When spending a lot of time climbing indoors or outdoors, it’s easy to become enamored with the new strength you’re gaining.

Looking in the mirror, you might see the changing shapes of your back or the new muscle definition in your legs. But what about your chest?

Chances are you might not be gaining as much strength in your chest as other parts of your body, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect your pectorals when exercising outside a rock wall.

Merit West, regional training specialist and rock wall supervisor for Life Time Fitness in Chanhassen, MN, said climbers probably don’t use their chest muscles as much as other muscles groups when enjoying the sport. However, he said, climbers should continue to strengthen their chest to balance out the rest of the muscles in their bodies.

“Your main chest exercise is the push-up,” West said. “It’s good for everything.”

The beauty of the push-up, West said, is that the relatively routine exercise can be done with so many different variations.

Whether it be changing hand positions, using cable machines or benches, West said, push-ups come in numerous styles that work the various muscles in a climber’s chest.

“One of the best things to do is to use a Swiss ball,” West said.

With a Swiss ball, West said, you can elevate your upper body to perform one kind of push-up with your hands on the ball. You can also use the ball to elevate your legs to perform an inclined style of push-up.

“So you can see how you can get different kinds of angles that way,” West said.

Once you get really developed, West said, you could start adding claps in-between each push-up after you extend your arms.

By itself, West said, the push-up will develop the definition and endurance you need in your chest for climbing. He said a lot of muscle mass in the chest isn’t necessary for climbing, but you need the proper chest strength to balance out the rest of your body.

“I’ve seen body builders who were not able to get their bodies close enough to the wall because their own chest is pushing them off the wall,” West said.

“You want to build a balance. If your back is gigantic, you don’t want tiny, little pectorals. But you don’t want your chest so gigantic that you can hold yourself close to the wall.”