If you are one of those avid climbers, then your body will be grateful for a long time! Climbing is one of the most intense physical activities you can participate in, and it also provides a handful of mental health benefits.

Climbing is one of the most physically intense activities you can do. With it, you use your strength to lift your body from the wall. And your whole body works during that time. Whether you are newly climber or you are a sworn climber, you know that all your muscles are involved.

When you climb regularly, you begin to notice significant development of several muscles. This way you can see how climbing trains your whole body and keeps you in shape. Here are the muscles that develop best during climbing.

Back and shoulder muscles

Your lats are the main muscles used to lengthen your shoulders. These muscles are located on the side of the back and attach to the humerus. When you pull up and down the climbing wall, your lats are responsible for lifting your whole body. And although they are the most important back muscles when it comes to climbing, the rest of your back also works all the time. Climbing engages your rhomboids, trapezoids, and anterior deltoids.

Forearms

When you climb, your hands and fingers carry your entire body weight as you use your grip to climb up. The muscles responsible for gripping and holding are located in your forearm. The flexors carpi ulnaris, flexor digitorum superficialis, flexor carpi radialis, flexor pollicis longus, and flexor digitorum coordinate to give you the power to grip and lift. They are all located in your forearm, which makes climbing a super-challenging workout for those muscles that are not trained in other conventional exercises such as running.

Biceps

Do you want well-shaped biceps? Climbing will help you get them. During climbing, your biceps will be subjected to a serious load, as they help to lift the body. However, if you are not careful and climb incorrectly, your biceps may be overloaded and you may even feel pain.

Belly

We just said that if you are not careful when climbing, your biceps can get tired, right? Well, there is a solution for this, which involves the abdominal muscles. Your abdomen plays a key role in maintaining balance when climbing to help other muscles in the body. The abdomen acts as a stabilizer and remains in an isometric contraction to keep the pelvis in line with the chest. This will help you withstand the enormous strain on your own body, and will help prevent injury.

Legs

If you climb, you don’t need any leg training. Climbing is guaranteed to make them healthier, stronger, and fitter. Your quadrangles, inner thighs, and calves will work hardest as you climb to the top.

So, once you know which muscles you are exercising while climbing, it is important to know that proper technique is very important if you want to keep your body in shape. This means that you need to do it with an instructor when you start to learn the proper climbing technique. Doing so will provide you with everything you need to climb with pleasure and be in shape.