What’s up, guys and gals, thanks for stopping by.
Today we’re going to be looking at one of the most underappreciated exercises you could ever wish to perform – mountain climbers.
To be exact, we’re going to be looking at the many benefits of mountain climbers to help show you just how awesome this exercise really is.
When you head to your nearest gym, once inside you’ll notice how the vast majority of members seem to be doing similar exercises and workouts to one another.
Every now and then, though, you’ll see somebody doing something different, just like mountain climbers, and you’ll likely want to have a go for yourself.
Mountain climbers don’t really have anything to do with climbing mountains, so if you’ve aspirations to climb Everest, other than boosting your fitness levels these particular exercises will do very little to help you achieve your goals.
What they can do, though, is give you one of the strongest cores and one of the best midsections in the gym, or wherever else you do them.
But what are the benefits and are they really all they’re cracked up to be?
Well, that’s what we’re going to find out today.
Here’s a look at several brilliant benefits.
What Are Mountain Climbers?
No, we’re not talking about people that climb mountains, we’re talking about a specific bodyweight exercise that can provide numerous benefits to all who take part in them.
When you do mountain climbers, you will do them on the ground on a flat surface, not high up on a mountain out in the wilderness somewhere.
To perform this exercise, you will drop down onto your hands and knees and get into a standard push-up position with your weight being supported by your hands and your toes.
Next up, you will ensure that your arms and legs are both extended and, bracing the core, you should bring up one knee to your chest and slowly return to the starting position, repeat with the other knee and then repeat for as many reps as you can do, or are needed.
What Are The Benefits Of Mountain Climbers?
Okay, so now that we’ve established these have nothing to do with mountains, and now that we’ve looked at how they’re performed, next up, we’ll look at what makes them so beneficial.
Here’s a look at several key benefits.
1. Mountain Climbers Will Increase Your Strength
One of the main benefits is the fact that they are so beneficial for people trying to increase their overall strength levels.
Mountain climbers will not only strengthen your upper and lower body, but they will also strengthen your core.
Your core is where you generate the majority of your strength and power, so the stronger you make it, the stronger you will be.
2. Mountain Climbers Offer Something Different
If you’re looking to work on your core and you’re fed up with doing the same core exercises week in and week out, one of the best exercises you can do is mountain climbing.
Mountain climbers are ideal because, as they’re so unique, they offer you something different that you have likely never tried before.
When training, if you can mix things up and make them unique, this helps to keep things fresh and exciting.
3. Mountain Climbers Help You To Burn Fat
If you want to strip away those stubborn pounds of fat that just don’t seem to want to go anywhere, mountain climbers are ideal.
Mountain climbers are a very physically demanding exercise that will elevate your heart rate and get you burning calories like you wouldn’t believe.
As the body has to work so hard to perform them, you’ll find that you’ll burn through calories like you wouldn’t believe.
Using mountain climbers as part of a smart weight loss routine combined with a healthy diet is a guaranteed way to maximize fat loss and leave you looking lean and slender in the process.
4. Mountain Climbers Don’t Have To Be Done In The Gym
Gyms are all well and good, but not everybody has access to a gym.
If you don’t have access to a gym, or if you simply don’t want to go to the gym to exercise, one of the best benefits is the fact that they can be done anywhere.
Mountain climbers are a bodyweight exercise that requires no additional fitness tools, equipment, or accessories, so you can do them anywhere.
Providing you have a flat surface and enough room to safely do them, you can do mountain climbers anywhere, at any time, without having to access a gym.
5. Mountain Climbers Are An Awesome Compound Exercise
Thought that compound exercises had to be done with a barbell or free weights?
Think again.
Compound exercises are exercises that target several muscle groups at the same time, so essentially with one exercise you’re working multiple muscles, rather than isolating one at a time.
One of the best things about mountain climbers is the fact that they’re a compound exercise and so by doing them you will work several muscles at once.
Mountain climbers will target your core, your abs, your obliques, your legs, your delts, your back, and your triceps, making them very efficient for people looking to get in shape.
6. Mountain Climbers Strengthen Your Core
Your core is where the majority of your strength and power are generated from.
When your core is strong, you yourself will become stronger, and vice versa.
Having a strong core will not only build strength in the gym but will also allow you to increase your functional strength and power as well, which will benefit you outside of the gym.
Mountain climbers target the core and strengthen your core stabilizer muscles including your abdominal muscles and your obliques.
