College Students: Why Climbing Is the Ultimate Back-to-School Activity

It’s back-to-school season at BKB and we’re excited to welcome all the new college students across our BKB locations: Chicago, Somerville, New York, and (coming soon!) Washington, DC. As you’re stepping on campus again (or for the first time!) taking in all the possibilities of a new year, we’re here with our back-to-school spirit to share why climbing is the ultimate college activity. 

With sport climbing’s debut on the Olympic stage and the rise of climbing gyms across the nation, at BKB we’re starting to see more and more college students on the wall. As a great social outlet, workout, and stress reliever, it’s easy to understand that college and climbing connection. In fact, a lot of our staff at BKB started climbing in college, including our own CEO Martin Adler! 

So as you gear up for a new year, we’re here to share why climbing is the perfect college extracurricular + how you can get started with our BKB discounted student rates. Plus we’re offering $0 activation fees all September + no member dues till October, giving you even more reason to start climbing today.

Check out our Memberships + Pricing to learn more and sign up.

Why Climbing Is the Ultimate College Activity

Builds Community

Climbing is a great way to meet new people in your city while also exploring outside your college bubble. Many of our BKB members say that the best part of climbing is the community and the friendships that they form. This comes from the shared camaraderie around tackling a difficult problem, sharing beta, or topping out on a route. 

While it might sound like a solo sport to an outsider, every climber knows that it takes a community to get up the wall. And as a college student, building community and establishing roots in a new place is how you make a city your home.

Takes Your Mind Off Of Your Schoolwork

From schoolwork to jobs to internships, college is an often overwhelming and stressful experience. Not to mention the added pressure of figuring out your career path and what you want to do with your life. (Don’t worry, you don’t need to have all the answers. Most people don’t)

Climbing is not just a distraction from all that, but it’s meditative in a way that’s different from so many other types of exercise. When climbing, you have to live in the present and focus all your attention on your current positioning and your next move. You need a high level of awareness, concentration, and focus to reach success, forcing you to live in the moment and concentrate on the task ahead. 

Many climbers find this incredibly peaceful and calming, and that outside stressors sort of “melt away” when they’re on the wall. This time away from the pressures of college can help you come back to your to-do list with renewed energy and focus, and hopefully, a little bit less stress. 

It’s A Fun Way To Workout

It’s common to let your health take the back seat when cramming for exams or prioritizing your social life. Luckily, climbing is a great way to stay healthy without having to force yourself to the gym for another run on the dreaded treadmill (unless that’s your thing– in which case, we’ve got treadmills). 

Climbing’s combination of strength, endurance, balance, and plyometrics all in one is what makes this the ultimate full-body workout. For many people who dread working out, aren’t interested in the usual forms of exercise, or are looking to switch things up, climbing offers a great outlet for both having fun and building strength.

Improves Your Problem-Solving Skills

Climbing gives your brain a boost without having to study flashcards or open a textbook. That’s because a climbing route or problem is like a puzzle waiting to be solved, and your body is the puzzle piece that needs to be strategically moved across the wall. 

The right move to make is not always immediately obvious and there might be many ways to solve it. That’s what makes climbing so exciting for many people. It’s a humbling experience to try again and again until you top out. In the process, you learn how to become not only a better climber but a better problem solver. As a college student constantly problem-solving in the classroom, this offers some obvious advantages.

Builds Confidence 

College can be an intimidating place. You’re on your own for what might be the first time in your life and you’re figuring out how to navigate this world as your own person. While climbing can’t give you all the answers to those big life questions, it can help you build your confidence.

That’s because there is nothing quite like the feeling of accomplishing a difficult problem, overcoming a fear, or topping a route you’ve been working on forever. Every climbing accomplishment further reinforces your confidence in yourself, signaling that you are capable of overcoming difficulties both on and off the wall. 

With climbing, you have the opportunity to see the result of your hard work and survey the difficulties you overcame to get there. As you navigate the unfamiliar and unknown world ahead of you, this kind of confidence helps you get where you want to be in college and beyond.

BKB Student Rates

Each facility offers both month-to-month + yearly student pricing discounts. Student rates vary depending on location but are anywhere from 11-19% off the full-price rate! 

Also, all BKB members have unlimited, free guest passes for all first-time visitors + unlimited discounted guest passes for guests returning to the facility. That means it’s even easier to get your college buddies involved once you get hooked on this awesome sport! So sign up today and then take advantage of your membership by inviting a friend to tag along.

How to Get Started Climbing

At BKB it’s easy to get an introduction to the sport of indoor rock climbing. There are two experiences we recommend for beginner climbers. These include our Intro to Climbing 60-minute session which will introduce you to bouldering + our Learn the Ropes 90-minute session which will introduce you to top-roping.

Both classes are in a safe and small-group setting where you can learn the basics, meet new climbers, and receive expert advice on how to make tweaks and important corrections to your climbing technique. Once you learn the basics, keep coming back to the wall to hone those skills!