Psychophysical benefits of rock-climbing activity

The aim of the study was to compare the psychophysical eff ects
of rock climbing with a supervised fi tness training in adults. Thirty-three healthy
participants ( M age = 32 yr., SD = 7) participated in rock climbing or in fi tness training.
The participants’ functional fi tness, anxiety, and mood states were tested before
and after 3 mo. of training. There was signifi cant improvement of physical fi tness
in both groups after the intervention period. Anxiety signifi cantly decreased after
each single training session at the end of both courses. Diff erential eff ects in the
rock-climbing group, as compared to the fi tness group, emerged only on Vigor.
Specifi cally, the rock-climbing group showed a decreasing trend in Vigor while the
fi tness group showed an increasing trend of Vigor after the intervention.