Photo: Phillie Casablanca
Monkeys do it all the time. They climb right up trees and cliffs and anything they like. While running on the treadmill in the gym, you watch the monkeys on TV and think it would be fun to be a monkey. You’ll never grow a tale or have prehensile toes, but you can ditch your regular gym and start hanging out in the climbing gym with all the other wannabe monkeys.
Rock climbing is great exercise that strengthens almost every muscle in your body, and it’s fun! Since the sport requires a partner, climbing is always a social activity, and you’ll find that climbers, in general, are a friendly bunch.
If you’ve never climbed before, you can take an introductory class at any of the climbing gyms in Atlanta. Inside the perimeter there’s Atlanta Rocks and Wall Crawlers, and outside the perimeter there’s another Atlanta Rocks location as well as Escalade. Rent gear for your inaugural climb; you don’t want to buy your own harness and shoes until you’re ready to commit to the sport.
Climbing gyms can get pricey, so take advantage of special offers. At Atlanta Rocks, Monday night is ladies’ night, and students always receive discounted rates. Escalade also offers coupons on their Web site.
And don’t worry, you won’t be stuck in the gym forever. Once you have put together a troop of climbers and perfected your skills, you can venture into the wilderness and scale the natural rock of Georgia, just like a monkey (you know, if there were monkeys in Georgia).
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