Why Rock Climbing is Great Training for Obstacle Course Racing

What do rock climbing and obstacle course racing (OCR) have in common? As it turns out, a lot! 

Take, for example, the popular NBC show American Ninja Warrior. The very first people to ever complete all four stages of the show were two climbers, Geoff Britten and Isaac Calidero. Other climbers, turned obstacle course racers, have seen success on the show, including climbing icon Meagan Martin and notable climbing veterans Brian Arnold and Noah Kaufman.

Why have these climbers, and many others, found success in obstacle racing? The physical demands, mental skills, and overall approach to success are strikingly similar. There's also an overlap of culture, community, and values among participants in both sports. If you're a climber looking to try OCR or an OCR athlete looking to level up your training, keep reading to explore how rock climbing is a valuable training tool for obstacle course racing. 

How Rock Climbing Training Translates to Obstacle Course Racing

 

Grip & Upper Body Strength & Endurance

Rock climbing demands immense levels of grip strength to grab small, oddly shaped holds and stay on the wall for the entire climb. Whether through hangboarding, climbing a lot, or a combination of the two, rock climbers are always looking to improve their grip strength. In obstacle course racing, you’ll face many upper-body dominant obstacles that require you to hang from your hands for long periods without dropping. 

Mental Focus and Problem-Solving Skills

Rock climbs are rarely straightforward. As a climber, you have to decipher the best path to the top. Where do you put your hands versus your feet? Will you have to jump, or can you reach the hold statically? Once you're on the wall, you may find your plan doesn't work. If you aren't able to instantly adapt, you risk falling. 

Obstacle course racing requires the same focus and critical thinking. Each obstacle is like a new climb. You have to dial in on the problem in front of you and figure out how you'll complete the obstacle. What foot do you lead with? How much balance versus strength is necessary? Despite your mental preparations and planning, things can change once you're on the course. You will have to rely on your adaptability and problem-solving skills to keep from falling. 

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Full Body Athleticism

Rock climbing and obstacle course racing are full-body sports that require functional strength to maneuver your bodyweight. Unless you are campusing, climbing requires full-body tension to stay on the wall. For any one move, you may have to press hard into the toe of one foot, engage your core to stay close to the wall, and use your hamstring to hold a heel hook with the other leg. On competition-style climbs, you'll have to coordinate the movement of your body to execute jumps between holds or run across volumes to catch the next hand. 

Obstacles come in all shapes and sizes. Some are leg-dominant, demanding quickness and agility, while others require superior core, upper-body, and grip strength. There are always multiple muscle groups working together to help you complete the course.

Mental Toughness and Fear Management

Rock climbing and OCR events will challenge your mental fortitude and force you to manage your fears. Both are challenging physical endeavors, and there will be moments in the middle of a climb or race where you have to learn to embrace the physical discomfort without letting go. 

There will also be moments when your mental fortitude shakes. Halfway up an 80-foot climb, the fear of falling or heights may creep in and make you want to quit or ask for a take. Or, you may come across an obstacle that you’ve never seen before and become nervous. Strengthening your fear management strategies through scary situations on the rock wall will make you more adept at managing nerves, anxiety, or fears that pop up during an OCR event.

 

Balance, Coordination, & Body Awareness 

Obstacle course racing demands a high level of balance and coordination. You never know when you'll find yourself running across balance beams, rolling logs, or flinging your body through the air to catch a bar, net, or rope. Traditional outdoor rock climbing lacked the balance and coordination seen in obstacle course racing, but modern competition rock climbing bridges that gap. Indoor competition climbs are becoming increasingly akin to parkour and obstacle-course movements. It's common to find indoor climbs with big jumps or coordination moves that require running across volumes or balancing on tiny dual-tex feet.

The overlap between the skills needed to be a good rock climber and a good obstacle course racer is extensive. From developing grip and upper body strength, problem-solving and fear management strategies, and elite level balance, coordination, and body awareness, the strengths you gain from rock climbing will help you in OCR. Sure, there will be a learning curve, as OCR has its niche demands, but with a background in rock climbing, you'll have a strong starting foundation and can enjoy the similarities between the two sports!