Rock Fitness Gym: Indoor rock climbers scale new fitness heights

Indoor rock climbers scale new fitness heights

Taylor Flesher and Payson Devey, best friends in Murrieta, plan to celebrate their ninth birthdays at their new favorite place: Rock Fitness.

The 20,000-square-foot health club — with half of the space devoted to rock climbing — opened last month in Wildomar with artificial peaks to pique the curiosity of even inexperienced climbers.

Taylor, Payson and their friends will scramble up and down faux boulders. While strapped into safety harnesses, they’ll wobble across a 22-foot-high wire and then get the chance to balance on a growing tower of plastic crates as they build it.

“The girls love the adrenalin surge and friendly rivalry. It’s not boring and really fun,” said Payson.

“It’s a challenge to decide which rocks you want to do and which routes to take,” said Taylor. “Payson and I make bets to race each other to the top.”

Indoor climbing is rising in popularity with all age groups, surpassing the number of rock hounds who prefer tackling their boulders in the wild. Rock Fitness is simply the latest Inland facility to climb on the make-believe boulder bandwagon, following the lead of Hangar 18, which has locations in Riverside and Upland; Thresh Hold in Riverside; and Vital in Murrieta.

Surveys by The Outdoor Foundation, an affiliate of the trade group, The Outdoor Industry Association, found that in 2011, more than 4 million youth and adults tried outdoor climbing. That figure compared with about 1.6 million Americans who ventured that same year into ice climbing, mountaineering or traditional rock climbing.

Since the first climbing gym in North America debuted in Seattle in the 1980s, industry experts say professionals have built 250 such gyms in the U.S., but estimate that the total number is probably three times as many.

Rock Fitness is the startup of business partners Adam Evans, 32, of Wildomar, and Jesse Green, 34, of Murrieta, both avid outdoorsmen. Five years ago they launched Sunpro Solar in Wildomar, a multimillion-dollar company that installs solar panels and employs 80 people.

Evans said the two invested $600,000 to transform the two-story property at 24305 Prielipp Road into a full-service recreation center with more than 100 pieces of equipment (including rings and a punching bag), a lounge, basketball court and rock-climbing gym. Highlights include a seam in the 30-foot wall for crack climbing, freestanding boulders connected by an archway that provides more angles, pitches and pathways and more than 35 climbing lanes. In the works are a rock-climbing training center, child care, outdoor activities and zip-lines.

Green’s goal in starting Rock Fitness was to counteract the high dropout rate at typical health clubs by changing people’s perception of working out. “It’s not fun to stay in one spot,” he said. “Here you can try out balance, try out the high line, get involved in games and the culture of fitness.”

Nick Ciotti, 38, who works at Rock Fitness, praises the indoor sport as much more accessible than conventional climbing without the need for cumbersome equipment. He also touts inside climbing as less dangerous because of rigorous safety precautions and foam pads everywhere to cushion the blow of inevitable falls.

The sport can be as mental as it is physical, “Sudoku for the body,” Evans said. The very decision of where to place a finger or a foot to ascend a bouldering route is called problem-solving. “It’s not just upper body strength, but skill, strength and technique. Every climb is a puzzle. People can work on a climb for a couple of hours at a time or even for months.”

Each section of the climbing structures offers several pathways to the top. Ciotti, a so-called route-setter, frequently changes the courses, keeping the challenges fresh to prevent boredom. He rearranges the synthetic grips called holds, which resemble small rocks. Ciotti also marks the routes using different colors of fluorescent tape for each level of difficulty.

Beginning climber Daniel Testa, 22 of Perris, said he liked Rock Fitness better than similar local facilities he’d visited. “It’s much more spacious so you don’t feel cramped. And there’s way more to do.”ABC Billing Company, AMERI SHAPE, amerishape, anytime fitness, ASF Billing Company, asf international, butterfly life, contours express, curves for women, enroll members, fitness ,fitness center, fitness life marketing, fitness marketing, fitness promotions, golds gym, world gym, gym, Gym Marketing, Gym promotions, health, health club, health club for sale, Health Club Marketing,  Health Club Promotion,  fitness Consultants, health club promotions, Health Clubs, join health club, Ladies Fitness, Ladies Workout Express, lady of america, NAC Billing Company, Peak Performance, planet fitness, Powerful Promotions, powerhouse gym, Professional Fitness Marketing, Raise EFT $6, Slim and tone, snap fitness, spa studio owners, Targeted fitness, marketing that generates new fitness,  Thousands of health clubs,   world health club, workout express, join,health club closed, health club opening,club solutions magazine, s,24 Hour Fitness,Anytime fitness,  Bally Total Fitness,Health Club Management ,Crunch Fitness,Club One,Curves,Equinox,Health Fitness Corp.,Lifestyle Family Fitness,Planet Fitness,Plus One Management,Powerhouse Gyms,Snap Fitness,Spectrum Athletic Clubs,Sport & Health,Town Sports International,Sports Club Co.,Urban Active,WellbridgeHealth Club,Western Athletic,World Gym, virgin active,workout anytime, la boxing, 9 rounds fitness,weight lifting gym, health spa, attorney general, health club contract, club enhancement fee, health club billing, health club fraud, health club franchise, gym franchise ,breaking industry news,health club news,

Is he ready to walk the tightrope?

“Not yet,” he said. “I’ve just learned how to fall properly off the boulders.”