Mountain climber

Movement

The systematic review describes whole-body HIIT¹. It uses only body weight as resistance, with exercises such as squats, push-ups and mountain climbers¹. In the circuit studies on this page, the mountain climber is one of several exercises in a session^7,11,12. In one trial, each session used a single exercise, chosen from four that included mountain climbers¹³.

Versions named in the studies

• Faster pace. Two programmes used a faster pace as the harder version^9,10.
• Cross-body. One home programme used cross-body mountain climbers¹⁰.
• With a band. A core programme for college athletes listed the mountain climber with a mini-band, in 3 sets of 40⁸.
• On a Pilates chair. One Pilates exercise on the Wunda Chair is also called the mountain climber⁵.

As a fitness test

One law enforcement agency’s test battery counted the most mountain climbers done in 120 seconds¹⁴. Controlling for sex, the count of its 253 recruits was related to performance on a 6-foot solid wall climb, but not on an obstacle course¹⁴. A scoping review, which maps what research exists on a topic, found the 120-second test in 5 of 101 police education studies¹⁵.

What it loads

The muscle measurements here come from related moves, and each is named as such^2,3,5. The knee-tuck results are given as a share of a maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), the hardest effort a person can make with a muscle².

The suspension knee-tuck

In one study, 17 active men started in a push-up position with each foot in a strap handle². They bent both hips and knees to about 90 degrees, bringing the knees forward². The rectus abdominis runs down the front of the abdomen, and the obliques are flat muscles at its sides. The erector spinae are long muscles beside the spine that straighten the back.

Muscle in the knee-tuck	Activity (% of MVC)
Lower rectus abdominis	542
Upper rectus abdominis	442
External oblique	422
Internal oblique	182
Lower erector spinae	82
Upper erector spinae	62

The authors used 60% of MVC as a threshold for strength training². Rectus abdominis and external oblique activity stayed below it in the knee-tuck, but was still high, at 41 to 60%².

Wheel and ball knee-ups

In 21 healthy adults aged 23 to 43, the Power Wheel knee-up gave some of the highest rectus abdominis, oblique and latissimus dorsi activity³. The latissimus dorsi is the broad muscle across the middle and lower back. Rectus femoris is a hip flexor in the front of the thigh³. Its activity peaked in the Power Wheel knee-up and pike, the inclined reverse crunch and the bent-knee sit-up³. The authors cautioned that this fairly high rectus femoris activity could be a problem for some people whose low backs trouble them³.

In those 21 adults, activity of the lumbar paraspinals (low-back muscles) was low and similar across the exercises³. In a second study of 18 subjects, the Swiss ball (large exercise ball) knee-up gave some of the highest latissimus dorsi activity⁴.

The Pilates chair version

In 16 women who practise Pilates (a system of mat and apparatus exercises), the Wunda Chair mountain climber was one of three exercises tested⁵. In each, co-contraction (opposing muscles working at the same time) was higher in the multifidus and internal oblique than in the rectus abdominis and longissimus⁵. The multifidus is a deep muscle along the spine. The mountain climber did not give the highest values for either group⁵.

What the muscles do

The iliopsoas is the main muscle that bends the thigh at the hip¹⁶. It is made up of three muscles: the iliacus and the two psoas muscles, major and minor¹⁶. The rectus femoris assists it in that movement¹⁷. A textbook names the external and internal obliques as prime movers for twisting at the waist and bending to the side¹⁸.

Studies of the plank, a held position, measured some of the same muscles^6,19. One found more trunk muscle activity on the toes than on the knees¹⁹. In 21 people, the serratus anterior, on the side of the chest, was most active in the floor plank and feet-suspended plank⁶. In 21 healthy men, high planks gave more activity than low planks in the triceps brachii, on the back of the upper arm²⁰.

Heart rate and lactate in circuits

In one study, 20 men did a 20-minute all-out session of four exercises: mountain climbers, burpees, squat jumps and jumping jacks⁷. It raised blood lactate, a substance the body makes at rest and during exercise, from about 1 to about 14 mmol/L⁷. In that session, movements per set fell from the first set for burpees and squat jumps, but not for mountain climbers⁷. The authors suggested that exercises needing more muscle strength are more affected by fatigue⁷. Those authors also wrote that research on the immediate body responses to this kind of session was scarce⁷.

In 22 adults, a functional session including mountain climbers and a rowing interval session both reached 92 to 96% of maximal heart rate¹². The functional session gave a higher peak heart rate and more time at or above 85% of maximum¹². A 2022 study had 20 men do the same four exercises in three orders²¹. Heart rate, perceived effort and lactate did not differ between orders, but total movements did: 712, 524 and 452²¹.

How the body adapts

What the reviews found

A 2022 meta-analysis, a study that pools the results of earlier studies, compared whole-body HIIT with no exercise¹. Training improved cardiorespiratory fitness (how well the heart and lungs supply oxygen), fat-free mass, fat mass and musculoskeletal fitness¹.

