Anybody I know who injuries themselves climbing does it whilst bouldering.

It’s all about your feet, legs, and hips.

Yoga helps.

If you get into it, make friends with people who are better, more experienced climbers than you, learn from them. Plus they’ll have all the gear! Ideally these friends climb trad, but sport is grand, and get you outside.

Have fun, and always tie a stopper knot. x

I used to go to the climbing gym many years ago. A few things I found helped a lot.

-Get a finger tension exercise device to strengthen ability to hold with just your finger tips.

-start with bouldering if your local gym has a bouldering area, it lets you learn the positioning that will let you distribute your weight across your limbs without having to harness up or need a belayer.

-it isn’t always about upper body strength, your legs do a lot more than you think because they don’t tire as much as your arms will.

equipment that can support me

Just in case you’re talking about weight, known that climbing equipment is always rated at least 20 kilonewtons, which is about a 20 tonne static load. It’s designed so you can fall from tens of metres and it’ll catch you safely.

Mate. You ain’t that big.

I don’t know what country you are from but you weigh in around 118kg which really isn’t that much in the grand scheme of things and unless you are going to go to a sketchy as fuck place you are going to struggle more with getting a pair of shoes to fit you than your weight.

Just look for a bouldering center near to you, where I’m from you don’t need to pay memberships or anything like that. Just find a place, probably book a time slot then rock up and try it for yourself.

Every place I have been supply shoes to rent but that may be more where you have an issue so may be worth asking ahead if they are able to supply you with ones your size. The shoes make a lot of difference to your experience so I recommend using them.

Every place I have been will supply you with a brief tutorial if you haven’t been there before with their rules and then you just knock yourself out and climb. Maybe they do have their own “culture” if you go regularly and start climbing with other people but this is nothing like martial arts. You don’t need a partner and that trust of training and sparring with someone you can just climb by yourself and have fun. I’ve been many times and bar the staff not spoken to anyone at all so if there is some kind of culture I never experienced it :D

Go give it a try man, it is fun!

You’re not that big and not that heavy. Rental shoes are probably the hardest problem you face. I suggest starting with bouldering so you can go alone if you want to. I’m 47 and weigh too much and I’ve been climbing for well over a year. It’s great! Also if the reddit guy can do it at 300 pound, so can you:

https://www.reddit.com/r/climbing/comments/arcjm9/got_my_300_pound_self_up_the_wall/

IMHO climbing gyms are much less judgemental and much friendlier than fitness gyms. Just go!

My boyfriend is 6’7 and weighed about the same as you when he started climbing (120 kilo). For climbing with ropes, I would advice a partner that is no more than 20 kilos different than you to start, as it is difficult to belay. I don’t know about autobelay systems, but I am sure you can ask their weight limits. The easiest would be to start with bouldering, as you don’t need ropes and the routes are short. (Which is easier for stronger heavier builds)

Rental shoes might be a problem as climbing shoes are often a slim fit. Maybe investing in a beginner pair works better for you than renting.

Every climbing gym I’ve been to has had a friendly and open atmosphere. People of all different shapes and sizes and levels were mixing and helping each other find the best ways to climb. So please go give it a try.

Finally, as a strong person, please take care of your fingers. In climbing, a lot of weight goes into those and the stronger you are, the easier it is to get injuries. So warm up your fingers by gently pulling on some holds and doing easy moves before you get into the hard stuff.

The only equipment you really need are shoes and chalk which you’ll be able to rent at your local gym. Lucky for you, you’ll probably be the first person to wear the rental 16’s. Bouldering is a good way to start by yourself since you don’t use ropes or if your gym has auto belay you can climb top rope by yourself. Otherwise you’ll need to pair up with someone to belay you (keep you hoisted up).

What makes a climbing gym a “good” gym can be a few subjective things. For just starting out you aren’t really going to know the difference in route setting so you’re just looking for a place you can feel comfortable. Look at the gyms in your area and grab a day pass to one or two of them and see what the vibes are at each spot. As far as gym culture, in my experience climbing gyms are the opposite of normal gyms. Just don’t hog the spot of the wall you’re trying to climb, if you fall a few times and there are people waiting take a few and let them go. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to the staff about how to do certain things and most of the time fellow climbers will be more than happy to help you out too.

If you give me a general idea of your location i can look at what gyms are in your area.

The biggest problem initially is likely going to be finding rental shoes. Your wingspan is going to be an advantage. Climbing gyms are pretty nonjudgmental. They definitely have a community, but from what I’ve seen you can mostly just show up and climb and leave if that’s what you want. What sets them apart besides culture is setting, and it takes knowledge to recognize a bad or good setter. Typically in bouldering you don’t want to see the “hard part” at the top of the wall.

As someone who also lifts weights and climbs occasionally, just keep in mind that the price for failure is higher. Lifting weights you can just add a few reps and if you fail, no problem. If you fail 3m in the air, you hit the ground and could hurt yourself. If you’re bodyweight strong (good at pullups) you can also get yourself into situations you’re not technically ready for. But you’ll figure that out as you go.

Climbing is a skill-based sport, and weight really isn’t as much of a factor as you think. It’s all about the mechanics of body movement and balance. There are people of all shapes and sizes who climb. Likely the biggest issue you’ll face is finding shoes your size. The rest is just details.

Unless you’re specifically trying to compete, everyone’s just doing their own thing. From experience, people at the gym generally want to see each other improve and will cheer each other on.

Look for your local alpine club rather than a private gym. But it will be a great motivator to loose some weight