Elevate Your Fitness Routine with Mountain Climber

Mountain climbers helps greatly in building abs (Photo by Polina Tankilevitch/pexels)
Mountain climber helps greatly in building abs. (Photo via Pexels/Polina Tankilevitch)

Mountain climber is a dynamic exercise that involves mimicking the movement of climbing a mountain.


Benefits of Mountain Climber

They are as follows:

Enhances Cardiovascular Fitness

They're are a high intensity exercise that gets heart rate up and increases cardiovascular fitness. That's especially true if you perform it for an extended period or incorporate it into a high intensity interval training workout.

Boosts Core Strength

It targets the core muscles, including the abdominals, obliques, and lower back. Keeping the core engaged during the exercise for abs workout, which helps stabilize the body and prevent any excessive movement.

Improves Leg Strength

The exercise can also work the lower body, including the glutes, quadriceps, and calves. That's because each time you bring your knee towards your chest, you engage the leg muscles to lift your bodyweight.

Builds Upper Body Strength

It requires you to support your bodyweight on your hands and engage your chest, triceps, and shoulders. That means you're not only working your lower body but also the upper body.

Boosts Coordination and Agility

This exercise require coordination and agility as you move your legs quickly while maintaining proper form. That can help improve overall athleticism and performance in other physical activities.


What does a mountain climber workout look like?

It helps boost cardiovascular fitness (Photo via Pexles/Li Sun)
It helps boost cardiovascular fitness (Photo via Pexles/Li Sun)

Here is a sample mountain climber workout you can try:

Warm-up

  • 5 minutes of light cardio (jogging, jumping jacks, etc.)

Circuit 1

  • 20 seconds of mountain climbers
  • 10 seconds of rest
  • 20 seconds of squats
  • 10 seconds of rest
  • 20 seconds of push-ups
  • 10 seconds of rest

Repeat the circuit 3-5 times, resting for 1-2 minutes between circuits.

Circuit 2

  • 30 seconds of mountain climbers
  • 30 seconds of jumping lunges
  • 30 seconds of burpees
  • 30 seconds of rest

Repeat the circuit 3-5 times, resting for 1-2 minutes between circuits.

Finisher

  • 1 minute of mountain climbers (as many reps as possible)
  • 30 seconds of rest
  • 1 minute of jump squats (as many reps as possible)
  • 30 seconds of rest
  • 1 minute of high knees (as many reps as possible)
  • 30 seconds of rest

Mountain climber for beginners

It can be a challenging exercise, especially for beginners. However, with proper form and modifications, it can be a great addition to a beginner's workout routine. Here are some tips for a beginner:

Start slow: Begin at a slower pace to get used to the movement and build up your endurance. Focus on maintaining proper form and engaging the core throughout the exercise.

Use a mirror: It can be helpful to use a mirror to check your form and make sure the back is straight, hips are not sagging, and hands are directly under the shoulders.

Modify the exercise: If you're finding it difficult to do the exercise you can modify the exercise by doing the movement at a slower pace. Bring one knee towards your chest at a time, or do the exercise on an incline (such as a bench or step).

Shorten the time: If you're not able to do it for an extended period, start with shorter intervals, such as 10-20 seconds, and gradually increase the time as you build up your endurance.

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