If you're doing a bodyweight workout, chances are at some point you'll be doing mountain climbers. And you're absolutely right to. Mountain climbers are excellent for working out your arms, shoulders and entire core. They're also really time and space efficient, meaning they can pretty much be done anywhere with minimum fuss.
While mountain climbers are an easy move to add to a workout, they can also be an easy move to mess up. Starting with your hands in the wrong position, not bothering to get your base properly set up, and sacrificing solid foundations for speed are just some of the ways this move with so many benefits can be compromised.
Want to perform mountain climbers like a pro? We've enlisted the help of Sweat IT head trainer Melissa Weldon to show you how, plus a mountain climbers inspired tabata workout so you can practise what we preach.
How to Do Mountain Climbers
There are no excuses for performing a simple move like mountain climbers incorrectly, but for anyone who hasn't quite got proper form, here's a guide to where every part of your body should be when performing the exercise.
Hand Position
"You want to start in a high-plank position, and your hands should be directly underneath your shoulder joint," says Weldon. "There should be a straight line, from your wrist to your elbow to your shoulder."
Hips and Shoulders
Your hips should be positioned below your shoulders. Imagine that there's a diagonal line running from your shoulders to you feet.
Foot Position
"You want your feet to be roughly hip-width apart, so your feet line up with your hips, rather than feet together," says Weldon, "that's going to keep you nice and stable."
The Movement
"Pump your knees up towards your chest, one foot at a time," says Weldon. "Normally, if I'm teaching a beginner, I'll teach them to go slowly at first so that they engage their core and then I'll teach them to pump the knees a little bit faster."
Common Mistakes People Make When Doing Mountain Climbers
Not Driving the Knees to the Chest
Don't sacrifice technique for speed. If you find your form failing and your knees no longer reaching your chest, slow down. You're better off completing less reps than continuing to clock up pointless ones.
Setting up with Your Hands in the Wrong Position
We can't stress the importance of placing your hands directly underneath your shoulders enough. As Weldon explains, if you don't do that "what happens is the shoulder joint will burn out because it's not in an efficient position".
Allowing Your Hips to Rise or You Shoulders to Fall
Remember, this isn't a downward dog, you should be set up in a high-plank position with an evident diagonal line running from your shoulders to your feet.
Mountain Climbers and Injury
While mountain climbers are a really efficient an effective bodyweight exercise there are some people who shouldn't attempt them. As Weldon explains, "if you've got a rotator cuff injury or any kind of shoulder injury, mountain climbers could flare it up." Weldon advises avoiding the exercise all together or at the very least slowing the exercise down so that you're more stable and aren't going to put as much pressure on the injury.
Even if you're not injured mountain climbers can be dangerous if they're not performed correctly (hopefully, we've already fixed that problem) or if they're performed for too long. "I often see in HIIT classes, people doing it for a minute, and I personally think 30 seconds is probably enough. Anything over that and your hip flexors are just going to be working in overdrive, and it's not really doing a lot for your body. So shorter bursts, slow it down and listen to your body."
Fast Mountain Climbers versus Slow Controlled Mountain Climbers – What's the Difference?
OK, so completing fast reps is often what leads to errors with mountain climbers, but there's definitely a time and place to complete your reps balls to the wall. Weldon explains that the faster you drive your legs the more mountain climbers become a cardio move, whereas slow and controlled reps make mountain climbers a core strengthening exercise.
"If you do it fast you're mainly working your cardio and your shoulders are stabilising the move," says Weldon. "The slower you go the more you're going to work your core."
The Ultimate Mountain Climbers Workout
How long: 6 minutes
Reps: 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest
The workout: Now you know how to do the perfect mountain climber, let's put them into a workout. This is a tabata workout, so 20 seconds of work should be followed by 10 seconds of complete rest.
For the first 20 seconds you're going to be concentrating on cardio, so these mountain climbers should be performed with speed, but remember to maintain your technique. The next 20 seconds will be focused on your core, so controlled mountain climbers are what you're after here. Keep alternating between the two versions for 6 minutes. That's your workout.
Mountain Climbers Progressions and Variations
Try adding in 2o seconds of these progressions and variations. Variety is the spice of life after all.
Feet Elevated Mountain Climbers
- Set up on the floor as though in a sprinter's blocks, with your feet resting on a bench.
- Explosively piston your knees in towards your chest.
Hands Elevated Mountain Climbers
- Set up on the floor as though in a sprinter's blocks with your hands resting on a bench.
- Explosively piston your knees in towards your chest.
Three Point Mountain Climber
- Set up in the traditional high plank, mountain climber position, but instead of driving your knees towards your chest, drive your right knee towards your right shoulder. Go back to the starting position, then drive your right knee into the centre, before finally driving your right knee towards your left shoulder.
- Do the same on the other side, so left knee to left shoulder, left foot to chest and left foot to right shoulder.
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Daniel is Men’s Health UK’s deputy digital editor. He’s a writer and editor with a decade’s worth of experience covering health, fitness, tech and sports. In his time at Men’s Health, he’s written about everything from Black men's mental health to The Rock's cheat days and has logged training time with NFL footballers, Olympic gymnasts and the British Army. In his spare time he enjoys fitness of all kinds, from deadlifts to long runs, and is always on the lookout for his next challenge.
