Pro rock climbers are literally climbing the walls, counters, and furniture at home during quarantine
- Sport climbing was slated to make its Olympic debut this year in Tokyo, but will be postponed due the coronavirus.
- Elite climbers are now staying in shape climbing up their walls and furniture.
- Here are some of the most impressive examples of at-home climbing workouts (you definitely shouldn't try at home) and some exercise advice from top sport climbers (for workouts you can do).
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Staying at home for weeks or months on end is hardly natural for elite sport climbers, who spend most of their time scaling cliffs, climbing walls, and boulders.
In keeping with government advice to avoid going outside unless absolutely necessary, many are trying to get creative about their new environment, climbing literally anything they can get their hands on.
Sport climbing, previously slated to debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is the athletic art of scaling cliffs, boulders, and now, walls, stairwells, kitchen counters. With contests including the Olympics postponed indefinitely, pro climbers have taken to Instagram to show off how they've been keeping their skills sharp even in quarantine.
Bouldering, or climbing without a harness, is ideal for home workouts but requires a lot of skill
Team USA climber Brooke Raboutou has found tiny handholds to cling to in-routes she's plotted across her living room, stairs, and kitchen. Raboutou, the daughter of world champion climbers, has been setting records since age 9, so don't try this at home.
Austrian pro climber Jessica Pilz, a 6-time international youth champion climber who also qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, tested her grip strength by spinning her way across a narrow handhold on an outdoor roof support.
Another Austrian climber, Katharina Sauwein, turned her bookshelf into a bouldering wall.
American Ninja Warrior contestant Josh Levin found a creative way to climb from his bathroom into the living room couch (which includes getting onto the ceiling at one point) without ever once touching the floor.
Lead climbing, with ropes and anchor points, is less practical at home, but that hasn't stopped these athletes
Lead climbing involves the harnesses, ropes and carabiners people typically envision when they think of climbing — the lead climber progresses along a route, sometimes followed by other climbers, by pulling their rope along with them and clipping in to anchor points along the way.
As you might imagine, this is a bit more involved indoors than bouldering, but some enthusiasts haven't been dissuaded from attempting it.
Daniel Macedo, director of adventure guide company Climbing Venezuela, posted a route he had rigged through his hallway.
And fitness coach Tonny Valenzuela turned his own kitchen into a mountain to summit with full gear.
Again, this isn't something you should attempt in your own home without significant expertise and the right equipment, since it could be really dangerous if done improperly.
If you're not a pro climber, you can still (safely) work on your fitness with some of their home exercises
Italian climber Stefano Ghisolfi, 5-time gold medalist at the Climbing World Cup, posted exercises you can do to build upper body and core strength.
Particularly if you don't have more traditional equipment like a pull-up bar or hang board (a device climbers use to train grip strength by hanging from small hand or finger holds), a kitchen table will do.
And to get the impressive abs that climbers use to maneuver up grueling vertical trails, Alex Pucchio, American bouldering champion, shared a simple mat routine most people can try for themselves, no high ascents or grip strength required.
Read more:
Personal trainer: How to start a new home workout routine in quarantine, even if you're new to fitness
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