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Tears In A Vial posted:Are saunas in the Bouldering gym a thing? I go to four or five gyms in my city in the UK, have been to one in another UK city, and one each in Ireland and Stockholm, and none had saunas. I haven’t seen a sauna at any gym I’ve been to, but it does sound nice.
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Jul 18, 2019 23:10
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rest his guts posted:If I were a betting man, I'd probably look to the suburbs/large towns that think they're cities instead. In college, I worked at the university climbing wall. It was a smallish wall (13 tightly-packed top ropes and a similar amount of horizontal space for bouldering) tucked in the corner of a very large field house, minutes from world-class climbing but hours from another gym. Since moving, I have really wanted to make a go of running a wall that size in the town of 50k I live near now. It certainly doesn't have the population or culture to support a mega gym, but you could get away with a fairly small footprint as long as you have the height. Baronash fucked around with this message at 23:17 on Jul 18, 2019 |
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Jul 18, 2019 23:12
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Ive been to gyms in multiple states in the SW U.S. (and one in Virginia and Poland), and never seen a sauna
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Jul 18, 2019 23:15
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The Bouldering Project gym in my town has a sauna, I've heard exactly one person say they're thinking about switching to that gym specifically because of it.
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Jul 18, 2019 23:18
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There’s a gym here in Houston that has one of the best burgers in the city. It’s weird to go to a rock gym for a bite to eat
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Jul 18, 2019 23:22
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Saunas whip rear end I'd kill for any of the gyms I go to to have a sauna
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Jul 18, 2019 23:23
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I'm speaking about the gym experience in large American cities. Based on my brief experience living in London, I think it's fair to say that Brits are a lot less fussy about their spaces than we are. Corporate gyms in the US tend to have a very corporate feel: large, bright, open, clean. Inspirational posters and action shots galore. Saunas seem to be carry-over from regular commercial gyms where having one is the norm. In Seattle, at least, Seattle Bouldering Project basically made saunas the expectation. When I worked at Momentum, most people switched to our gym because of various perceived problems at SBP (overcrowding, inconsistent setting, relatively few problems for the space); however, a ton of people called to ask if we had a sauna, and many indicated that they wouldn't switch simply because we didn't. SBP's sauna was broken for a few months, but when it was fixed, at least two people I know switched back to SBP mostly because it was open - and these guys were both dedicated, V10/7C+ climbers. SBP also does their fitness right. There are essentially hourly, high-quality yoga classes as well as various other 'movement' classes that seem to be extremely popular right now. The other thing SBP has going for it is the best in-gym bar in any athletic facility I've ever been to. And of course, all the Bouldering Projects have the intangible 'cool' factor, and go out of their way to promote a queer-friendly culture which is overall a very good thing, though a major source of annoyance to a particular type of idiot - the type that might prefer a corporate safe space. Momentum, conversely, relies 100% on their strength of reputation: the founder is a bad rear end who established some hard rear end climbing out in Utah; they hire extremely experienced setters; Nathaniel Coleman came out of the flagship gym. We're also the only gym in a huge radius with a Tension Board. While all of this is cool, it's not really that important to non-climbers/casual climbers. As a result, many of the 'serious' climbers who live on the south side of Seattle who were also tired of the 'social climber' culture at SBP switched to Momentum but SBP retained the bulk of their membership and day-pass sales (which they're the best at in the game. I've heard something like 200+ daily is usual). From what I understand, there's a similar dynamic between the Momentum Utah gyms and The Front, as well. I think the biggest difference in gyms moving forward will be priorities: do you prioritize growth and profit and the creation of an all-around fitness center; do you want to be 'the climber's gym'; do you want your gym to emphasize a particular type of style over the other? Historically I don't think gyms have had to pay as much attention to these questions. Sab669 posted:$2M sounds low to me, but I have absolutely no clue what it costs. I'm sure it varies greatly depending on the size of the facility, but yea between setters/staff, equipment, insurance etc... It's got to be a lot. It's been awhile since I've actually sat down and run the numbers, but I believe most of that initial capital covers permitting, insurance and construction. Baronash posted:In college, I worked at the university climbing wall. It was a smallish wall (13 tightly-packed top ropes and a similar amount of horizontal space for bouldering) tucked in the corner of a very large field house, minutes from world-class climbing but hours from another gym. Since moving, I have really wanted to make a go of running a wall that size in the town of 50k I live near now. It certainly doesn't have the population or culture to support a mega gym, but you could get away with a fairly small footprint as long as you have the height. I'm with you on that. There's a little island near Seattle that has exactly one commercial weight-lifting gym, an influx of twenty-somethings, and a growing drug problem (in spite of the county's relative affluence, which indicates to me that kids are bored as hell), but the problem is that there's no established climbing culture whatsoever. The primary challenge would be creating awareness. If I were to open a gym, I'd go bouldering only (cheaper and trendier), emphasize yoga and potentially cross-fit or olympic lifting and try to hire the best instructors available to me. I'd likely also contract some rotating setters (they exist out here) rather than hire full time to cut costs. The space would be divided between a yoga studio, a gym outfitted with a few squat racks, bar bells, kettlebells and bumper plates, and a main climbing room with an island (if feasible) and a couple walls flanking it. Most of the gym would be v0-v6, a couple v8+ problems and then I'd probably just build a small, 45* system wall with an adjustable board (Tension, Moon, Kilter) next to it in hopes to draw in the couple of home-gymers who presumably live out there/have something available for good climbers just passing by. rest his guts fucked around with this message at 23:49 on Jul 18, 2019 |
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Jul 18, 2019 23:26
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rest his guts posted:I'm speaking about the gym experience in large American cities. Sounds like you're speaking about the gym experience in Seattle... I've been to multiple gyms in multiple large American cities (in fact two of the three largest) and I have never heard of a climbing gym having a sauna. I wasn't a gym goer before I started climbing, but I also don't think "regular commercial gyms" having a sauna is the norm or expected.
