Legs · Bodyweight
Mountain Climber Slide with Towel
How to do the mountain climber slide with towel, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- time
- Movement
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Get into a high plank with each foot on a small towel on a smooth floor and hands stacked under your shoulders. Slide one knee toward your chest, then slide it back as you pull the other knee in, mimicking a running motion. Keep alternating at a steady pace with your hips level.
- 1Feel your abs and hip flexors pull each knee in as the towel glides
- 2Keep your shoulders stacked over your wrists and your core braced to hold the plank
- 3Feel steady tension across your midsection as you control the slide both directions
Common mistakes
- Don't let your hips sag or pike up; hold a straight line from shoulders
- to heels
- Avoid throwing the legs with momentum; keep the slide controlled
- Don't round your shoulders or hold your breath
Muscles worked
The mountain climber slide with towel mainly works the hip flexors and lower abs, with the upper abs, obliques, quads, forearms, glutes, hamstrings, and front delts assisting.
- Hip FlexorsPrimary
- Lower AbsPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- QuadsSupport
- ForearmsSupport
- GlutesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- TricepsMinor
- Mid ChestMinor
- LatsMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
- CalvesMinor
- AdductorsMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the mountain climber slide with towel for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More hips & adductors exercises
- How to do the butterfly stretch
- How to do the external rotation
- How to do the cable hip adduction
- How to do the internal rotation
- How to do the cobra pose
- How to do the core scrunch
Last reviewed June 2026.