Shortly after I started my PhD at the end of 2016, a small, community-focused bouldering wall opened on the street I lived on. I was completely new to climbing at the time but thought: why not give it a go. Almost a decade later my love affair with bouldering is still going strong and I’ve found, as a researcher and a boulderer, there are many benefits to my hobby.
Bouldering is rock climbing without ropes, usually to a fixed height of up to 4.5m, with protection from falling provided by foam crash mats. These short, dynamic climbs are known as “problems” as they not only test physical technique and strength but also strategic problem-solving.
The practice first emerged in the 19th century where it was considered useful practice for roped and alpine climbing. Fast forward to the second half of the 20th century, and the discipline gained a following of its own with indoor bouldering walls opening across cities in North America and Europe.
The sport reached new heights of popularity when it made its Olympic debut as a discipline of Sport Climbing at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games (held in August 2021).
An extra boost was felt after the most recent Olympics with the Association of British Climbing Walls reporting visits to climbing facilities more than doubled from 2024 to 2025. What’s more, over one quarter of all climbing walls in this country opened within the last half decade, with more than 60% of those offering bouldering exclusively.
All you really need to boulder are some climbing-specific shoes and some chalk to absorb moisture from your hands, which is often provided by facilities.
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There are of course numerous benefits of bouldering – from the physiological and psychological, to its less obvious social and even intellectual draws.
Relying as much on the main leg muscle groups as core or upper body strength, regular bouldering builds balance and agility, grip strength and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Although it can be completed independently, bouldering at busy climbing walls often brings social benefits too. It is proven that social connections, no matter how small, are good for us, and bouldering offers a great way to spend time with people. The intellectually challenging nature of the sport – including working out how to successfully climb a sequence of colour-coded holds – means climbers often rely on others for tips and guidance, known as “beta”. Nine years since I first set foot in a bouldering wall in east London, I still count several strangers that I met and climbed with there as friends.
Julia Mountain Photo/Shutterstock
In my ongoing research project investigating indoor bouldering as a short-term mental health intervention for adults with my colleague Abigail Thompson, we are finding that like climbing more generally, bouldering can produce flow-like states of deep focus and absorption that can help people recovering from addiction, crisis, and trauma.
We’ve also found that with mental and physical problem-solving required, bouldering can increase a person’s belief in their abilities, potential and worth. Insights from our interview data show that feeling a sense of achievement in this way is a common reason our research participants return to bouldering.
Conversely, because of the relatively high amount of time I’ve spent falling off bouldering problems over the years, I have come to see that bouldering can also offer a deep sense of humility that allows boulderers to recognise, understand, and accept their limitations.
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Indoor bouldering also offers a useful gateway for connecting with nature. From Portland to Peak District, Snowdonia, Yorkshire and even Tunbridge Wells, the UK boasts some of the best outdoor bouldering in the world, often in stunning locations.
While bouldering outdoors often requires greater aptitude and experience, as well as a boulder mat to protect you from falling, once you’ve mastered the basics there’s nothing stopping you pulling on some real rock in the great outdoors and benefiting from everything that being outside and engaging with nature brings.
