It’s very hard not to love high impact exercises that don’t require any equipment at all and can be done pretty much anywhere. Some of those exercises are: the burpee and the plank. It’s one of those love-hate relationships for me. However, today I’d like to talk about MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS. Not only it’s a plyometric exercise that tones your arms, legs and core, but it also strengthens the cardiovascular system. And no, you don’t have to climb a mountain to do them!
Seems simple enough, right?! But don’t be fooled! There are so many health benefits to this exercise:
- Core Strength
- Power Training: lower body
- Strengthen heart and lungs
- Burn calories *=FAT*
Not enough a challenge? Try placing hands on top of a medicine ball!
According to the Spartan Race blog, “When the race course turns vertical, you’ll also appreciate the power you’ve generated with your time spent mountain climbing. While you’re down on the ground, you can also do a few 25′ bear crawls to better ready yourself for barbed wire obstacles.”
One of the ways to incorporate mountain climbers in your workout is to drop and perform 1 to 3 sets of 10-30 mountain climbers at the half way point during your routine run. Whatever gets your heart pumping, right?!
I’m sorry! I couldn’t resist the temptation to post this picture. I mean, how ridiculously funny it is?!?! Haha!
Anyhow, moving on to today’s workout. This is what is going to happen (as per the Spartan race training guide).
Interval running
10 reps: 10-second hill (sprint), 10-second rest
5 reps: 20-second hill (very high intensity), 20-second rest
3 reps: 30-second hill (high intensity), 10-second rest
Do not stop until all 18 intervals are complete. Walk for 5 minutes to recover, and repeat for half the reps. Jog easy for 20 minutes.
AB 500
25 crunches
50 bicycles
50 back-scratchers
50 rotating crunches
25 leg-lowers
50 scissor-kicks
50 side-crunches
50 bicycles
50 back-scratchers
** You can find how to do all of these exercises properly here.
What are your favorite high impact exercises? How do you add them to your workouts?
xoxo
Olena
candies & crunches 
I love plyo! It was my fav of the p90x workouts and is my fav in Insanity now too. I guess I love hard workouts? Jumping? Who knows haha.
Plyo is fun! Hmmm… jumping… I think I need to find a good workout with a jumping rope, a good reminder of my rhythmic gymnastics days 😀 xoxo
These are great! I need you to be my personal trainer!
I wish lol! It’s okay, we learn from each other! Love you, girl! xoxo
YES! I love body resistive work and I am a huge Insanity fan.
PS I’ve nominated you for a Liebster Award! Congrats! http://littlegreenrunningshoes.com/liebster-award/
Awww Jenna! That’s so nice of you, I was just cheering for you the other day! xoxo
I love the “Poor Man’s Plastic Surgery” picture – cracked me up!!! That 500 workout looks amazing, I’ll try it soon!
I know, right? I was like, I am definitely a poor person & thank God for that haha! Definitely, give it a try. I’m looking forward to my hughing and puffing tonight 😀 xoxo
This post is perfect timing since I was searching for a core workout to do. I’m definitely going to try this, although a 500 ab workout sounds daunting and super hard! haha I love/hate mountain climbers. They’re an amazing exercise and so hard. Just like burpees they get my heart rate climbing 🙂 Thanks for the workout
You are very welcome, Ursula! ❤ xoxo
I love plyometric work outs which is probably why I loved the Insanity program. All of these are great workout ideas, I love how insightful your post are…keep up the great work!
Aww thank you sooooo much Sara! You are super sweet! I love your blog too, I’m super curious about how your Boston marathon training program is going along. Plus, I totally loved reading about your little son, but then you knew it already! ❤ xoxo
Mountain Climbers DO NOT get enough love. Its all about Burpee’s…but Mountain Climbers are awesome I agree
Totally!
Such a simple exercise but yet so effective! This is great!
Thank you Kammie! xoxo
That sounds like a great workout! I love a good hard workout!!!
Thank you, Michelle, for stopping by! xoxo
I love mountain climbing 😉
Started to add it sporadically into some of my workouts a while back, and when my knees cooperate it feels awesome afterwards 😀
Thanks for sharing an insight into what the Spartan training is like – was curious how you were going with training for the races. Keep up the awesomeness!! Xx
Thank you darling! I’ve got to try real mountain climbing too! xoxo
Love incorporating Mountain Climbers as well! My favorite impact move is a burpee…so many variations and full-body challenge.
Oh yeah, Deborah! Burpees are awesome: I love to hate them, and hate to love them 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!
xoxo
Olena
I’ve been looking for exercises to do at home with no equipment, I’m going to give this mountain climber a try sometime, looks like it burns 🙂
You’ll definitely feel the burn 😀 xoxo
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