The exercise called Mountain Climbers, either scaler As popularly known, it is one of the most complete exercises we can find. Together with the dreaded burpees, it is a movement with infinite options to work various objectives. It is one of those multipurpose exercises that we like so much that, in addition, They can be done anywhere without material. If you want to know all the details of Mountain Climber, its benefits, variations and how to apply it to your training routine, you can't miss this post!

Mountain Climbers Technique

As we have mentioned above, it is a very complete exercise and, although it seems simple, several factors must be taken into account to be an effective exercise and achieve our objectives.

First, we will start in position of iron with stretched arms. The only points of support on the ground will be the palms of the hands and the tips of the feet. To have a good technique we must contract our abdomen and keep it active throughout the exercise.

Once we take into account the above, we can start the movement. To do this We will wear a knee to the arm maintaining the body position. Another option is to bring the knee to the opposite arm. In this case they will be called crossed climbers.

After We will return to the initial position And we will do the same with the opposite leg.

Muscles involved in the Mountain Climbers

The muscles involved when doing this exercise are both of the lower and upper train. A very high muscle activation of:

Biceps
Triceps
Deltoid
Pectoral
Muscles of core
Hip
Quadriceps
Calves

Although the rest of the muscles of the leg are also activated.

Mountain Climbers are a very effective exercise to tone the abdomen

Benefits of the Mountain Climbers

The exercise of the Mountain Climbers or Escalator aims to work cardiovascular capacity and serve as a multiarticular work. But we can point out 3 important objectives and benefits of the practice of this exercise:

Toning of the musculature of the lower train. The muscles of the lower train will be worked, although, as we have seen, other muscles of the upper train are also involved and core. This will make us more toned and also improve our physical condition.

It is a very effective exercise for fat loss. It is an exercise that acts as an accelerator. This allows to accelerate metabolism and that many calories can be burned in a short time.

Improves cardiovascular resistance. Improve both aerobic and anaerobic resistance levels, thanks to the oxygen deficit that occurs in practice.

Can be done anywhere, without the need for space or material. As we have said previously, it is one of those exercises that require the minimum to be able to be carried out. There is no excuse for not doing it!

In addition to its benefits, you also have to have some precautions.

Arms always to the width of the shoulders
Pay attention to back posture
Keep the core tight
Keep your hip in line with the body

Variants of the Mountain Climbers

There are many exercises that have emerged from the evolution of traditional Mountain Climbers. Next, we leave you some:

Mountain Climbers standing

A version of the famous Mountain Climbers are standing climbers. It is a good cardiovascular exercise where, apart from moving your legs, we will also move your arms, so physical effort will be even greater.

Mountain Climbers with Jack Plates

One step beyond the traditional Mountain Climbers are the climbers combined with Jack plates. In this case we must do the climber and then we will return to the iron position and we will open and close the legs, and then return another climber.

Mountain Climbers in high side plate

This variant activates obliques. To correctly perform this exercise we will have to put ourselves in a side iron position - do not forget to activate your abdomen - and from there we will take the legs to the abdomen.

Mountain Spider Climbers

This variant is one of the most popular. The initial position is the same as the Mountain Climbers, but this time it is about bringing the legs to the sides of the body, one every time and supporting the feet on the floor.

Inverse Mountain Climbers

To work the back muscles and the abdomen, we propose to perform the rush moving. That is, we will perform the exercise mouth and we will take the feet in the same way to the chest. To perform this variant, the technique is very important since it is more difficult to maintain balance.

Mountain Climbers with Salto

In this case, we will start with an iron and then take a leap with both legs and take them to the sides of the body, next to the elbows. In this way we will adopt a frog -like posture and, later, we will return to the initial plate of a jump.

Put it into practice!

Do not forget that it is an exercise adaptable to the level of each person. Prioritize technique before intensity. You will have time to move forward and complicate the exercise. We leave you some guidelines so you can adapt it to your physical condition:

Beginner level: We will perform 20 second work series with up to 60-80 seconds of pause, for a total of 3-4 series.
Intermediate: 30 seconds of work with 1 minute of recovery for a total of 4-6 series.
Advanced level: 1 minute of work for 30 seconds of rest, for a total of 3-5 series.

💪Now is your turn to put into practice what I learned!💪