Top 10 Climbing Tips for Total Beginners

Rock climbing can look intimidating if you’re on the outside looking in. People are throwing themselves around on mats, grunting or shouting as they latch different holds, and breathing really hard when they’re on the wall. There’s this secret about climbing, though: It’s surprisingly approachable!

To become a climber is quite simple. All you must do is start climbing. Rest assured, you do not need any prior athletic experience to start your climbing journey today. Many climbers had zero athletic background before they started!

Now that we’ve primed you to start your rock climbing career at our beginner-friendly bouldering gym in Kansas City, we’ve developed this guide to help you start climbing smarter, safer, and stronger. So get after it and climb on!

1. Start With the Right Mindset

The right mindset is the one that focuses on curiosity over competition. Instead of competing with your friends, others at the gym, or even yourself when you first start, climb with an open mind, ready to soak up everything there is to learn about climbing.

One thing you must do when you first start is embrace falling. Every single climber has fallen—that has to be a fact, right? If you’ve never fallen off the wall as a climber, then you haven’t climbed enough, but it’ll happen, so you make sure you understand that it’s part of the process. Getting better without falling is going to be very difficult, so you may as well go for it and learn how to fall safely!

This brings us to the importance of patience while building your climbing skills. You won’t learn how to outside flag and execute it flawlessly each time overnight. And, you won’t have the endurance of a professional after your first few sessions, so go easy on yourself and understand that learning something new takes time!

2. Choose the Right Type of Climbing to Begin With

The most common ways to start climbing are through bouldering and top roping. Bouldering is climbing roughly 15 feet high with large foam mats on the ground as your safety measure. Top roping is climbing on a taller wall connected to a rope and using a belayer. Then there are auto belays, which are similar to top roping, but are done alone, where the device mechanically lowers you to the ground after you fall off the wall.

Bouldering:

Pros: No partner necessary!

Cons: Can only climb so high.

Top Roping:

Pros: Can climb much higher than a bouldering wall.

Cons: Requires more technical knowledge and a partner.

Auto Belay:

Pros: No partner necessary!

Cons: Limited to a specific number of routes to climb.

Indoor rock climbing gyms are a great starting point for beginner climbers because they must adhere to specific safety standards that are there to make sure you have a good time and want to come back. The amount of padding on the floors, the brightly-colored, easy-to-follow routes, and expert instruction are all great reasons why indoor climbing gyms are perfect places for a beginner to start climbing.

3. Rent Gear Before You Buy

Climbing gyms are kind of like bowling alleys: You don’t need any previous experience or gear to go and have a great time! Each allows you to rent the necessary gear until you determine if it’s something you want to pursue, or if it’s an every-so-often sort of activity for you.

The biggest purchase you can make when you are ready to stop renting gear is a pair of climbing shoes. You’ll find a tremendous difference between rentals and your own pair, much like bowling shoes! Next, having chalk is always a great choice for those sweaty hands. Third, and only if you enjoy climbing high, would be to grab a harness!

4. Learn Basic Safety From Day One

You’ll receive an orientation during your first time at a climbing gym. During this, a staff member will show you around, go over the best safety practices, and teach you how to identify different route difficulties. Ask any questions you may have during this process! (You can always find a staff member after your orientation if you think of other questions, too.)

Partner checks when rope climbing is necessary.This will only matter once you receive your belay certification, but it’s good knowledge to prepare for! You’ll check to make sure you and your partner’s harnesses are secured, the rope is tied correctly, the belay device is properly oriented, and that you and your partner are both on the same rope!

When bouldering, you want to keep your body and things away from the landing zones. Essentially, if somebody were to fall off the wall, they should never risk falling onto anything but the mat. Remember to land with bent knees and roll away when you fall off the bouldering wall!

5. Focus on Footwork First

Climbing is way more in your legs than you may think. Instead of focusing on pulling yourself up the wall with your arms, try to focus on pushing yourself up the wall with your legs! Your legs are the biggest muscles in your body and will not tire as easily as your arms.

A few tips for better footwork:

Silent Feet: Try not to make any noise with your feet when you step on a new hold. Be as silent as possible.

Sticky Feet: Practice placing your foot and not moving it. Use it wherever you stick it to help gain confidence when using smaller or worse footholds.

Weight Over Toes: Keep your weight over your feet when you climb to save as much energy as you can in your arms.

6. Use Your Hips, Not Just Your Hands

Similarly to using your legs instead of your arms, use your hips instead of your hands to keep your weight close to the wall. Keeping your weight closer to the wall will alleviate some of the strain on your muscles that could be caused by sticking your body out and away.

Increase your efficiency by keeping your weight close by pushing with your legs and guiding with your arms. This is a more advanced tactic that may be harder to replicate when you first start, but it should be something you revisit as you gain more experience!

7. Warm Up Properly

Like any physical activity, you should spend some time warming up before you start moving your body around. Dynamic stretching is how climbers warm up because it primes their muscles for movement, as opposed to static stretching. Focus on stretching your shoulders, wrists, and hips!

After you’ve warmed up the body, climb a few routes well within your difficulty range before you start trying some harder stuff. This will further help you warm up your body to stay injury-free.

8. Watch and Learn From Others

When resting between climbs, spend some time observing others! Take note of other climbers' body movement on routes and how they make their way up a wall. Watch how they use their feet or their hips to move, and how they rest and shake out to regain some strength.

Another great way to learn from others is through the internet! The number of climbing influencers out there can be overwhelming, so look for pages with the best reviews and most instructional videos. And don’t worry, you’re not likely to learn bad habits from reputable accounts.

9. Rest and Recover

We understand how fun climbing is, trust us, but you should avoid climbing every day when you first start. Let your skin and muscles rest from the onslaught of pulling as hard as you can on funky-colored plastic climbing holds.

Make sure to listen to your body, too. There is a stark difference between sore and injured. Being sore is okay and is an indicator that you should be wary of something. Injury, on the other hand? Not good, and no fun. Certain injuries can take months to heal from, so make sure you take care of your body.

10. Make It Social and Fun

Climbing with others can be one of the best parts about climbing. Partners can help increase your motivation and safety! Some ways to meet climbing partners are through classes or meetups, or even just striking up a conversation with somebody you see at the gym.

Making climbing fun is a great way to keep it in your life for a long time. Figuring out physical puzzles may be a lot of work, but it’s also extremely rewarding!

Remember to Enjoy the Process

Climbing is about continuous improvement. There is no real end goal if you don’t want one. Sure, you can set a grade maximum that you’d like to meet, but you’ll continue to find climbs that mentally and physically challenge you to keep you coming back.

Come in and check out our beginner-friendly bouldering gym in Kansas City to start your climbing journey. We’re warning you, though, it’s hard to stop thinking about climbing once you start… good luck!