What are Bodyweight Mountain Climbers?
Bodyweight Mountain Climbers are a plank exercise where you drive your knees toward your chest one at a time. The Bodyweight Mountain Climbers exercise mainly trains your abs and hip flexors while your core holds the plank. Done fast, it also works as conditioning.
Quick facts
- Level: Beginner
- Equipment: None (bodyweight)
- Movement pattern: Plank with alternating knee drive
- Force: Push and hold
- Type: Compound
- Sides: Alternating legs
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
- Abs (rectus abdominis)
- Hip flexors
- Obliques
Secondary muscles
- Front deltoids
- Triceps
- Quadriceps
Your hip flexors pull each knee forward. Your shoulders and triceps hold your upper body up for the whole set.
How to do Bodyweight Mountain Climbers
- Setup: Start in a high plank with your hands under your shoulders and your arms straight.
- Start: Make a straight line from your head to your heels. Brace your core.
- Move: Drive one knee toward your chest.
- Move: Return that foot to the start as you drive the other knee forward.
- Repeat: Keep switching legs in a steady rhythm. Keep your hips level.
- Finish: Bring both feet back and lower your knees to the floor to rest.
Coaching cues
- Keep your shoulders over your hands.
- Keep your hips level with your shoulders.
- Drive your knees, don’t bounce your hips.
Common mistakes
- Hips rising too high. Lower your hips until your body is in a straight line again.
- Bouncing the hips up and down. Slow down and brace harder. Only your legs should move.
- Going too fast to stay in control. Start slowly and speed up only while your plank stays solid.
Easier and harder options
- Easier: Incline mountain climbers. Place your hands on a bench or box to reduce the load on your arms and core.
- Harder: Cross-body mountain climbers. Drive each knee toward the opposite elbow to work your obliques more.
Training focus and energy demand
Mountain climbers are used for core muscle endurance and for conditioning in circuits.
Your energy systems work together, and the mix changes with speed, how long you go and how much you rest. Short, fast bursts lean more on energy stored in the muscle. Longer bouts, like timed circuit rounds, draw more on aerobic energy. Hard efforts that last from several seconds to a few minutes also rely heavily on energy your muscles make quickly from carbohydrate.
FAQs
Should I go as fast as possible?
No. Move only as fast as you can while keeping your hips level and your shoulders over your hands.
Should my foot touch the floor when my knee comes in?
It can stay off the floor or tap lightly. Either way, keep the movement smooth and your plank steady.