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Jul 19, 2019 01:37
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M. Night Skymall posted:I think the biggest issue with the random towns thing is finding setters. You can get Walltopia to come in and do your walls, you can staff your mega gym with people who don't climb and it won't matter, but if your town is not near climbing/big enough for people to want to live there anyway, you can't afford to pay setters enough to get them to move there. I remember some of the setters laughing about some gym in a mid-sized town in Texas that's huge and has beautiful walls and absolutely horrific setting because they just can't find anyone and the gym's terrible to climb at as a result. Maybe it doesn't matter for profit though if people are showing up for the sauna. How much does a setter make? It can't be that much. All the setters I personally know are dirtbags and have poor quality of life in general. One of them lives out of his van (yes, I know that "living out of a van" is a thing kids do these days just 'cause, but still).
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Jul 19, 2019 02:35
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enraged_camel posted:How much does a setter make? It can't be that much. All the setters I personally know are dirtbags and have poor quality of life in general. One of them lives out of his van (yes, I know that "living out of a van" is a thing kids do these days just 'cause, but still). I don't think they make much, more than desk people, but it's basically low pay construction work I think. What I meant is that margins are probably thin enough that you can't afford to offer setters enough money to where they'd want to move to your lovely town with no local climbing, you need an existing population of dirt bag climbers who will set for low wages, and there're probably a bunch of gyms there already to compete with your new sauna having mega gym. That said if someone wants to come open some more gyms in Dallas, go for it, because I'm tired of having to wait in line to get on routes for the crime of climbing at 7pm on a Tuesday.
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Jul 19, 2019 02:48
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Slimy Hog posted:Sounds like you're speaking about the gym experience in Seattle... My sense of normalcy is mostly predicated on my experience climbing here and the sorts of feedback we received when trying to open a new gym. From what I understand, they're a normal thing at the big gyms in Utah, New York (BKB), LA (Sender One/The Hanger seem to be the biggest gyms, no?), all of the various Bouldering Projects, and two Seattle gyms. Definitely willing to concede the point since I have no idea, though. I will say that I would bet they become increasingly normalized when one of the major ownership groups wins the gym wars, though. enraged_camel posted:How much does a setter make? It can't be that much. All the setters I personally know are dirtbags and have poor quality of life in general. One of them lives out of his van (yes, I know that "living out of a van" is a thing kids do these days just 'cause, but still). I know that Momentum pays their setters pretty drat well, but it's because they hire very few and go out of their way to attract very good ones. They also do this weird thing where they fly setters across the country to other Momentums for 'guest setting' sets. How many of those setters are working full time? What constitutes a poor quality of life? Maybe they just hate working. rest his guts fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Jul 19, 2019 |
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Jul 19, 2019 03:02
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Macnult posted:it might be bicep tendonitis. i've had my left shoulder operated on twice to repair a torn labrum, and during my second bout of physical therapy i experienced exactly what you described - sharp pain followed by what felt like my joint slipping. it wasn't a constant soreness but i remember the two things that triggered it were either heavy shoulder exercises or, for some reason, playing guitar. the only thing that made it go away was to rest it for a week or two. looking this up, this is exactly what it feels like. it doesnt really get triggered by any motion, but the rest of it lines up. do you just let it rest for a week or whatever and then use it normally until it flares up again?
