Bouldering + Feet

[IrishJoe]

So I need to loose weight and do some exercise and I did some indoor climbing / bouldering with a friend while on holiday. I was wrecked but it was good exercise. I found a local place and did it again and was less wrecked. So that's good.

My main concern is footwear/feet care.
There seems to be 2 schools of thought - 'no pain no gain' whereby the shoes are almost a size too small to force you to point your foot (like a ballet dancer) and then the (sane?) people who say have comfortable shoes so that you can focus on actually enjoying the activity.

I figure a good pair of shoes would be protective as well as comfortable but I thought I would feel out the 'local' diabetes community to see if anyone has any insights.

 

[Knikki]

I would get foot ware that is comfortable and will support/protect your feet while bouldering. Feet are one of those things being T1D that you need to look after, because as you may know, if you loose sensitivity in your feet it can lead to severe problems later on.

Hope you get something sorted and enjoy your bouldering

 

[LooperCat]

@helensaramay might be able to advise?

 

[Deleted Account]

I climb regularly and love the physical and mental exercise.
The macho experienced climbers wear shoes a little too small.
As a starter, I would recommend shoes that are comfortable and allow you to feel the wall.

I find the adrenaline raises my BG. Pre-pump, I would take a correction dose with a low target (4.0) before I started climbing. With the pump, I now increase my basal during the climb.
After the climb, my BG drops so I either need a glucose boost or a reduction in basal.

 

[IrishJoe]

Yeah the day after, aside from being less sore than the first time, I felt quite 'hollow' because I'm assuming that all of my stored sugar/glyogen was used up. It takes a lot of energy to lift my 120kg ass up a wall.

It's tiring but really good, I like the mental side as well as the start/stop nature rather than the usual sports which involving running constantly for an hour.

Thanks for the advice