Stuck between a Rock and A Hard Place

In support of our upcoming physical activity campaign/challenge “Make Your Move – think outside of the dumbbell,” I was planning on creating a lovely compendium of suggestions and ideas for our participants to help motivate them to try something new.

As I sat down to flush out some ideas regarding opportunities and suggestions, I suddenly came to a roadblock: many of these suggestions I haven’t done in years or even for a couple, ever!  Who am I to suggest something to do to others when I haven’t even experienced the activity?  Doesn’t sound like my butt can cash the checks my mouth is writing, right?

It was right there and then, at that epiphany, that I decided that I owed it to all of our followers, to myself as a health advocate and physical activity in public health specialist, but most importantly, as an adventurous person to try as many different types of physical activities as possible before the kick-off of “Make Your Move” and share it with all of you.

First stop on my physical activity test drive: Rock Climbing and Bouldering.

One of my best friends Ray – an avid climber & boulderer – has been harping on me since last year to go climbing with him at the Delaware Rock Gym.  As recent as this past Thursday, I have always found very creative ways to pass on his lovely gesture.  Trust me, some of them were really, really creative.  However, on Thursday night somehow all of my creativity eluded me as I finally caved.

 

Rock climbing here I come!

So after I got off of work on Friday, I drove straight over to the Rock Gym where I met Ray for god knows what I was getting myself into.

After a quick spiel on the equipment, safety precautions, and my curiosity as to where exactly the middle strap of my harness was going to go, I strapped up, got tied, and gave it my best spider-man effort.

I can honestly say, as you can see in the picture above, I… had… the climb of my life and I owe it all to Ray?  No seriously though, I went into this new adventure with really no idea what to expect regarding difficulty, how physically demanding it would be, or really what the hell I was suppose to do.  However, I can now proudly say – I had a blast!

Let me preface my previous statement with this: I am not a huge fan of heights.  Well, it’s not really the height that bothers me so much as it is the potential splattering on the ground from falling.  However, as Ray mentioned and as I found, as long as I didn’t look straight down while climbing or over my shoulder, I couldn’t even tell how high I was climbing.

Don’t get me wrong, rock climbing is not meant for everyone so if you are interested in trying out the sport, please consult your physician first before attempting to be your very own spider-man/woman.  For those of you playing at home, I honestly wasn’t that sore the next day either.  Great fun, great challenge, great workout!

What did I take home from this adventure? Rock climbing and bouldering takes a blend of athleticism, functional strength, and a free spirit.  I mean who wouldn’t want to scale a 90-degree or less wall using holds that stick out no more than the width of a deck of cards from time-to-time.  Honestly, I was fit to be tied!

My challenge to you: find your inner spider-man/woman and try rock climbing and bouldering.  It was a ton of fun, easy to pick-up after a couple of minutes and there are plenty of degrees of challenge depending on your experience and interest.  I plan on going back really soon (yes Ray, you can quote me on this) and I hope to see you there too!

Sometimes finding yourself between a rock and a hard place isn’t so bad : )

If you are in the tri-state area, I highly recommend checking out the Delaware Rock Gym.  Nice facility, great people, tons of fun!

Delaware Rock Gym

http://derockgym.com

– Corey