SAN DIEGO -- Preparing for the annual combat fitness test doesn’t have to involve living at a gym or carrying two ammunition cans wherever you go. Increasing your physical and mental health, particularly upper body strength, can be done through many hobbies including rock climbing.
“Rock climbing is designed so the climber is suspended by their own body weight,” said Gunnery Sgt. Trace M. Bolding, operations chief, Headquarters and Service Battalion. “So when they have to do ammunition can lifts, they are lifting only a fraction of what they do during rock climbing.”
Climbers also use their legs, developing their muscles to assist with modified high crawl, low crawl and firearms carry, he said.
The CFT tests upper body strength and endurance in many ways, including requiring the Marine to lift a 30 pound ammunition can from shoulder height to overhead as many times as possible within two minutes.
Although the CFT can be stressful as it is a timed performance test, rock climbing gives climbers an opportunity to concentrate without being timed. During rock climbing, the mind focuses and becomes calm while fears and daily stresses fade, according to www.solidrockgym.com. The mind’s ability to work though problems is sharpened as it simultaneously works quickly to plot a sequence of moves. Strength, flexibility, balance and endurance are enhanced.
“Marines come in here all the time to climb,” said Lauren Verney, staff member and instructor for Solid Rock Gym, San Diego. “A lot of them are surprised how difficult rock climbing really is.”
Solid Rock Gym is a rock climbing facility within a half mile from the depot. It offers indoor climbing walls and a climbing specific training apparatus that varies in difficulty for all climbers.
“The most common technique for beginners to start out with is bouldering,” said Verney. Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and limited to short climbs over a pad so that a fall will not result in injury.
Bouldering is done close to the ground and allows the climber to focus solely on technique, enabling him to make repeated attempts at difficult sequences which may otherwise be beyond his ability. Bouldering allows climbers to learn new and difficult climbing moves. Although bouldering is done close to the ground, some of the most difficult climbing moves in the world take place on non-descript boulders just a few feet off the ground, according to the Solid Rock Gym website.
Another approach to rock climbing is called top-roping, where climbers are protected by a rope that runs through anchors placed above the climbers intended route. This technique encompasses the same safety features as bouldering, but allows the climber to increase their height range.
Top-roping builds endurance because climbers are ascending higher, thus testing sustainment while climbing, said Verney.
There are more than 115 top ropes at Solid Rock Gym, making it possible to climb a different route every time.
Lead climbing is a more advanced approach to rock climbing, where climbers ascend while being protected by a rope that is clipped to anchors as the climber decides a route. The anchors may be placed differently by the climber as he moves upward. Lead climbers must be at an advanced level before they can be certificated for lead climbing.
New climbers visit Solid Rock Gym every day, Verney said.
“Rock climbing is a very addictive sport,” said Verney. “The fear factor is the best part. Some people see it as a puzzle that has to be solved.”
If a new climber rock climbs at least twice a week, in two weeks they will notice that their upper-body strength and endurance has increased, Verney said.
“Rock climbing develops very lean muscle,” she said. “What’s great about it is you are continually progressing the more you do it.”