Mountain climbers are a fabulous exercise, they require no equipment so can be done anywhere, and are great for any level of fitness. They get your heart rate up and work on a variety of muscles, not just your abs and core. They can be done fast, slow, and diagonally, but you need to make sure you are doing the basic mountain climber correctly and then you can level it up with these variations.
The Original Mountain Climber
Start in a tabletop position with the arms straight and the hands underneath the shoulder and the legs straight in line with your spine and the weight resting on the balls of your feet. Keeping a flat back and engaging the core lift the left leg up and bring the knee towards the chest, return the foot and repeat with the right leg. Alternate quickly between the legs for about 30 seconds, keeping the body as still as you can.
Cross Body Mountain Climbers
Start in the same position as the basic mountain climbers and instead of bringing the knee towards the chest, bring the knee towards the opposite elbow and alternate between each leg.
Slow Mountain Climbers
If you don’t want to increase your heart rate, but you do want a killer core exercise then slowing down the mountain climber is the exercise for you. Same starting position as before, and all you have to do is slowly drive the knee towards the chest at a very slow pace. You will shake a little more but you are building strength and feeling the tension all over your body.