7. Mountain Climbers Are Great For Building Six-packs
When discussing the many benefits, you simply cannot talk about this exercise without talking about the fact that they’re so great for building a six-pack.
Make no mistake about it, if your body fat percentages are too high, until you lose enough body fat your abs won’t be visible, so please do not think that mountain climbers alone will get you a six-pack if you’re carrying too much body fat and are eating junk food on the reg.
However, if you are lean enough for your abs to become visible, mountain climbers will build them up and stimulate the muscles, helping you to build a six-pack that would make a fitness model envious.
8. Mountain Climbers Are Brilliant For The Legs
When people think of the benefits, more often than not they’ll focus on the fact that the exercise is so beneficial for the abs.
Yes, it is indeed true that mountain climbers are great for the abs, but what many people fail to realize is that this exercise is also fantastic for people that are trying to strengthen their legs.
When you perform mountain climbers, one leg is forced to bear the brunt of your weight as you bring the other up to your chest and you’ll be amazed by what a difference this can make to the overall size and definition of your legs and your glutes.
9. Mountain Climbers Build Up Your Butt
On the subject of your glutes, another of the lesser-known benefits is the fact that they’re so great for your butt.
Mountain climbers will not only strengthen your gluteus maximus muscle, but they will also help to give your butt plenty of shapes and definitions.
Having a flat pancake butt is so last year, now, rounded, peachy shapely booties are in and if you want to build a butt that looks killer in a pair of Pilates, yoga or Zumba pants, mountain climbers are perfect.
10. Mountain Climbers Improve Flexibility
If you find that you’ve got about as much flexibility as a plank of wood, it might be time that you included mountain climbers in your training routine.
Mountain climbers help to loosen up the muscles, they get the hips popping, and they help you to become more flexible and nimble.
If you find that your mobility and flexibility both suck, go ahead and perform some mountain climbers on a regular basis and you’ll be amazed by just what a difference they can make.
11. Mountain Climbers Are Great For The Joints
If you suffer from joint issues such as ankle or knee pain, high-impact forms of exercise like running or jogging will cause you a great deal of pain and discomfort.
If you perform mountain climbers, though, you’ll find that you can easily avoid this pain and discomfort.
Mountain climbers are a low-impact form of exercise which means that they don’t cause any pain or put any pressure on the joints.
12. Mountain Climbers Are Great For Cardio
One of the main benefits is the fact that they’re such a great form of cardiovascular exercise.
Mountain climbers help to boost circulation, strengthen the heart, and reduce blood pressure, and they can even help to reduce dangerous cholesterol levels in the body.
Roll all of these benefits together and it’s easy to see why mountain climbers are considered to be so great for the heart and are seen as such a fantastic form of cardio.
13. Mountain Climbers Are Free To Do
If you want to work out in a gym, that’s perfectly fine, but one of the main downsides is the fact that gym memberships can be expensive and not everybody has that kind of disposable income each month, especially when you factor in travel costs too.
If you want to get fit but can’t afford a gym membership, mountain climbers are perfect because they are free to do so you can do them anywhere, at any time, without having to rely on a gym.
14. Mountain Climbers Help Increase Fitness Levels
It isn’t just cardio that helps to increase your overall levels of fitness and stamina, it turns out that mountain climbers can also help to increase your overall fitness levels.
Mountain climbers boost VO2 Max levels, they will increase your endurance and will boost your stamina.
This means that you can utilize more oxygen when exercising, and it means that you can exercise for longer durations before you feel tired or fatigued.
15. Mountain Climbers Improve Your Balance
If you’re looking for yet more reasons to consider adding mountain climbers into your training routine, how about the fact that mountain climbers will help to improve your balance?
When you perform mountain climbers, you will be balancing on one leg as you bring the other up to your chest, and as a result of this, the more of them you perform, the more your balance will improve.
Roll in the added benefits of your core becoming stronger, which in itself is vital for balance and stability, it’s easy to see why mountain climbers are so beneficial for people trying to get better at balancing.
16. Mountain Climbers Offer Something Unique
If you feel like your training routine could use a little mixing up, why not include mountain climbers in there?
Mountain climbers offer most people something unique as not many people do them regularly.
If you do, however, you’ll quickly see why people have been so impressed by them.
The Final Word On Mountain Climbers:
And now, we reach the peak of this fictional mountain and must bring today’s look at the benefits of mountain climbers to a close.
Hopefully, you’ve found the benefits listed in this article informative, entertaining, and useful?
If so, and if you’re looking for something different to add to your training routine, why not go ahead and try mountain climbers?
