Gripping a rock wall while sweating, breathing heavily and straining every muscle in your body might seem like work for some people, but active members of NIU’s Outing Centre do it for fun.

Rock climbing trips are open to any NIU student, as well as students from other schools and community members, said Ben Kinney, Outing Centre student manager.

Each trip lasts about 4.5 hours and costs $20, which includes instructions and equipment.

It is recommended that participants wear comfortable clothes and bring water and extra food, Kinney said.

Rock climbing provides both a physical and mental workout.

“You get a good workout through cardio and strength training because you build muscles by hanging onto the wall, but you get a mental workout because you have to have a plan as to how you’re going to climb,” Kinney said.

Some students said rock climbing is a unique way to exercise.

“It’s a good way to challenge yourself, especially with people encouraging you from the bottom,” senior marketing major Abdulrahman Habeeb said. “It’s definitely one of the more interesting things I’ve done this semester.”

History major Marion Hoppe recommends rock climbing to anyone.

“People can push themselves further than they can on a treadmill, and they might even go home and say, ‘Wow, I did this and I didn’t know I could do it,’” Hoppe said.

For more information, visit www.outingcentre.niu.edu.