1. Stronger Muscles & Improved Endurance
Mountain climber calisthenics not only help develop power and stronger muscles in the legs and feet, it also improves endurance and core strength. These are body weight exercises you can do both at home and at the gym. All you need is a flat surface and your body.
2. Do It Right
To do mountain climber exercises properly, start out in a push-up position. Keep both arms in line with the chest and the legs straight out so that the body is like a slide. Make sure the head and neck are kept in line with the rest of the body, and to help develop the core, contract the abdominal muscles throughout the entire movement. Bring the right knee into the chest to begin the exercise and then spring it back to the starting position while simultaneously bringing the left knee into the chest. Alternate to the other leg in a quick motion and continue the exercise for the desired amount of time (30 seconds to 5 minutes).
3. An Easier Version for Beginners
Perform the mountain climber exercise with your arms on an exercise step bench to raise the upper body higher off the ground. This will make it easier for those who do not yet have the hip flexibility or strength and mobility to do it with the arms on the ground. Keep the shoulders down and back and push into the hands, with weight equally distributed between the two feet. However, don't try to keep all of the weight on the feet as this will make it incredibly difficult to perform the exercise. To start, just walk the legs back and forth at a quick pace to get the motion down. As you gain confidence, you can start jumping and progressing towards a full mountain climber.
4. Avoid an Injury
There are a few things that need to be avoided when performing mountain climber calisthenics. For example, it is important to maintain a shoulder-width stance with the legs during the entire movement. Also, be sure to keep the back relatively neutral and avoid excessively rounding the back during the exercise. This puts undue stress on the spine. Finally, be sure that the knees do not break the plane of the hands, as this stresses the hip and knee joints more than necessary.
5. Combine It With Tabata
Mountain climber calisthenics are a perfect exercise to use for Tabata training. This type of interval training requires the exerciser to perform the movement for sets of 20 seconds with 10 second rest intervals in between. Then, repeat the drill without pausing for a total of four minutes, or eight sets. Tabata drills have been proven to develop anaerobic capacity, as well as endurance. Four minutes of fun pain to gain.
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