Those knobbly, brightly-coloured walls and harnesses may bring back memories of school trips or dreaded ‘team building’ office days out. But in 2020, more and more women are searching for new and exciting ways to keep fit – and taking up climbing as a result.

According to the Association of British Climbing Walls (ABC), 1.5 million people climbed indoors in 2019, with 12% of the population visiting a climbing centre the previous year. The rise in interest in climbing was also potentially sparked by the release of not one, but two heart-stopping climbing documentaries in 2018 (Free Solo and The Dawn Wall) – the same year that a major climbing centre, Building One+, opened in a former Damien Hirst gallery in Bermondsey, London. The success of Liverpool’s indoor climbing wall, The Climbing Hangar, means that a second wall is now due to open in the city on 29 March. And with competitive climbing due to make its official debut in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo this summer, the sport will soon capture even more of the world’s attention.

So why has climbing become so popular? Firstly, it offers a full-body workout. The need for balance strengthens your core, while your legs and glutes power you upwards and your arms and shoulders hoist you higher and higher.

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