Against other aerobic training, its effect on cardiorespiratory fitness was smaller and on musculoskeletal fitness larger¹. Its effect on fat mass and fat-free mass was similar¹. Blinding, keeping people from knowing who is in which group, was absent in every included trial but one¹. The same meta-analysis found that only one study recorded the intensity reached during sessions¹.

Trials of programmes that included it

Two of these trials measured peak oxygen uptake, the highest rate of oxygen use measured during an exercise test^10,13.

Who was studied	What they did	What was found
22 recreationally active women; 7 did the intervals, 7 ran and 8 were controls	4 weeks of eight 20-second bouts of one exercise, mountain climbers among the options13	In the 7 who did the intervals, peak oxygen uptake rose by about 8%, similar to the 7 who ran on a treadmill for 30 minutes (about 7%); muscle endurance also improved, which running did not13. Enjoyment rose over training13
45 young adults with overweight or obesity	12 weeks of functional HIIT, running HIIT or no training9	Functional HIIT gave greater gains in lean mass (body weight that isn’t fat), back strength and push-ups than running HIIT; both improved cardiorespiratory fitness similarly9
14 inactive adults training, 14 non-exercising controls	8 weeks of home video sessions of 30-second all-out exercises10	Peak oxygen uptake rose 5%, leg lean mass 3%, dynamic strength 13% and muscle endurance 28%, with no gain in controls10
21 male college athletes	8 weeks of added core training, the mountain climber among its exercises8	Only this group improved on a balance test and a plank endurance test, and its oxygen use fell at the fourth treadmill stage. The mountain climber was not tested on its own8

In the home trial, people who spent more of each session above 80% of maximal heart rate tended to gain more peak oxygen uptake¹⁰. The correlation, how closely two measures rise and fall together, was r = 0.56¹⁰.

Injuries and adverse events reported

In the exercise-order study, no injuries or musculoskeletal (muscle, bone and joint) problems were reported in the 20 men²¹. A 9-week trial of circuits including mountain climbers, in untrained female university students, reported no adverse events from the training¹¹. An adverse event is an unwanted effect seen during a trial.

Progressive overload

The studies made the work harder by pace, number of sets, harder phases and heart rate targets^8,9,10,11.

Pace and sets

In the 8-week home trial, each exercise had a basic and a harder version¹⁰. For mountain climbers, the harder one was a faster pace¹⁰. Each video was used for two weeks, basic version first, and sessions went from 3 sets to 4 after week 2¹⁰. In the last two weeks, the harder version was cross-body mountain climbers followed by a squat jump¹⁰.

The 12-week functional HIIT programme used sets of 4 × 30 seconds, four sessions a week⁹. Mountain climbers came in sets 1 to 2 of weeks 1 to 4, then at a faster pace in sets 3 to 4⁹. They were again done faster in sets 3 to 4 of weeks 5 to 8⁹.

Phases and heart rate

The 8-week core programme placed the mountain climber only in its last phase, weeks 7 to 8⁸. Earlier phases raised difficulty with unstable surfaces or one-sided movement⁸. In the study of suspension moves, the authors ranked the knee-tuck as the least challenging of four, behind the roll-out, bodysaw and pike².

In the 9-week trial in untrained female university students, 60 of 75 randomised finished¹¹. Each circuit had six exercises, mountain climbers among them, done for 30 seconds with 30 seconds of rest¹¹. One group rose from 70–80% of maximal heart rate to 80–90%, then above 90%; another stayed at 80–90%¹¹. Both circuit groups gained more overall fitness than moderate continuous training, and the progressive group did better in sit-ups and the 800 m run¹¹. The authors wrote that progression alone should not get the credit, since that group also had a higher cumulative internal load¹¹.

The trial hid group allocation in sealed envelopes and blinded its assessors but not participants; it was registered retrospectively and had no funding¹¹.

Connections

Related knee-drive moves have been measured in the rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, erector spinae and latissimus dorsi^2,3. The Power Wheel knee-up was also measured in the rectus femoris, which helps the iliopsoas of the hip flexors bend the thigh^3,17. The Pilates chair version was measured in the multifidus⁵.

The serratus anterior and triceps brachii figures come from the plank, a hold^6,20. The exercise-order study also bears on the burpee: putting burpees first gave fewer total movements²¹.

