Abs exercise
Mountain ClimberHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Abs, Hip flexors
- Also works
- Front delts, Quads, Cardio
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
How do you do the Mountain Climber?
- Start in a high plank with your hands under your shoulders and your body straight.
- Drive your right knee towards your chest and touch the foot down lightly.
- Switch legs, pushing the right leg back as the left knee comes forward.
- Keep switching at a steady pace with your hips level.
Cues
- Hips level with your shoulders.
- Shoulders stay over your hands.
- Knees drive to your chest.
Common mistakes
- Hips bouncing or piking up: brace your stomach and slow down.
- Shoulders moving behind your hands: keep your weight over your hands.
- Racing with sloppy form: go only as fast as you can stay straight.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
The version in our demo
High-plank mountain climber at a steady, controlled pace, the driving foot touching down lightly under the chest before the legs switch. This is ACE's pattern at Healthline's beginner pace; the sprint version and hands-on-a-step regression are not shown.
Starting position
High plank on the floor. Hands shoulder-width apart, directly under or just in front of the shoulders, fingers forward, arms straight. Body in one line from head to heels, abs braced, shoulders pulled down away from the ears. Feet hip-width apart on the balls of the feet. Head in line with the spine, eyes on the floor just ahead of the hands.
The movement
Drive the right knee forward towards the chest and touch the right foot lightly to the floor under the hip, heel up. Then switch in one quick move: the right leg pushes back to straight as the left knee drives forward, both feet briefly leaving the floor. The hands stay planted; the shoulders stay over the hands; the hips stay level with the shoulders and do not bob.
Breathing
Steady, rhythmic breathing; do not hold the breath.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
- Front foot lands 50–60 cm ahead of its plank position, under the hip, on the ball of the foot.
- Back leg straight, knee flexion 0–5°, ball of the foot on the floor.
- Hip height stays within about 5 cm of the plank line; no piking or sagging.
- Shoulders stay over the wrists (shoulder flexion about 90°); elbows straight.
- Feet off the floor for under 0.1 s at each switch.
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Mountain Climber is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
