I spent the afternoon with my son at https://www.ballroomclimbing.co.uk giving him his first experience of indoor climbing and bouldering.
He is constantly clambering at home and is always up with the big kids on the climbing frames at the park joining in their stunts. He is only 6 and half their height but he loves it.
As expected, he took to it immediately. I had barely put my climbing shoes on when he shouted for me to look – he was 10 feet up and smiling.
We climbed for about an hour had a little rest to watch the World championships on the TV / got a snack and cracked straight back on. He loved the challenge of sticking to the different colours and wanted to try the stuff he’d seen on the TV.
I let him know that we weren’t World class yet so would need to learn the basics first. He took it in and got back to the wall, I don’t think he stopped smiling once.
It was a great afternoon and again appreciated that I am in reasonable shape and could join in something so physical with him. I haven’t climbed for years and had forgotten how much it takes out of your arms, they’re still feeling it now.
He was talking about it all the way home and told Fran about the next time we’re going. Then I remembered the programme Free Solo and I started feeling like I’d made a mistake and introduced him to a sport that he will excel in and start climbing outdoors without ropes and it escalated from there.
I soon snapped out of it but it was interesting for me to experience the feeling of irrational fear of taking him for his first bouldering session to him try to free climb El Capitan.
We all escalate feelings of what the worse thing could be to happen, I know so many people who wouldn’t step foot in a gym because of those fears and feelings.
It was one of the reasons we set up our Bootcamp’s originally. To remove the context and pressure of the gym and provide a fun, friendly and non-intimidating environment for our members.
We be doing something right as we have been running for over 12 years now.
We help our members improve their health and fitness to a level where every day life isn’t a chore and they can enjoy any activities they may be presented with.
If that is something you like the idea of, join us next Monday for a fresh block.
Darren “Forearms like Popeye” Checkley
