on how to climb a particular boulder. We also enter competitions together.
Recently we fielded a team at Harrowall’s International Women’s Day competition – all women, all over age 45 – and got a special mention at the prize giving which was lovely.
In addition to the friends I have made, I also love how strong I am now. I am fitter, slimmer, more confident and proud of what I can achieve. It goes to show how important it is to try something new – you never know where you might end up. I ended up with a fitter body and a great friendship group.