DEL.ICIO.USMY FAVORITE WORKOUT / BRADY HILL
Indoor rock climbing a thrilling full-body workout
Sport builds strength as well as friendships
For The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
• Her inspiration: In 2001 Brady Hill drove by Atlanta Rocks, an indoor rock climbing gym off I-75, almost every day. “You can see the facility from the highway,” the 33-year-old says. Hill was intrigued by the idea of indoor rock climbing because “the only athletic activity I ever did was going to the gym. That was isolating and hard to get motivated,” she says.
• How she got started: She signed up for a beginners’ course. “You either love it or you hate it,” she says. “I loved it.” But that doesn’t mean she excelled at climbing right away. “I took extra classes. I learned from other climbers. I wouldn’t say I was great at it but I did start learning really quickly,” she says.
ADRIENNE HUGHES-HARRIS/Special
Brady Hill enjoys rock climbing as her favorite workout, at Atlanta Rocks. It is ‘a phenomenal core strengthener,’ she says.
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• A breakdown of her sport: An indoor rock climbing gym like the one Hill goes to is made up of climbing surfaces with foot holds and hand holds to help climbers reach the top. “They have different routes and they’re all rated,” explains Hill. For example, a beginner route may be a 5.4 and a more advanced route would be 5.13. “At the beginning obviously you’re climbing really low,” she says. “Then you get to a certain point where you’re searching out routes that have been placed by other climbers that are in the range or rated what you’re trying to get to,” says Hill, who is currently climbing in the 5.9 to 5.10 range. Climbers have partners, called belayers, who stand on the ground holding the belay device, which attaches the rope to the belayer’s harness. She explains that an easy climb would have more foot holds and hand holds while a more challenging climb might have holds that require certain technical moves to get to the top. “It’s not about endurance; it’s not about brute strength; it’s about technique,” she says.
• Taking it outdoors: While Hill says practicing indoors does transition perfectly to outdoors, she doesn’t make it out too often since it’s generally an all-day event to drive to the North Carolina or North Georgia mountains.
• Why she sticks with it: Besides the workout, Hill likes the social side. “You get into this social, friendly environment where people just are truly encouraging and just nice. Climbers are the kind of people where you just walk up and you can be friends by the end of the night. They’re so helpful,” she says. Plus, she has the rock climbing gym to thank for introducing her to her fiancé, with whom she rock climbs about once a week.
• How it’s helped her physically: “I don’t think a lot of people know that climbing is a phenomenal core strengthener. That’s mainly what you have to use. You find a lot of climbers are also into yoga,” says Hill, and adds that she saw amazing changes in her body after just six months. “It really is a full body workout. You’re working out your back, your legs, your abdominals.”
• Her workout week: Hill hits the rock climbing gym three evenings a week for about two hours. She still goes to the “regular” gym three mornings a week to do weight training and cardio.
• Clearing up misconceptions: “No. 1 it’s safe, if you follow standard safety checks with your belayer,” says Hill. And because it requires so much flexibility and balance, she says, women are usually quick to get the hang of it.
• The best part: “I love the thrill of it,” she says. “You’re having fun. It’s exciting. You’re meeting people. Oh, yeah, and by the way, you’re also getting this great workout.”
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