I started climbing, people at the bouldering wall or at outdoor routes are awesome.

Why is it so great? The control over your body. The feeling awesome and powerful. It has made my life a whole lot less stressful as well, even though I do more.

If you don't have some kind of total physical exertion in your life I highly recommend getting one.

This has always seemed like fun to me - is it hard to get started?

Not at all.

To start, do three things.

Find a bouldering wall. Get a hold of some climbing shoes. Watch videos 5, 6, 7 of Climbing for Beginners [0].

Don't spend a lot on shoes, you will wreck them really quickly and you will certainly buy the wrong sizing when you start.

Boulder a bit and have fun. I enjoy bouldering with a friend the most as it really challenges me. Bouldering walls are often full of really cool and helpful people.

If you like it then watch some more videos to improve technique, think about what you are doing and practice. Consider trying rope climbing (you will want to take a short intro course for this, the rope skills are important).

Then you will start watching super cool videos [1], find yourself at the wall waay too often, and be more interested in finding out somebodies beta than their name.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbIDnMmSLsc&index=5&list=PL-...

[1] http://www.ukclimbing.com/videos/

Nope. Find a bouldering gym, buy a pair of shoes, go climbing and chat with everyone.

Being able to carry the shopping home without struggling. Being able to easily help people move furniture. Better tolerance for kids jumping all over you. More energy. Better sleep. Better mood. Confidence.

Also just the feeling of being firm and toned. When you bump into something or someone brushes by you in the street, that's when you feel the difference. Whatever you bump into doesn't sink into your flab, it bounces off instead. That's what I loved about being all toned from gym, you sort of hold yourself more confidently and it feels great... (I've since let things slide recently, it comes and goes! I'll be back there soon, I don't do gym all year.)

Some are, sure, but those mirrors are actually there so you can check your form.

A CrossFit instructor I know says the best reason to squat is that you will be able to go to the toilet unassisted when you are 80...

Aside from labeling anyone that works out as a narcissist, the sheer 'ability' to do things is what makes it great.

I'm not even referring to just being able to lift something, because plenty of larger framed people can do that. I remember the first time I realized I was no longer "big" came when I squeezed through a thin pathway in my closet. Last week, I ended up doing 7 chained backflips at a trampoline park. What was the point of both incidents? "To see if I could".

If you do some forms of training, you can become very flexible. If you are martial art minded, you can find yourself very disciplined.

Finally, you do get more confident (what someone might see as narcissist or how someone might manifest it).

I'm well into my 40s. People's bodies, in general, decline in strength as they age. I wanted to delay that effect and also be stronger so that I could do things that required strength (e.g. I like scuba diving but lugging around tanks was hard work).