: Is bouldering moderate or vigorous intensity exercise? I'm considering incorporating bouldering into my fitness routine. I have no experience bouldering or climbing, my other fitness activities are running. The U.S. Department

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You're not going to like this answer, but... it depends.

Regardless of the intensity level, you should definitely add bouldering into your fitness routine because of the myriad of benefits to both physical and psychological health.

As to your actual question, the MET scale is relative to your personal fitness level, so as a runner, a nice 20 minute jog for you might be a moderate activity, for me, it would probably rate as intense.

For bouldering (and climbing) you need to take into account three main factors, experience, bodyweight and the route you're attempting.

Firstly because, as you say, you've never done any form of climbing before, you'll find everything new; your body won't know how to position itself (it's all in the hips!), you won't know how to place your feet (gently) or grip with your fingers (as loose as possible), so all routes you try, regardless of length (bouldering routes are traditionally shorter and harder than climbing routes) you'll be exerting a lot more energy than someone who has several years experience (watch a 70 year old man with a slight pot belly flow up a route you've just spent 30 minutes fighting with, it's a humbling experience).

Secondly, if you're heavier, it's going to be harder. Power to weight ratio is important, but generally speaking, shorter, lighter climbers have it easier than heavier, taller ones (short people will argue this until they're blue in the face, but shorter people can get stronger in order to make stretched out moves, taller people can't get shorter).

Lastly, the route itself is important. If you're climbing on large holds on a slab (a wall that leans away from you), then even if you've never climbed before and you're carrying a few extra pounds, it's not likely to be that difficult. If, however, you're climbing a long route under a roof, and you're an experienced, slender power house of a climber, it can still get your heart pumping because of the body tension you're having to maintain for a prolonged period.

Unfortunately, because of these three things, only you can really answer this question.

One thing I would suggest though, with most new climbers, there's always the urge to push yourself and climb the hardest route you can from the get go (something that would be considered vigorous exercise). I'd recommend against this for a while. Try and stick with a more moderate activity level of bouldering for a few months after you start, the reason being it can take your body, particularly the fingers, a while to get used to some of the unique stressors involved in climbing. Enjoy the process of learning to move in an unfamiliar way, practicing on routes you can already do to make them smoother and less of an effort. Think of it as a form of moving meditation.