Climbing is mainstream, but that shouldn’t be news to you because The Dawn Wall was headline of the New York Times four years ago! Climbing’s inaugural foray into the Olympics is right around the corner and ‘Free Solo’ has won an Oscar Award. Gym climbing has transformed from climbers training for rock into a standalone sport and distinct lifestyle.
What does that mean for climbing gyms?
The climbing gym has become the new fitness gym, the yoga studio, the café, hangout, national team training centre, daycare, event centre and much more. It is a place to see and be seen; where every clique from the elite athlete to the dilettante congregate.
The climbing gym can become the go-to spot for very diverse groups of people with a considered mix of facilities. The training space cornerstone to that mix.
Climbers' just wanna have fu-un!
Gym climbing offers the instant gratification of achievement and the allure for more with the potential for progression at ones finger tips. The sense of progression is addictive and is a positive sensation to which everyone, regardless of ability, can relate.
Training, too, offers this opportunity and judging by the proliferation of training podcasts, articles and coaches we see in the community, people are taking their fun quite seriously at all levels.
A well planned training space is an opportunity to attract and also retain clients.
Now, to meet clientele where they are, the modern climbing gym is simultaneously meeting both the general fitness needs and means to progress craved by both young and old, absolute beginners and elite climber, alike.
In this regard the training area becomes a key component of the climbing centre’s mix of facilities alongside the bar, the good coffee, the clean showers, routes-setting, wall structures and other elements that keep us coming back.
Here are five insights from our experience
1. Plan it from the outset
If you’re embarking on a new build, treat you training area as a sound investment by designing it at the outset of the planning phase.
- Avoid redundant costs. Imagine finishing a room with nice tiles and artwork or windows, and then re-covering it later with panels, mats and training equipment.
- Build works run faster if the structures are integrated into the initial design to eliminate the need to re-engineer complex systems to support the walls.
- Space is more efficiently used allowing optimal flow and user experience so that users return again and again.
2. Size matters
Now more than ever you beginners and experts alike are vying for space during peak hours. Plan the size of the training area so that multiple uses are permitted simultaneously.
A well designed training area is, dare we say, beautiful and can be showcase draw so why not open it up to view from the public or climbing floor.
Look into your gym’s future and consider growth. Make sure that you have room to expand as your community and budget grow.
In a commercial gym it makes absolute sense to finish your campus boards to the floor because by removing feet, you dramatically reduce kinds of exercises that are possible and, more importantly, you significantly limit who will be able to use it.
Allow novices the ability to use your facility – it’s progressive and incorporative. They’ll sense progress and seek more!
Our XC Board has 35 systemized feet. You can do resistance ladders on the tufas, on two-finger pockets, or for someone new to training, you could have them use their feet to perform assisted static hangs. You can even train footwork!
4. Prioritize
Each gym’s training space, whether a new-build or renovation, is limited by its size. Over crowding of implements will likely limit who can use the gym simultaneously, however perhaps there is that one item that will keep people coming back. Communicate and observe your clients to consider the use and prioritize the elements in your training area to maximize users and usability.
5. Be a standout
Consider adding a pièce de résistance. This is relative to your clientele and gym’s flavour.
One thing we have noticed that when an area’s high profile climbers use a gym it can help raise the profile of that gym. One aspect to influence top climbers is to have standout training facilities on offering.
We love talking about training, training areas, gyms and climbing in general. Get in touch with us to continue the conversation.
