Duration exercise

Mountain Climber form, muscles worked, and workout tracking

The mountain climber is a timed plank-based drill in which the knees drive alternately toward the chest in a running motion, working the core, hip flexors, and shoulders while pushing the heart rate up quickly. Lifters and athletes use it for metabolic conditioning intervals and circuit finishers because it delivers a sprint-like cardiovascular stimulus in a small space while simultaneously forcing the trunk to stay rigid under fast limb movement.

Mountain Climber illustration

How to do Mountain Climber

  1. 1Set up in a high plank with your hands under your shoulders and your body in a straight line from head to heels.
  2. 2Brace your core and drive one knee toward your chest, keeping your hips level and low.
  3. 3Switch legs quickly, extending one leg back as the other knee drives in, as if running against the floor.
  4. 4Do not let your hips bounce upward, your shoulders drift behind your hands, or your lower back sag as the pace increases.
  5. 5Breathe rhythmically and hold a pace you can sustain for the full interval, slowing the tempo rather than breaking position when fatigue sets in.

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Track Mountain Climber in Plates

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