TRX Mountain Climber
The TRX mountain climber is a core and conditioning exercise: with your feet in the straps and your hands on the floor in a high plank, you drive your knees towards your chest one at a time. It works the abs, hip flexors and shoulders, and the swinging straps make the plank harder to hold.
Also called: Suspension Mountain Climber, Suspended Mountain Climber, TRX Suspension Mountain Climbers, Suspension Trainer Mountain Climber · Equipment: suspension · Pattern: compound
Step by step
- Set the foot cradles at about mid-calf height. Face away from the anchor, kneel and place one foot then the other into the cradles.
- Place your hands on the floor under your shoulders and lift into a high plank, with your body in one straight line and your feet level.
- Brace your trunk so your hips stay level with your shoulders.
- Drive one knee towards your chest, keeping the other leg straight and still in its strap.
- Push that leg back to the plank and immediately drive the other knee in.
- Keep alternating at a steady pace, breathing out on each drive.
- After the last rep, bring both knees down to the floor before taking your feet out of the cradles.
- Hips level with your shoulders
- Hands under your shoulders
- Knee to chest, then straight back
- Keep the straps level
- Breathe out on each drive
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Rectus abdominis | Prime mover | C |
| Hip flexors | Prime mover | C |
| Obliques (internal/external) | Secondary | C |
| Quadriceps: rectus femoris | Secondary | D |
| Anterior deltoid | Stabiliser | D |
| Serratus anterior | Stabiliser | D |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Hips sagging
Fix: Squeeze your glutes and keep your hips level with your shoulders.
Hips piking up
Fix: Bring your hips down until your body is one line from head to heels.
Straps swinging sideways
Fix: Slow down and drive each knee straight towards your chest.
Shoulders drifting behind the hands
Fix: Keep your shoulders stacked over your hands.
Going faster than you can control
Fix: Slow the pace until every drive is smooth.
What the research says
Endurance · first choiceFat loss & conditioning · first choiceGeneral fitnessSport performance
- Muscle activity — An EMG study of suspension core exercises found moderate abdominal activity in the suspension knee-tuck, the two-legged version of this drive. The alternating mountain climber has not been measured, and EMG measures activity, not growth.
- Conditioning — A short bodyweight interval protocol that included mountain climbers improved aerobic fitness and muscular endurance over four weeks.
- Timing — A common approach is timed sets of 20 to 40 seconds in circuits or intervals. There is no research on the best work period for this exercise.
- Progression — Many programmes build a steady suspended plank before adding knee drives. There is no research comparing progressions.
Swap it mid-workout
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the trx mountain climber in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.