True to Scale

URE, YOU CAN BENCH PRESS DOUBLE YOUR WEIGHT. But ever notice how, whenever it comes time to help a friend move, you end up straining muscles you never even knew you had? There's a solution to that: ditch the gym routine in favour of functional athleticism, the stuff that’ll give you the physique of Lionel Messi and the strength of a construction worker. The best sport for it is climbing, and as luck would have it, you don’t need to travel to the nearest mountain range. It flirted with mainstream appeal in the ’90s, but, now, in cities across the country, you can't toss a carabiner without hitting an indoor mountaineering palace (some with watering holes attached). Get ready to say goodbye to your Goodlife membership.

In Toronto’s Koreatown, steps away from the best bibimbap this side of Seoul, you can scale the walls of a porn theatre. Or, more accurately, what used to be a gentlemen’s downtown cinema. Now, Basecamp Climbing’s 40-foot ceilings are slanted at impossible angles and dotted with multicoloured hand and footholds, giving the onetime seedy space the look of a Peter Saville album cover. “When I first stepped inside, it was pretty gross. But once I got past the smell and nastiness,” says co-founder Matt Languay, seemingly withholding a shudder, “it was pretty clear this should be a gym.”

He’s right: when Basecamp launched a Kickstarter campaign to refit Bloor St.’s

SRock climbing is the biggest workout trend since Crossfit. Here’s how to master it

A proper harness should support you whether you’re climbing or in a seated position, resting. “It should feel supportive, but not restrictive," Obadia says. The Arc'teryx FL-365 is a great indoor option that’s also sophisticated enough to use on that giant waterfall in