Is Bouldering When Sore Bad?

I recently got back to the gym after a long Covid-induced closure, and man, I was sore for days. That got me thinking about bouldering when sore: is it actually a bad idea, or is it fine to just climb through it?

Here is the short version. If the soreness is in your muscles, you can usually climb a full session without any trouble. But if the soreness is in your tendons, like your fingers, elbow, or shoulder, you should back off and let those tendons settle down before you climb again. That keeps your injury risk low and keeps you climbing for the long haul. Either way, there are a few things you can do to feel less sore while you climb, and we will get into those below.

Is bouldering when sore bad for you?

For most climbers, bouldering when sore is fine as long as the soreness is muscular. That heavy, achy, worked feeling in your forearms, back, and legs the day or two after a hard session is delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, and light to moderate climbing usually does not make it worse. In fact a lot of people find the ache eases off once they warm up and get moving.

The time to be careful is when the sore feeling is sharp, joint-deep, or sitting right on a tendon. That is a different signal, and it is worth respecting. So the honest answer to “is bouldering when sore bad” is: it depends on what kind of sore you are, and the rest of this post is about telling the two apart.

What causes soreness in bouldering

Soreness usually shows up when you ask your muscles to do more than they are used to. If you normally climb once a week and you jump to three times a week, you are probably going to feel it for the first week or two of that new schedule.

According to WebMD, “Muscles go through quite a bit of physical stress when we exercise,” says Rick Sharp, professor of exercise physiology at Iowa State University in Ames.

“Mild soreness (is) just a natural outcome of any kind of physical activity,” he says. “And they’re most prevalent in (the) beginning stages of a program.”

You do not have to add days to feel it, either. Even if you climb the same amount each week, throwing in a new movement or a style that demands more from a muscle than usual can leave you sore. If you want to add volume without paying for it every time, we put together tips on how to climb more often without getting injured that are worth a read.

What does soreness in your tendons mean?

One of the most common injuries in climbing is to a finger tendon pulley, and shoulder injuries are right up there too. Your finger pulleys are what let you grip a crimp and hang on to the next hold. When you injure one, you can be looking at months of recovery, and the worst cases involve surgery and a year or more off the wall.

One of the earliest warning signs before that kind of injury is soreness in the tendon itself. If you feel that, stop climbing. Wait until the soreness or pain in the tendon is gone before you get back on, so you keep your injury risk as low as possible. If crimping is where you feel it, it is worth reading up on what a crimp is and how to train for it safely before you load those fingers up again.

What happens when you climb while sore

As long as the soreness is muscular and not in your tendons, in most cases it seems to fade while you are actually climbing. If it is tendon-related, the soreness tends to turn into pain and then into a real injury, which is why just about every climber and coach will tell you to stop climbing when that is the case.

While you climb, your muscles keep making the tiny micro-tears that are a normal part of getting stronger, the same way they would whether or not you started the session sore.

Then after you are done, if you do not do anything to head it off, the soreness will probably come back, though it is often a little less intense the second time around.

What to do before climbing to prevent or minimize soreness

If you are sore enough that opening your car door is a project, you might not feel like climbing at all. But there are a couple of things you can do to take the edge off before you start.

The number one thing is to drink plenty of water. Your body uses water to shuttle nutrients to your muscles for recovery, so if you are dehydrated, and most people are, recovery is going to be slower and harder. So drink up and give your body what it needs to bounce back.

The next thing climbers skip way too often is a proper warm-up. You have heard that warming up matters, and you might already start with a climb or two below your onsight, but a real warm-up is more than that. If you want a routine to follow, here is a simple 5 to 10 minute warm-up for climbing you can run through every time.

A good warm-up wakes up the muscles you are about to use with low-impact movement that pumps oxygenated blood into them. A lot of climbers use mountain climbers and jumping jacks for this, since they are great for driving blood out to your muscles and even your fingertips.

On top of getting blood moving, dynamic stretches help loosen everything up so you can move through a full range without that stiff, sore feeling getting in the way. It also cuts your injury risk, which makes it doubly worth doing.

What to do while you climb to prevent or minimize soreness

While you are climbing, your muscles are switched on and the soreness usually fades into the background. Still, there are a few things you can do to feel less sore later.

Keep drinking water, for one, and take breaks. If you are feeling wiped out and pumped, rest before you get back on so you do not overwork your muscles, which is a common way to end up sore in the first place.

What to do after climbing to prevent or minimize soreness

Once you are done, but before you leave the gym, do some gentle stretching. Your muscles are warm at that point, so it is a relatively safe time to do static stretches.

After you leave the gym, here is a short list from Family Doctor of things you can do to help take the soreness down:

• Gentle stretching
• Muscle massage
• Rest
• Ice to help reduce inflammation
• Heat to help increase blood flow to your muscles. Even a warm bath or shower can help.

