Primary muscles: Abs, glutes, hips, legs
Secondary muscles: Chest, shoulders
Equipment: No equipment
MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS INSTRUCTIONS
1. Start with your body in a straight line and your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Keep your toes and balls of the feet touching the floor.
2. Bring one knee up toward the center of your stomach and then quickly alternate between legs.
3. Continue alternating until set is complete.
PROPER FORM AND BREATHING PATTERN
Maintain a plank position during the entire exercise, keep your core engaged, your hips low and your body in a straight line. It’s important to maintain proper alignment to get the most out of the exercise. Don’t sacrifice the form for the speed and try to breathe as slowly as possible.
EXERCISE BENEFITS
Mountain climbers are a dynamic, compound exercise, that works several muscles simultaneously and in a constant movement. This full body exercise has the added bonus of raising your heart rate and boosting your metabolism. Adding mountain climbers to your workout routine can also help increase aerobic fitness, flexibility and agility.
DEMONSTRATION
SETS AND REPS
Start with a slow pace and do 1 or 2 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions. Once you’re comfortable you can increase the number of sets and reps. With mountain climbers, it’s crucial that you pay special attention to the alignment of the body. Practice doing planks first and then you can safely advance to mountain climbers.
CALORIES BURNED
To calculate the number of calories burned doing mountain climbers, enter your weight and the duration of the exercise:
RELATED WARM UP EXERCISES
Try these other warm up exercises to increase your heart rate and prepare your body for a workout:
Side to side squats
Lunge kicks
Jump rope
High knees