Cross-Body Mountain Climbers

How to do it

From a high plank, violently drive the right knee across the body to tap the left elbow, then switch.

The coaching cue

"Wring out the towel." Force a deep rotational twist in the torso on every single rep to maximize oblique engagement.

What changes inside an AMRAP

Because of the rotation, these are slightly slower than standard mountain climbers. Focus on the hard muscular contraction rather than pure foot speed.

Common mistakes

• Reaching the elbow down to the knee instead of driving the knee across.
• Skipping the rotation and driving the knee straight forward.

Workouts that use cross-body mountain climbers

• Cross-Current

  5 minute AMRAP — 20 Cross-Body Mountain Climbers, 10 Sprawls

• Constant Current

  10 minute AMRAP — 12 Sprawls, 24 Cross-Body Mountain Climbers

• The Cadence

  15 minute AMRAP — 10 Half-Burpees, 20 Air Squats, 30 Cross-Body Mountain Climbers

• Steady Draft

  15 minute AMRAP — 10 Half-Burpees, 12 T-Press Ups, 30 Cross-Body Mountain Climbers

Run one with your friends

Every workout above runs on a shared countdown — one clock for the whole crew, one leaderboard, wherever everyone is training.