Core · Bodyweight
Spider Mountain Climber
How to do the spider mountain climber, 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
Start in a plank with your hands under your shoulders. Drive one knee up and out to the side toward the same-side elbow, then return it and switch legs in a steady rhythm. The wide knee path opens your hips and loads your obliques on every rep.
- 1Obliques and hip flexors driving each knee to the elbow
- 2Abs bracing to keep your hips level
- 3Shoulders stacked over your wrists holding the plank
Common mistakes
- Letting your hips sag or pike out of line
- Swinging your leg with momentum instead of control
- Rounding your shoulders or holding your breath
Muscles worked
The spider mountain climber mainly works the obliques and hip flexors, with the upper abs, lower abs, quads, glutes, hamstrings, front delts, and adductors assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Hip FlexorsPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- QuadsSupport
- GlutesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- TricepsMinor
- ForearmsMinor
- Mid ChestMinor
- CalvesMinor
Kovo programs the spider mountain climber 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 abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.