5 Push-Up Exercises For Climbers

The push-up. Everyone knows what they are, but I hardly ever see climbers doing them! In my early 20s I was diagnosed with cancer. In the process, doctors cut through the muscles in my chest. So for a long time, I avoided push-ups entirely because they were challenging and painful. In the past couple of years, I began to do them regularly, nearly every week. Now, push-ups aren’t something I have to get through, but an exercise I actually enjoy!!

Why should climbers do push-ups? As climbers, we do A LOT of pulling. This can cause an imbalance in our muscles, which can lead to injuries or cause us to develop a hunchback. Push-ups work your chest muscles, shoulders, abdominal muscles, triceps and more. Many push-up variations require no equipment, so these are the perfect exercise to do anywhere! There are so many ways to do a push-up that you won’t ever get bored of them! I’m going to cover many variations over a three part series!

1. The Basic Push-Up

   For this push-up, you will get into a plank position. It Is important for every push-up type, that you engage your core and don’t sag or arch your lower back. While in the plank position, place your palms on the ground with your arms shoulder width apart. Keeping everything engaged, bend your elbows outward and lower yourself, almost to the point that your nose touches the ground. Then push-back up to the original plank position. This is one rep.

2. The Narrow Push-up

Similar to the basic push-up, get into a plank position with your palms on the ground. This time put your hands closer together than the basic push-up. When you bend your elbows, they should go towards your feet, instead of outwards. This is a great exercise to work your triceps!!!

3. The Diamond Push-up

For this variation, you will have your hands touching. Your thumb and index finger from your right and left hands will form a diamond-like shape. When you lower down to the ground and press up, you should feel this in your triceps!

4. Wide Push-ups

Wide push-ups target your biceps, latissimus dorsi, and serratus anterior, rather than your triceps like the previous two variations. For these, place your palms on the ground wider than shoulder width apart. These are definitely a step up from the basic push-up. Remember to maintain your form and keep your core and lower back engaged in order to not sag at the hips!

5. Shoulder-Tap Push-ups

These are a real core burner!! You do a basic push-up, but before each one, you have to tap each shoulder with the opposite hand. When you lift one hand off the ground, you will feel you weight shifting. Try not to move too much side to side and keep your core engaged. I find that this exercise really translates to climbing because it teaches you to maintain body tension while you are moving one hand.

For all of these exercises, I would recommend doing them at 70% of your max for 3 sets. So if your max is 10, then do 7 reps for 3 sets. Good luck and have fun!! Share your favorite type of push-up in the comments!