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  4. Regrettably accepting that I will not be sincerely good at rock climbing (climb 5.12+) unless I legitimately lose 30 lbs.

Regrettably accepting that I will not be sincerely good at rock climbing (climb 5.12+) unless I legitimately lose 30 lbs.

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  • Andrew HelwerA

    Regrettably accepting that I will not be sincerely good at rock climbing (climb 5.12+) unless I legitimately lose 30 lbs. I'm about 205 lbs now on a 6'2 frame, which puts me at a BMI of 26.3. I've become pretty large muscle-wise after switching from climbing to BJJ, since the sport facilitates & also advantages that. Even before switching from climbing to BJJ I noticed I had to use *way* more force to hang onto certain holds than other people I climbed with, just because I weighed more. Losing 30 lbs would get me to 175 lbs, 22.5 BMI, which (limited) data suggests is around where you want to be to be decent at climbing (ideally even lower).

    There's also a safety aspect to this. Past 200 lbs, ropes will shred more easily when running over sharp edges after taking a fall. More force just means less safety.

    At age 34 though losing 30 lbs is like a fantasy. I have no idea how I would even do that. Climb Mt Si 3x/week with a 40 lb pack maybe? Spouse points out that I eat quite a lot of bread per week, so maybe will start with substituting that for something else.

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  • Andrew HelwerA Andrew Helwer

    Regrettably accepting that I will not be sincerely good at rock climbing (climb 5.12+) unless I legitimately lose 30 lbs. I'm about 205 lbs now on a 6'2 frame, which puts me at a BMI of 26.3. I've become pretty large muscle-wise after switching from climbing to BJJ, since the sport facilitates & also advantages that. Even before switching from climbing to BJJ I noticed I had to use *way* more force to hang onto certain holds than other people I climbed with, just because I weighed more. Losing 30 lbs would get me to 175 lbs, 22.5 BMI, which (limited) data suggests is around where you want to be to be decent at climbing (ideally even lower).

    There's also a safety aspect to this. Past 200 lbs, ropes will shred more easily when running over sharp edges after taking a fall. More force just means less safety.

    At age 34 though losing 30 lbs is like a fantasy. I have no idea how I would even do that. Climb Mt Si 3x/week with a 40 lb pack maybe? Spouse points out that I eat quite a lot of bread per week, so maybe will start with substituting that for something else.

    JeztasticJ

    @ahelwer I'm the same height as you and about a decade older, but lost quite a bit of weight for climbing and health purposes. There seems to be a lot of borderline or actual unhealthy stuff around weight loss in the climbing community though, so I tried to do it in as healthy way as possible. I tried to make it about lifestyle change and getting healthier, and have done it gradually over a couple of years. I'm hoping this will make it sustainable. So you can absolutely do it, but be careful of yourself and make it about positivity, good health and enjoyment.

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