Sources

1. Scoubeau C, Bonnechère B, Cnop M, Faoro V, Klass M (2022). Effectiveness of Whole-Body High-Intensity Interval Training on Health-Related Fitness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.. International journal of environmental research and public health. doi:10.3390/ijerph19159559 PMID 35954911
2. Cugliari G, Boccia G (2017). Core Muscle Activation in Suspension Training Exercises.. Journal of Human Kinetics. doi:10.1515/hukin-2017-0023 PMID 28469744
3. Escamilla RF, Babb E, DeWitt R, Jew P, Kelleher P, Burnham T, Busch J, D'Anna K, Mowbray R, Imamura RT (2006). Electromyographic analysis of traditional and nontraditional abdominal exercises: implications for rehabilitation and training.. Physical Therapy. PMID 16649890
4. Escamilla RF, Lewis C, Bell D, Bramblet G, Daffron J, Lambert S, Pecson A, Imamura R, Paulos L, Andrews JR (2010). Core muscle activation during Swiss ball and traditional abdominal exercises.. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. doi:10.2519/jospt.2010.3073 PMID 20436242
5. Panhan AC, Gonçalves M, Eltz GD, Villalba MM, Cardozo AC, Bérzin F (2020). Co-contraction of the core muscles during Pilates exercise on the Wunda Chair.. Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation. doi:10.3233/BMR-181267 PMID 31771036
6. Byrne JM, Bishop NS, Caines AM, Crane KA, Feaver AM, Pearcey GE (2014). Effect of using a suspension training system on muscle activation during the performance of a front plank exercise.. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000000510 PMID 24796979
7. Machado AF, Evangelista AL, Miranda JMQ, Teixeira CVS, Rica RL, Lopes CR, Figueira-Júnior A, Baker JS, Bocalini DS (2018). Description of training loads using whole-body exercise during high-intensity interval training.. Clinics (Sao Paulo). doi:10.6061/clinics/2018/e516 PMID 30379227
8. Hung KC, Chung HW, Yu CC, Lai HC, Sun FH (2019). Effects of 8-week core training on core endurance and running economy.. PLoS One. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0213158 PMID 30849105
9. Cao M, Yang B, Tang Y, Wang C, Yin L (2024). Effects of low-volume functional and running high-intensity interval training on physical fitness in young adults with overweight/obesity.. Frontiers in Physiology. doi:10.3389/fphys.2024.1325403 PMID 38357496
10. Scoubeau C, Carpentier J, Baudry S, Faoro V, Klass M (2023). Body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, and neuromuscular adaptations induced by a home-based whole-body high intensity interval training.. Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness. doi:10.1016/j.jesf.2023.02.004 PMID 36970125
11. Chen H, Liu D, Shen J (2026). Effects of progressive-versus constant-intensity high-intensity functional training on health-related physical fitness in untrained female university students: A randomized controlled trial.. Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness. doi:10.1016/j.jesf.2026.200508 PMID 42662575
12. Astorino TA, Mower M, Flores A, Flannery M (2026). Cardiometabolic response to high intensity functional training versus rowing-based high intensity interval training.. Sports Medicine and Health Science. doi:10.1016/j.smhs.2025.01.003 PMID 42125178
13. McRae G, Payne A, Zelt JG, Scribbans TD, Jung ME, Little JP, Gurd BJ (2012). Extremely low volume, whole-body aerobic-resistance training improves aerobic fitness and muscular endurance in females.. Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme. doi:10.1139/h2012-093 PMID 22994393
14. Lockie RG, Dawes JJ, Balfany K, Gonzales CE, Beitzel MM, Dulla JM, Orr RM (2018). Physical Fitness Characteristics That Relate to Work Sample Test Battery Performance in Law Enforcement Recruits.. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. doi:10.3390/ijerph15112477 PMID 30404195
15. Martinsson E, Pojskic H, Östenberg AH, Augustsson J (2026). Methods Used to Assess Physical Abilities in Police Students: A Scoping Review.. Sports (Basel). doi:10.3390/sports14080356 PMID 42646894
16. Bordoni B, Varacallo MA (2026). Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Iliopsoas Muscle.. StatPearls. PMID 30285403
17. Gray H; Lewis WH (editor) (1918). Anatomy of the Human Body. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia (20th edition). Link
18. Betts JG, Young KA, Wise JA, Johnson E, Poe B, Kruse DH, Korol O, Johnson JE, Womble M, DeSaix P (2022). Anatomy and Physiology 2e. OpenStax. Link
19. Escamilla RF, Lewis C, Pecson A, Imamura R, Andrews JR (2016). Muscle Activation Among Supine, Prone, and Side Position Exercises With and Without a Swiss Ball.. Sports Health. doi:10.1177/1941738116653931 PMID 27302152
20. Can EN, Harput G, Turgut E (2024). Shoulder and Scapular Muscle Activity During Low and High Plank Variations With Different Body-Weight-Bearing Statuses.. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000004622 PMID 37815235
21. Machado AF, Zovico PVC, Evangelista AL, Rica RL, Miranda JMQ, Alberton CL, Bullo V, Gobbo S, Bergamin M, Baker JS, Bocalini DS (2022). Psychophysiological Responses of Exercise Distribution During High Intensity Interval Training Using Whole Body Exercise.. Frontiers in physiology. doi:10.3389/fphys.2022.912890 PMID 36072848

Every source the library cites

Changes

• October 22, 2026 First published.