Mountain Climber Exercise

What is Mountain Climber Exercise?

Mountain Climbers are a dynamic exercise that strengthens the core, shoulders, and leg muscles. Performed in a plank position, they involve alternating knee drives toward the chest, combining cardio and strength training for an effective workout.

When mountain climber exercises are complicated and target multiple muscle groups across your body, they are a great way to improve your arms, back, shoulders, core, and legs. When you use multiple muscles at once, your heart rate increases, increasing the calories you burn. As a result, this exercise is excellent for improving the shape of your abdominal region.

Mountain climbers can also improve your overall stability, joint mobility, and quickness of response. The good news is that you don’t need to walk to the nearest completion to try this exercise! You don’t need any equipment because you can perform mountain climbing at any time and anywhere. Read on for our top tips and a thorough how-to for carrying out a mountain climb.

Which muscles are used in the exercise known as mountain climbing?

The mountain climber is an effective bodyweight exercise that works several kinds of muscles.

When you are in a plank posture, the primary function of the shoulder, triceps, chest, serratus anterior, and abdominal muscles is to maintain your body vertically.

Your glutes, quadriceps, hip flexors, hamstrings, and calves contract to move your legs during the workout.

The Benefits of Exercise for Mountain Climbers

Mountain climbers are a great technique to improve your heart and fit in properly with an HIIT program because they are usually completed quickly.

Mountain climbers are a whole-body, high-intensity interval training exercise that helps improve cardiovascular performance in those who are not physically active. If performed on a regular basis, they may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Beginners should perform them at a calm, continuous speed. In addition, mountain climbers start in the plank position, which is a powerful core-strengthening movement.

How to perform the Mountain Climber Exercise properly

• Begin by lowering yourself on your hands and knees on the ground. Place your shoulders over your wrists and spread your hands shoulder-distance apart.
• To fully stabilize the shoulders and upper torso, spread your fingers apart and push the space between your thumb and index finger into the mat.
• Step your right leg back towards a high plank position to keep your body in an upright position from heel to head.
• The plank position involves stepping the left leg back till it contacts the right leg.
• Check that your spine is neutral.
• As you raise the space between your shoulder blades slightly towards the ceiling, continue to feel as though you are pressing your hands into the ground. This will improve the activation of your serratus anterior.
• Keep your neck and spine straight and focus your gaze on a region on the floor just in front of your hands.
• Bend your right leg towards your chest with your core muscles, then step it back into a plank position.
• Put your left leg close to your chest, then step it back to repeat.
• This is a repetition of a mountain climb.
• For a faster speed, alternate your legs simultaneously so that one is moving forward and the other is moving backward.
• As part of a program that emphasizes developing muscle strength and fitness, do two to three sets of ten to fifteen slow, controlled repetitions.
• Perform 6–8 rounds of quick mountain climbers, each lasting 20 seconds and separated by 10-second pauses, as part of a HIIT-focused cardiovascular program.

Mountain Climber Video:

Various forms of exercise for mountain climbers

If you’re looking for something different from the typical mountain climber exercise, there are a number of methods to make the movement more challenging, less challenging, or simply more creative.

Incline modification

• Place your hands on a bench or step to create an incline plank position as you perform the workout, as previously mentioned.
• This method puts less strain on your wrists and upper body, which is advantageous if you need to think about getting injured or want to progressively build up your strength in these areas.
• Being on an incline is also a little easier for those who find it difficult to maintain good form in a plank position.
• If you are higher off the ground than if your hands are on the floor, your abdominal muscles will be involved less.
• Nevertheless, other research suggests that exercises like mountain climbers, which integrate core activity with stimulation of the glute and deltoid muscles, are more effective at activating the lumbar and ab muscles than more traditional ab exercises like crunches.

Pushup handles modification

• Hold on to the pushup handles to adjust your hand and grip position.
• This reduces the amount of wrist extension that occurs while your hands are flat on the floor.
• It might feel more comfortable if you have wrist or finger disorders.

