How to do Mountain Climbers? Brief Overview

Introduction

Mountain climbers combine the benefits of cardio and weight training into one.

A popular workout, it is recommended by many fitness trainers and athletes.

In this post, I will be explaining what are mountain climbers, target muscles groups, and the benefits they give those who engage in them.

What is Mountain Climbers?

Mountain climbers is a form of exercise, which primarily targets the core and arm muscles.

The core muscles it targets consists of the back muscles, oblique muscles and the front abdominal muscles.

Notwithstanding, mountain climbers is considered a full body workouts, because asides targeting the core and arm muscles, it also target the leg muscles as the full body is required to achieve the workout.

How to do Mountain Climbers?

Mountain climbers is an easy workout and can be considered a beginner workout, due to the ease in which it can be mastered.

Notwithstanding, you must realize that the body and a house have one thing in common… they are both buildings.

Whereas a house is an inorganic building, a the body is an organic building.

As such, just as a house has a foundation, the body also has a foundation, which is the back. And, all buildings without a strong foundation, collapse and perish.

For this reason, it is imperative, to strengthen the foundation of your organic building (body), which is your back, that way, your whole body becomes firm and in place.

This principle and simple analogy, should be in your mind, anytime you are trying to do mountain climbers.

In simpler terms, Mountain climbers is a back exercise, not an abdominal exercise.

Steps

As the name implies, the mountain climber is an exercise, in which you climb an imaginary mountain, the steps for executing the perfect mountain climbers are as follows:

1. Get into a plank position, making sure to distribute your weight evenly between your hands and your toes.
2. Check your form—your hands should be about shoulder-width apart, back flat, abs engaged, and head in alignment.
3. To start the mountain climbers, pull your left knee towards your left chest (breast) as far as you can.
4. Alternate to the right side, pulling your right knee towards your right chest, as far as you can.
5. Now repeat the same movement with your left side.
6. Continue alternating between the two motions, till you complete the required repetition or a tired.

Benefits

Below are some of the benefits of engaging in mountain climbers regularly.

1. Strengthens leg, back, and core muscles:
   Although it looks simple and easy, mountain climbers call into action many major muscles in your body.
   In fact, all the muscles of the leg, back, and core muscles are engaged to keep the body in an erect position and continue pumping out mountain climber reps.
2. Burns calories and causes weight loss:
   Mountain climbers burn a lot of calories. On average and depending on the weight of an individual, a 1-hour session of mountain climbers burns about 600 – 750 calories.
   Overtime of continuous engagement in mountain climbers, the individual eventually loses weight.
3. Improves cardiovascular health:
   Mountain climbers cause the heart to pump more blood, which improves its health over time.
4. Improves endurance:
   Endurance improves as health improves.
   Mountain climber is a good exercise that improves the health of the individual.
   Over time as the health of the individual improves the endurance improves.

Drawbacks

Mountain climbers is a safe workout and doesn’t have a lot of drawbacks.

1. Cramps and Muscle pulls:
   Mountain climbers is notorious for causing muscle pulls on the body. Especially, in people who are new to it.
   The rapid and sudden movement, prove too much for many, as such, proper and adequate stretching is necessary to avoid nasty muscle spasms and cramps.
2. Ankle sprain or dislocation:
   Although rare, there have actually cases of people who have actually, sprained and dislocated their ankles when engaging in mountain climbers.
   An ankle sprain is mostly caused when the said person, rushes through their workout sets and reps.
   As such, it is advised that mountain climbers should not be rushed, when engaging in it.