Author: hwerken

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Should shirtless bouldering be allowed? 

topless bouldering, a woman bouldering topless will turn many heads. Why should it?

I was imagining an overweight woman walking into the gym taking her shirt off and starting climbing topless. How would I react? Would I be shocked or would I be distracted? I would like to say I would be alright with it. But in all honesty it will distract me. And so am I distracted by guys in six packs doing it. 

When I see these guys walking around in the gym I wonder, would you do the same if you would have a beer belly? Some of them are probably warm and can move more freely without that shirt. If all it was about comfort, I would expect so many more different body shapes unveiling their topless skin. Male climbers with bellies and even female climbers. So I find it difficult to believe that that sixpack is not the reason that shirt goes off. 

I will be honest, only a few years back going swimming I would always wear two swimming shorts. I always wore two pairs of shorts: tight swim trunks underneath, and a baggy pair of board shorts over them to cover up. Now, last summer holiday my partner observed I did not wear the outer shorts anymore. I wondered why, it was not a conscious decision. The big change in me? Yes I felt way more comfortable in my body. I do not have an overly present sixpack, and I never had any belly fat… Running, biking and mostly bouldering have made me more comfortable in my body. Only my psychological mindset changed and with that I felt more comfortable showing more of my body. 

I feel lucky that in my own gym climbing topless is not allowed, but when I climbed in a gym in Amsterdam a few weeks back there were many. Looking at those sixpack guys in the gym, I could not but project the feeling they had just a little too much ego. That was not fun to watch, too much adrenaline and macho. People I avoid. 

That reminded me of a podcast where they discussed this topic. They said that they didn’t mind people (men) climbing topless, yet they added an acceptance criteria: the topless had to climb at least a specific grade. If you would climb topless an easy bouldering problem and fall off you would look like a fool. 

Youtuber Magnus Mitbo is a boulderer influencer. In his movies he often takes off his shirt, saying it gives him this additional strength to climb harder. Is that where the macho or adrenaline starts flowing faster in his veins? Why would taking his shirt off make him climb better? It’s not the weight of the shirt. So something psychological is happening.

We can not deny climbing topless is a male privilege. Should we forbid it to promote equality? And if we do, how does this compare to the beach? There too inequality reigns. 

I don’t have answers here, I am just making some observations. Observations that are nudging me not to climb topless. Politeness, or maybe because I do not feel comfortable with showing my boobies? Are we allowed to not making a decision for others? 

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Thank you Elias

This week, something felt off.

My sessions on the wall didn’t go the way I had hoped. Moves that normally feel natural felt awkward. Boulder problems that should have suited me seemed harder than they should have been. I wasn’t climbing terribly, but I wasn’t climbing well either. More importantly, I wasn’t enjoying it as much.

As the week progressed, that feeling followed me home from the gym. By the time the weekend arrived, my motivation to go bouldering had dropped significantly. I found myself wondering whether I should even bother training.

Every climber experiences periods like this. Progress is rarely linear. Some days, weeks, or even months can feel like you’re moving backwards. It is easy to focus on the sessions that don’t go well and forget why you started climbing in the first place.

Then I watched Elias Iagnemma’s video about climbing his first 9a+.

Not because I expected it to magically motivate me, but because I enjoy following his journey. What struck me was not the grade itself. Very few of us will ever climb 9a+, and that is not the point.

The point was the dedication.

Years of showing up. Years of training. Years of trying, failing, learning, improving, and returning to the wall. One small step after another. One session after another. One route after another.

Watching Elias succeed reminded me that extraordinary achievements are usually built from ordinary days. Days when motivation is high, but also days when motivation is low. Days when you feel strong, but also days when you feel weak. The difference is not perfection; it is persistence.

A 9a+ ascent is not the result of one great day. It is the result of thousands of small decisions made over many years.

That realization changed my perspective.

Maybe I don’t feel great on the wall this week. Maybe I won’t send my project tomorrow. Maybe my climbing feels stagnant right now. But every session is still a step forward. Every attempt teaches something. Every hour spent doing something I enjoy contributes to a larger journey.

The lesson is simple: keep going.

Not because success is guaranteed, but because meaningful progress is often invisible while it is happening.

So this weekend, instead of staying home because I felt unmotivated, I’ll go climbing. Maybe I’ll climb well. Maybe I won’t. But I’ll be taking another small step.

Thank you, Elias, for showing what dedication, passion, and endurance look like in practice. Through your climb, you’ve motivated me—and probably many others—to climb harder today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Congratulations on your first 9a+.

Source

https://youtu.be/HPof2INoW6M?is=1teNlxRcrJRYHSAw