Twist variation

• In the plank position, pull your right knee close to your left upper arm and your left knee towards your right upper arm, rather than raising both knees straight up toward your chest.
• Keep your shoulders level with your wrists. Your waist will twist if your arms and upper body remain straight.
• The oblique muscles on the sides of your torso are strengthened by adding rotation, as opposed to regular mountain climbers.

Semicircle variation

• Pull your right leg to the outside of your body, toward your right elbow, and then back to the beginning position while maintaining a plank position with your hands fixed.
• Next, produce a semicircle by moving your left leg to the outside of your left elbow.
• The quadratus lumborum and other back muscles are worked in addition to the oblique muscles of the abdomen with this fun variation that adds side bending to standard mountain climbers.

Decline plank progression

• Position both feet up on a bench to create a decline plank.
• This progression is a great option if you want to develop your upper body because it puts additional strain on your shoulders.

Burpee or pushup progression

• To stay encouraged, it’s a great idea to mix mountain climbers with other exercises like pushups and burpees, especially as you become used to them.
• Try performing two pushups or burpee reps after four mountain climber repeats as part of a HIIT program. Then, repeat the pattern for 30 seconds.

How Can Your Workout Incorporate Mountain Climber Exercise?

There are numerous ways to incorporate the mountain climber, a very adaptable bodyweight exercise, into your routine. A knee improvement with both legs counts as one repetition, and you can repeat the exercise for a certain number of repetitions. It might be better for you to hang out with mountain climbers.

After setting a timer for six minutes, work in rounds of ten seconds of rest and twenty seconds of work, being mindful of making maximum effort throughout each work phase. Even longer work durations, like 30 seconds or more, are possible. Just be sure to keep your hips below your shoulders, your core strong, and your posture robust.

Guidelines for the Mountain Climber Exercise

• The best choice for hand comfort and avoiding slippage is to use an exercise mat.
• In terms of technical challenges, it is common for mountain climbers to form a downward dog or triangle with their hips raised too high.
• Furthermore, your head would lean too much in this posture.
• However, there are times when your hips may drop too low, which can result in an abnormal arch in your lower back.
• Maintain your hips in line with your shoulders, your head in line with the rest of your spine, and keep your eyes angled slightly forward towards a position on the floor in front of you.
• You will gain from strengthening both your upper body and abdominal muscles in this way.

Safety and Precautions for Mountain Climber Exercise

• For mountain climbers of all backgrounds, the ability to assume and maintain the proper plank stance is essential. This means making sure that:
• Straight down from your shoulders, you are holding your arms and hands.
• Your back is neither arched nor bowed; it is flat and straight.
• Your hips shouldn’t be raised, neither should your butt be in the air.
• To ensure a successful and safe move, review the proper planking form. Performing a plank with poor form will significantly diminish the benefits of utilizing mountain climbers in your training regimen and raise your risk of injury.
• You should avoid mountain climbers if you have pelvic or shoulder problems or instabilities.
• Even though mountain climbers are a great way to strengthen your knees, if you have had surgery or need it (for example, to replace a joint damaged by arthritis or repair a sports-related injury), you should see your doctor or physical therapist before adding them to your regimen.
• If you recently became pregnant or had abdominal surgery, you may develop diastasis recti, a condition where the muscles in your abdomen separate. Until this issue completely heals, you should avoid undertaking any mountain climbers or core workouts.

Summary

Mountain climbing is a workout that can be scaled to many different levels. By carrying them out cautiously, marching slowly with your legs, and paying attention to your form. After that, progress to running with your legs, putting mountain climbers, and progressively challenging modifications to your regular HIIT practice to strengthen your heart.

FAQs

References

• Cpt, P. W. (2024, May 19). Learn to master mountain climbers. Verywell Fit. https://www.verywellfit.com/mountain-climbers-exercise-3966947
• Nasm, B. W., & CSCS, E. S. (2022, April 13). How to do mountain climbers the right way. Men’s Health. https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a28775134/mountain-climber-abs-workout/
• How to do Mountain Climbers. (n.d.). PureGym. https://www.puregym.com/exercises/full-body/mountain-climbers/
• Ba, G. R. (2022, March 10). What muscles do mountain climbers work? Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/what-do-mountain-climbers-work