How to Do Mountain Climbers: Tips, Benefits & More

For over a decade now, I have been a personal fitness instructor and a sports enthusiast, but the one type of exercise that I love more than any other is the mountain climber. This exercise that is comprised of multiple movements and provides different benefits in cardiovascular health and muscle building has been an essential part of my fitness routine. In this blog post, I will be sharing my insights on how to do mountain climbers as a freebie, without the involvement of a personal trainer, and the results I have seen after some time have gone by.

What are Mountain Climbers?

The mountain climbers are, in the words of a personal training expert, a total body activity that involves the movement of the hands and feet as if to climb a mountain. Thus, it is one of the exercises which combine several muscle groups to work together to make it a complete and efficient workout.

How to Do Mountain Climbers

Here are the steps that you need to follow to perform mountain climbers correctly:

1. 1. Start with a high plank position, making sure that your hands are under your shoulders.

1. 1. At the same time, you are required to keep your core muscles contracted and your back completely straight.

1. 1. Then you need to slowly bring your right knee towards your chest and hold this position for a few seconds.

1. 1. As you are doing this, the right leg should support the body and the left knee should be brought as close to the body as possible.

1. 1. Without stopping, keep switching your legs in a running fashion.

Tips for Proper Form

Here are some things that I ensure to maintain good form during the exercise:

• • So the alignment of your hips with the shoulders is to be realized along with a slight hanging of the chest and shoulders.

• • However, from my past experience, I can share some tips with you, like you should contract your ab muscles throughout the exercise for better results.

• • And let the breathing be rhythmic and steady in that you breathe in a 2 count and out for a 2 count while you are exercising.

• • Do not start off too quickly but commence at a slower pace then progressively speed up.

• • Initially just check your form and the speed will catch up!

Benefits of Mountain Climbers

I have firsthand seen the following results from mountain climbers, which I have made part of my routine:

• • Better core stability

• • More efficient functioning of the heart and whole-body power

• • Increased coordination of the whole body

• • Metabolism has been supercharged by this workout leading to weight loss.

• • Tonal legs and arm muscles were achieved as a byproduct of mountain climbers.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The following are the most common mistakes that are brought to my attention:

• • Lowering your hips too much

• • Sagging of the lower back

• • Going so swift to the point of losing form

• • You are not supposed to bring your knees forward enough

Variations to Try

After the original mountain climber has become easy for you to execute, out of the sea of variations I have enjoyed, the following are also great choices:

• • Oblique climbers

• • Slider climbers (using sliders or towels)

• • Climbers with pushups

• • Single-Leg Climbers

Incorporating Mountain Climbers into Your Workout

Traditionally my workout routine looks like the following, where I down the mountain climbers as a part of the training set rather than the complete set, and I also recall that besides pushing myself, how they make me a better being reflexively:

• • As a part of a warm-up routine

• • During the high-intensity interval training (HIIT) circuits

• • As an active rest between the strength workouts

• • In a core-focused workout

Conclusion

Mt. Climbers are an adaptable and highly beneficial form of exercise that can truly be a game-changer in your fitness program. Through effective forms and by increasing stress progressively you can acquire many benefits that this activity has to offer. Being consistent over time is the most important thing as far as sticking to the mountain climber goes. As with the introduction of new exercise, listen to your body and if you have any doubts consult the professional trainer.

Enjoy the climb!

Frequently Asked Questions: How to Do Mountain Climbers

Q1: What muscles do mountain climbers target?

A: Mountain climbers put more force on the legs, buttocks, hips, and lower back muscles along with the core, mainly the abs and obliques. The shoulders, chest, hip flexors, and quadriceps are also among the muscle groups that are actively being put through their paces.

Q2: How long should I do mountain climbers for?

A: I always recommend to start off with 30 seconds and then build up the time at your own pace. My 1-2 minute power-based training workouts usually consist of the activities that you’ve mentioned.

Q3: Are mountain climbers good for weight loss?

Yes, mountain climbers can be effective for weight loss, that’s right. High-intensity workouts will make you sweat as well as raise your pulse; the energy-burning happens due to this. So, I personally see the weight loss goal as an integral part of all client’s schedules where the session of mountain climbers is included.

Q4: Can beginners do climbing?

Absolutely. Newcomers should begin with the basics like a slower pace and not so many repetitions of the mountain climbers. I can really affirm that I always stress to beginners that good technique is before faster speed.

Q5: How often should I include climbing in my workout?

In order for your overall training routine to be successful, I propose you to do mountain climbers 2-3 times every week. In addition to this, if you feel pain, stop immediately and find the right approach.

Q6: Can climbing replace cardio?

Mountain climbers do have sturdy heart benefits and I generally tell my clients to use them merrily alongside now out-of-date cardio exercises. The main thing here is to repletion your exercises according to the final your goals are.

Q7: Are there any precautions I should take before doing climbing?

Consult a health care professional if you have any wrist misalignments, shoulder imbalances, or injuries involving the lower back; in any case, before you do mountain-climbing. It is important also to remember to correctly warm up and stretch to make sure that you do not strain or damage any muscles which in turn can lead to injury.

Q8: How can I make climbing more challenging?

One way to increase the level of challenge is by experimenting with different ways to do mountain climbers like cross-body mountain climbers, mountain climbers with sliders, increasing speed, etc. Then, in my advanced sessions, I use these types of exercises for doing their possible improvements.

Q9: Can I do mountain climbers every day?

Quite frankly yes, even though I am not pleased with it if you just do mountain climbers. You need a break otherwise, you’ll get injured. I suggest 3-4 times a week with 1-2 rest days.

Q10: How many calories do mountain climbers burn?

The number of calories burned is not exactly the same as it is dependent on various factors like the intensity of the exercise, the duration it is carried out, and the person’s own individual metabolic rate. Nonetheless, a very effective mountain climber workout is burning 8-12 calories in one minute.