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Jul 19, 2019 03:27
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Verviticus posted:looking this up, this is exactly what it feels like. it doesnt really get triggered by any motion, but the rest of it lines up. do you just let it rest for a week or whatever and then use it normally until it flares up again? pretty much. you can take ibuprofen to help with the pain and inflammation, but while it's hurting you wanna be strict about letting it rest otherwise you'll just make things worse
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Jul 19, 2019 05:37
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Anybody want to explain the science of saunas and why I should be using the one at my climbing gym? Never been in it.
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Jul 19, 2019 08:01
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AriTheDog posted:Anybody want to explain the science of saunas and why I should be using the one at my climbing gym? Never been in it. It's been scientifically proven to be nice, and feel good. Unless you're a firefighter I doubt there's any actual benefit to using it. Although if you're going on a climbing trip to somewhere very hot it might help to take a lot of saunas to build up your heat tolerance.
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Jul 19, 2019 08:16
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rest his guts posted:From what I understand, they're a normal thing at the big gyms in Utah, New York (BKB), LA (Sender One/The Hanger seem to be the biggest gyms, no?) Definitely don't have a sauna at Sender One LAX, Hangar 18, or at any gyms I know of in Chicago. It sounds like someone wanted to sell you a sauna. Slimy Hog fucked around with this message at 14:29 on Jul 19, 2019 |
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Jul 19, 2019 14:25
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rest his guts posted:From what I understand, there's a similar dynamic between the Momentum Utah gyms and The Front, as well. The Front is far superior to the Millmo Dildo.
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Jul 19, 2019 14:39
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How do I find someone to do lead climbing with in the gym? I learned to lead climb and belay climbing outside with some knowledgeable friends, but they live far away so we can't climb together regularly. None of the people I know at the gym want to climb ropes, likely because I know them from bouldering near eachother. Should I just walk up to people already at the tall walls and ask if they want a third person? Climbing has yanked me out of my social comfort zone so many times.
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Jul 19, 2019 15:15
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Jester Mcgee posted:How do I find someone to do lead climbing with in the gym? I learned to lead climb and belay climbing outside with some knowledgeable friends, but they live far away so we can't climb together regularly. None of the people I know at the gym want to climb ropes, likely because I know them from bouldering near eachother. Should I just walk up to people already at the tall walls and ask if they want a third person? Climbing has yanked me out of my social comfort zone so many times. You can ask if you can join their group. Find a Facebook group for your local gym and also ask if your gym has a community board for exactly this sort of thing.
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Jul 19, 2019 15:19
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George H.W. oval office posted:You can ask if you can join their group. Find a Facebook group for your local gym and also ask if your gym has a community board for exactly this sort of thing. yeah, there’s a (bunch of) Facebook group(s), mountain project partner finder/%state looking for partner, every gym I’ve been to has a community board of some sort, and some host like matchmaker nights once a month or so
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Jul 19, 2019 15:24
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Yea I'd third the Facebook route. My gym has a "belaytionship" group for exactly that. Asking random people there is always worth a shot. Is your area big enough to have its own active Subreddit? Maybe try posting there too.
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Jul 19, 2019 15:27
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I'd be willing to pay a decent amount for a gym that has a good weights area as well as excellent climbing facilities, but such a thing doesn't really exist here in London. The gym facilities are not bad at all, but nothing like a Brooklyn Boulders for example. Then again a day pass here is normally £10 ($12.50) and a monthly pass around £60 ($75), which is not that bad. I just have a 'regular' gym on membership on top.
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Jul 19, 2019 16:25
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sweek0 posted:I'd be willing to pay a decent amount for a gym that has a good weights area as well as excellent climbing facilities, but such a thing doesn't really exist here in London. The gym facilities are not bad at all, but nothing like a Brooklyn Boulders for example. In the U.S., most gyms here that have recently opened or been renovated (past 5-10 years) usually have decent weight sets/machines for around that same price. Our logistics are different though, most of our buildings are newer and bigger.
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Jul 19, 2019 17:28
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Slimy Hog posted:Definitely don't have a sauna at Sender One LAX, Hangar 18, or at any gyms I know of in Chicago. It sounds like someone wanted to sell you a sauna.
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Jul 19, 2019 18:27
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Jester Mcgee posted:How do I find someone to do lead climbing with in the gym? I learned to lead climb and belay climbing outside with some knowledgeable friends, but they live far away so we can't climb together regularly. None of the people I know at the gym want to climb ropes, likely because I know them from bouldering near eachother. Should I just walk up to people already at the tall walls and ask if they want a third person? Climbing has yanked me out of my social comfort zone so many times. You might find a notice board where people will put their details. Sometimes they'll be hidden in along buy and sell stuff. If you're going to put your own notice up it's helpful to describe your current grade, when you can climb and what your aspirations are. Also- join a local club.
