Why Climbing? A Busy Dad’s Honest Case for Ditching the Treadmill

Like a lot of people juggling work and a kid, I hit a bit of a wall recently. Between the day job, family logistics and bedtime routines, the idea of driving to a standard gym just to lift dumbbells felt like a chore. Was tired, stiff, carrying a bit more weight than I wanted and completely bored of standard cardio.

Then I went back to the climbing wall.

The Issue With Standard Gyms

Standard workouts often just feel like ticking a box. If you are already shattered from work, sitting on a lat pulldown machine doesn’t really engage the brain. When you are short on time and energy, getting bored usually means you just stop going.

Climbing is completely different:

• You have to pay attention: You can’t think about work emails or household chores when you are ten feet off the mat on a bad crimp.
• Functional strength: Instead of just building bulk, climbing focuses on pulling power, core stability and finger strength.
• It actually keeps you engaged: Every boulder problem is basically a physical puzzle. Finally sticking a move after weeks of trying gives you a reason to keep turning up.

The PT Side

Being a PT, I can see why climbing suits someone getting back into shape. You’re pulling, reaching and twisting all the time, which works the shoulders and upper back in a way machines don’t. And good footwork means your legs and hips do a lot of the work, so your arms aren’t left to do it all.

The Ground Rules

Getting back into shape on a dad schedule means working within reality:

• I don’t have three uninterrupted hours a day to train.
• I don’t always get a full night of unbroken sleep.
• Recovery takes longer than it did in my twenties.

This journal is just about proving that keeping things simple and turning up consistently is enough to get the job done.