Is Climbing Better Than A Normal Gym? (What Should I Pick?)

If you are one of those types of people who are doing both climbing and normal gym then you may wonder what is better for you. To give you the most accurate answer we did the research for you, so “Is climbing better than a normal gym?” or “What are the advantages of a normal gym for climbers?” We will answer those questions for you, so stay with us.

This choice for most of us is going to be a hard one, but it mostly depends on our goal, so if you want to be a pro climber then you should visit a climbing gym more often, but if you want to make your body look better then a normal gym is a perfect place for you. So as we said previously you need to think about what’s important for you, but to understand it better let us show you the differences between a normal gym and a climbing gym.

What are the differences between a normal gym and a climbing gym?

If you are not sure what you should do then the first thing for you should be to visit a silent place and think for a few minutes about your needs. Most people do work out to build a perfect body, but some want to be better at a specific type of sport, like climbing in this case.

What are the differences between a normal gym and a climbing gym?
What are the differences between a normal gym and a climbing gym?

Climbers also have strong, muscular bodies which are shown by our research. So climbing can make you look strong and buff, but also a normal gym is going to make you a better climber so it is a hard choice.

So the main difference here is based on your primary and secondary goals because both will lead you to the muscularity and being a better climber, but in different periods of time. Let’s say that you are going to visit a climbing gym which will make you a better climber in the fastest way, but the progress on your muscularity and also the limit of it will be on a much lower level, the same goes for a normal gym but from the other side so you will be more muscular but your climbing progress will be much slower.

To not complex it anymore you should pick between muscularity and being a better climber, and then your gym pick should be obvious. Your choice will depend only on your current goals.

Is climbing better than a normal gym?
Is climbing better than a normal gym?

Also, note that you can do a proper strength workout at your climbing gym and even in your normal gym you can do a climbing workout if your local gyms are equipped enough.

What are the disadvantages of a normal gym for climbers?

As we said a few lines above the main issue in your normal gym can be the lack of equipment necessary for your climbing workout. If you want to be a pro climber or just to be better at climbing then how can you do it if there is nothing to use for your climbing training, so for that issue, we have created an article recently about “What Balance Exercises For Climbers? – (6 Best Exercises)“, make sure to check it out for climbing exercises that you can do almost anywhere.

Climbing gym lets you use handholds on the walls to do your training, but you won’t find them in your normal gym. Also one of the biggest disadvantages can be the community in your normal gym. Climbers are very nice, polite, and helpful to each other, on the other hand, we have a normal gym community that tends to be rude and not very welcoming.

What are the disadvantages of a normal gym for climbers?
What are the disadvantages of a normal gym for climbers?

In Conclusion – Is climbing better than a normal gym?

The answer depends on your individual goal, so if you are a climber who just wants to be better then you should visit a climbing gym as often as possible, but if you want to look more muscular in a short period of time then a special diet and normal gym will let you do that way faster than a climbing gym could make you.

Try to consult your goals with more experienced climbers if you are not sure about them yet. If you want to know more about climbing exercises you should read our new article about it “Should I Stretch Before Or After Climbing?“.

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