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Jul 19, 2019 19:21
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My local Bouldering Project has a sauna  On the other hand, membership is $80+ a month 
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Jul 19, 2019 23:32
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I think I pay £50 for access to three different centres across the City.
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Jul 19, 2019 23:52
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Tears In A Vial posted:I think I pay £50 for access to three different centres across the City. what the hell this should be illegal
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Jul 20, 2019 06:51
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I pay 35$ a month, with weight area and sauna. They're opening a second location in the city this fall.
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Jul 20, 2019 07:17
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Syncopated posted:I pay 35$ a month, with weight area and sauna. They're opening a second location in the city this fall. what in gently caress i dont think ive seen a gym less than $70/mo ever
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Jul 20, 2019 08:36
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Syncopated posted:I pay 35$ a month, with weight area and sauna. They're opening a second location in the city this fall. Guillotine
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Jul 20, 2019 08:46
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Syncopated posted:I pay 35$ a month, with weight area and sauna. They're opening a second location in the city this fall. How do you feel about adopting a man baby? I promise not to pee on the floor.
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Jul 20, 2019 14:40
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Syncopated posted:I pay 35$ a month, with weight area and sauna. They're opening a second location in the city this fall. Where the gently caress are you I pay $80 per month with no sauna but four gyms in the city
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Jul 21, 2019 03:47
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This is in Stockholm, Sweden so I'm not sure it's a fair comparison. Pretty sure it's the cheapest one in the city, though I worry they'll raise the price with the new place opening up. Also it includes loan shoes and harness lmao
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Jul 21, 2019 06:37
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Syncopated posted:This is in Stockholm, Sweden so I'm not sure it's a fair comparison. Pretty sure it's the cheapest one in the city, though I worry they'll raise the price with the new place opening up. Also it includes loan shoes and harness lmao I went to Bouldering Stockholm a few weeks ago. it's a tiny sweaty room, but I had a really good time, the staff were super friendly, gave me free shoe hire because they had some lessons going, were really nice people. My partner climbs at Klattercentret. Is that where you go?
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Jul 21, 2019 07:00
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Jester Mcgee posted:How do I find someone to do lead climbing with in the gym? I learned to lead climb and belay climbing outside with some knowledgeable friends, but they live far away so we can't climb together regularly. None of the people I know at the gym want to climb ropes, likely because I know them from bouldering near eachother. Should I just walk up to people already at the tall walls and ask if they want a third person? Climbing has yanked me out of my social comfort zone so many times. Based on like 99% of my experience being in the climbing community, other posters are right to suggest asking random people to join in. I say this because climbing culture, to me, is INSANELY chatty and outgoing. I find it overbearing at times and my partner and I tend to avoid groups and do our own thing. Standoffish and dickish I guess but most climbers are not like me - I definitely feel like an oddity as a quiet person with this hobby.
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Jul 21, 2019 07:52
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Tears In A Vial posted:I went to Bouldering Stockholm a few weeks ago. it's a tiny sweaty room, but I had a really good time, the staff were super friendly, gave me free shoe hire because they had some lessons going, were really nice people. My partner climbs at Klattercentret. Is that where you go? No, I go to Klätterverket, it's smaller and the older but good and cheap and I can get there by bike.
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Jul 21, 2019 08:03
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:Based on like 99% of my experience being in the climbing community, other posters are right to suggest asking random people to join in. Speaking of newer people, I have reservations about climbing with them just cause I have no clue how the hell they are at belaying. Particularly on lead of course, but even on top rope I’ve seen some issues. But anyway to the original question, same as everyone else said. Check if your gym has a Facebook group and just ask and mention your usual days/times, they probably have a belaysionship night and/or signup board in gym too. I feel like if you just find one person to start going with, that’ll probably end up connecting you to a bunch more eventually, if you’re open to it.
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Jul 21, 2019 09:57
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Thanks for the advice about finding a partner everyone. I managed to find someone who has a trip to the red planned and invited me along. That should be a blast and then I can probably climb with them in the gym too.
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Jul 21, 2019 17:41
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:Based on like 99% of my experience being in the climbing community, other posters are right to suggest asking random people to join in. What up, introverted climbing buddy! I definitely know that I come off as dickish and snobby. I have been trying to make an effort to being more outgoing. I am very outgoing with my pals, but less so at the gym. Kind of a necessity, though - my trad partner is getting married, then they are going to start trying to have a kid soon thereafter.  No mom I don't want to play with the other kids. Me and my homie have the same strength and similar risk tolerances and our personalities balance 
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Jul 21, 2019 17:41
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