If you want to go deeper on the off-the-wall side of things, we have a whole rundown of things climbers should do on rest days to come back feeling fresh.

Listen to your body

The most important thing you can do while climbing is listen to your body. You have internal and external receptors that tell you when it is time to take a break or stop climbing to avoid injury. Pay attention to what they are saying.

If you are sore and you feel like you should not go to the gym, ask yourself whether that is the couch potato in your head talking or your muscles genuinely telling you they are done. If you are new to exercise or climbing, that can be hard to tell apart at first, but the more you listen, the better you get at knowing when it is okay to climb and boulder and when it is not.

Proper climbing technique can minimize soreness

A lot of the soreness climbers feel in their forearms and biceps actually comes from a lack of technique.

For example, if you are pulling with your arms instead of pushing with your legs, or you are hanging with your arms bent, your biceps end up working way harder than they need to, and you are more likely to get sore.

If your biceps are what is sore, take a look at how you are using your arms and whether you need to focus on keeping them straight.

If your forearms are sore, it is often down to over-gripping. Over-gripping is what a lot of beginners do while they are still learning what a good grip feels like, or when you are putting your body weight in the wrong direction relative to your hands. Getting on top of it usually goes hand in hand with better body position and, over time, stronger hands, so working on your grip strength for climbing can help here too.

Another cause of over-gripping, and this one hits climbers at every level, is fear of falling. Whether it is conscious or not, that fear makes you grab holds tighter than you need to, which overworks your forearms and leaves them sore.

What other climbers recommend

As you can imagine, there are tons of climbers out there who have been through exactly what you are dealing with right now. Here are a few recommendations I found on Reddit, which is an amazing resource for climbers, that might help with your situation:

Rachel Cunning Suggested:

In the hours leading up to my session, I like to eat food that is low/medium on the Glycemic Index because that will give you energy throughout your entire time climbing. If you eat foods that are high on the index you get a big boost of energy, but it doesn’t last because your insulin levels will spike causing you to lose energy very fast.

Post workout is a good time to eat food high on the index, along with some protein source because it will help you to recover faster (there is evidence out there, but I am at work and don’t have time to search for it). The sooner after your workout you eat, the better.

HaliFax Suggested:

Like with any training you can climb while sore. If you are constantly sore, this is a sign of over-training and that you need more rest. Most of my finger tweaks have been due to upping my climbing volume.

Dylvital Suggested:

The biggest thing you need to know is that if you really keep at it and start going 2 or 3 times a week, you need to stretch well, both arms and legs before you climb, every time, no matter what. And then when you feel loose, go climb some super easy stuff for about 7-10 minutes. Otherwise, you’ll pull a tendon in your arm(s) and not be able to climb for weeks.

Notice how much of that advice comes back to the same handful of habits: warm up properly, hydrate, add volume slowly, and rest when your body asks for it. If you want one of those habits landing in your inbox every week, our free newsletter sends you a short climbing drill you can do in about 15 minutes. You can grab the free weekly drills here and start stacking small wins between sessions.

Frequently asked questions

Is it OK to boulder with sore muscles?

In most cases, yes. If the soreness is muscular, that general achy feeling in your forearms, back, or legs, you can usually climb a full session and the ache often eases once you warm up. Just start easy and drink plenty of water.

When should you not climb while sore?

When the soreness is in a tendon rather than a muscle. Sore, achy, or painful fingers, elbows, or shoulders can be an early warning sign of a pulley or tendon injury. If that is what you feel, stop climbing and wait until the soreness is fully gone before you get back on.

How do you tell muscle soreness from a tendon problem?

Muscle soreness is usually a broad, dull ache spread across a muscle that tends to fade as you move and warm up. Tendon pain is more likely to feel sharp, joint-deep, or focused right on a finger, elbow, or shoulder, and it often gets worse the more you load it. When in doubt, treat it like a tendon and back off.

How long does bouldering soreness last?

Normal muscle soreness from a hard or new session usually peaks in the first day or two and settles within a few days. Staying hydrated, warming up, gentle stretching, and rest all help. If soreness sticks around session after session, that can be a sign you are doing too much and need more rest.

Does warming up reduce soreness when bouldering?

A good warm-up will not erase soreness, but it does help. Pumping oxygenated blood into the muscles you are about to use and doing some dynamic stretches loosens things up, makes the sore feeling less noticeable, and lowers your injury risk on top of it.

Sara Climbing Coach, Climbing Trainer, Writer

Sara is the founder of Send Edition, author of '77 Drills to Help You Climb Better,' the creator of 'Elevate Your Climbing: Training Planner and Tracker,' and climbing coach.

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