Movement20XX

3 Best Crawling Exercises for Every Fitness Level

Motion

Crawling exercises can be rehabilitative, restorative or performance-enhancing, which is pretty cool.  

I say again, crawling on the floor, without any equipment, like a baby, can serve to heal and make you stronger.  

Wild.  

Crawling exercises deliver a plethora of benefits, including:

  • Improving reflexive strength
  • Brain stimulation (activate and stimulate)
  • Integrating: 
    • Vestibular system (balance system)
    • Proprioceptive system (self awareness in space system)
    • Visual system 
  • Connects shoulders and hips using contra-lateral movement (opposite limb movement)
  • Central nervous system reset (lower stress, recovery, etc)
  • Great carry over to real world tasks
  • Interesting, fun, challenging, a breath of fresh air

Obviously, I’m a fan of crawling during workouts and I think you’ll find a ton of value in it too.  

Plus, it’s interesting, fun, challenging.  

Bear Walk, Forward/Backward Crawl, Lizard Crawl

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This article was created to share 3 of the best crawling exercises for any fitness level:

1) Bear Walk

2) Forward/Backward Crawl

3) Lizard Crawl 

As you scroll through each of these exercises, take notice of the change in body position during each exercise.   

In particular, the shoulders/chest/hips in relation to the floor.

Body position changes a lot with these exercises. 

Bear Walk

The Bear Walk is a sem-inverted position that will challenge hand and foot coordination, hip flexibility, and shoulder strength. 

During the Bear Walk, your body is working to control twisting and bending forces from your arms and legs.  

Practiced regularly, bear walks can improve rotator cuff, scapular and spinal strength, along with positively impacting hamstring and calf flexibility.

Notice, this variation of the Bear Walk involves keeping the hips high and the arm/knees straight.  

Wait, why is this referred to as a “walk” and not a “crawl”.  

No clue.  

Exercise names can be confusing.  

If I were to name it, I’d call it “Downward Walking Dog”.  

From a difficulty standpoint, Bear Walks are the most forgiving exercise to learn on this list.

Forward/Backward Crawl

Forward and backward crawling is awesome for challenging the arms/shoulders, core and hips.  

This crawling variation is excellent for improving reflexive strength.

My self-coaching cues for this exercise are simple… keep the spine parallel to the floor, avoid excessive movement through the torso while moving, quiet hand/foot contacts.

Another great cue is to “Imagine balancing a glass of water on your back. Don’t spill a drop”.

Better yet, place a shoe or a yoga block on your backside and balance that sucker for the duration of the crawl. That’ll keep you honest.

Or a wood dowel if you’re looking for insane honesty with this crawl.

As with any crawling pattern, move slow for greater benefit. 

Slow movement requires more fine motor skill and the time under tension will creep up on you.  

Animal Flow 2.0 refers to this pattern as “Beast”, and is where I first learned my technique cues.

Lizard Crawl

The lizard crawl is a low-to-ground locomotion pattern that seriously challenge scapular mobility and stabilization, core control and hip mobility.  

Lizard Crawl is a SUPER challenging patterns for the muscles. It takes your breath away when you’re first adapting to the demands.

Notice the how low my shoulders, torso and hips stay in relation to the ground.  

I’m hovering 1-2 inches above the floor as I move forward.  

Staying low makes this exercise extremely demanding for the muscles since you’re in a disadvantaged position. 

First timers to lizard crawling will feel this in the days after.  You’ll be sore. 

This pattern is more similar to true resistance training compared to the Bear Walk and Forward/Backward Crawl described above.  

Over the years I’ve substituted the lizard crawl in place of push-ups and other pressing exercises in workouts.

12 to 15 feet is all you will need to get a great stimulus.  Practice each work set with focus, soft hand and foot contacts, moving the limbs with control.  

Be sure to rest plenty in between effort, as this crawling pattern is more like resistance training.

Movement20XX (Vahva Fitness) does an excellent job describing lead-in exercises to the Bear Walk and the Lizard Crawl, leading up to mastery.  The progressive design of Movement20XX program was a real draw for me.  

“How to organize crawling in workouts?”

You cannot screw this up. Seriously. There is no right or wrong way to practice crawling in a workout.

If you’re a beginner, I would suggest practicing each of these crawling patterns while you are fresh.

Either as part of the warm-up or just after the warm-up, but get your crawling in before any resistance training or higher intensity exercise.

Practicing new exercises is best done FRESH, not fatigued.  You can test yourself while under fatigue down the road.  

Once you’re at the intermediate or advanced stage, you can get a little bit more creative with where you place crawling exercises in the workout.  

Personally, I like to use crawling as an element of movement sequences, long duration movement flow, or as part of a conditioning circuit. 

Try this simple combination:

Because crawling is bodyweight-based, it pairs up extremely well with equipment such as kettlebells and barbell work.

Crawling for Time or Distance

Each of these crawls can be performed for a set distance or time. 

I’ve tried both options, and they both work really well.

For distance, 15-20 feet of slow tempo, technique focused crawling is plenty for a beginner.  

I’m talking about a single set of 15-20 feet, then taking rest.  Usually, rest periods should last 1.5-2x the time spent crawling.  

Personally, I like to set a timer and crawl until it sounds.  This way I can stay focused on my movement, instead of speculating how far I’ve crawled.  

For a beginner, 3-5 sets of 30-40 seconds of continuous crawling is enough time to elicit a great training effect.

Intermediate/advanced trainees will likely need to increase the time and play around with slowing down the tempo, toying with other variations, etc.

Crawl for 5 minutes straight. 🤷‍♂️

New to ground based movement exercises?

Start adding ground based movements to your workouts, immediately.  

Don’t wait.  

Most folks simply aren’t used to doing movements like these on a regular basis. 

In fact, crawling and other ground-based movements are a rarity in most workout routines.

To improve your coordination, mechanics and skill with anyone of these crawling patterns, it’s often a matter of practice and consistency.

Benefits of Crawling for Adults

Motion

You found this article because you’re curious about the benefits of crawling.

Good for you!… because crawling (and ground-based movement in general) is one of the most underutilized methods in fitness. And abused.

Abused? Huh? Yes, abused.

Lots of fitness professionals are infatuated with high-intensity approaches to EVERYTHING.

Rushing bear crawls for time has its place, but it lacks the true benefits earned from slowing down a crawl pattern to build movement coordination and build skill.

Crawling is not just for babies. Adults can get pretty significant benefits from practicing crawling patterns on a regular basis.

How to progress crawling patterns beyond the basics is lesser-known, and can completely change your outlook on the activity.

I’ll talk a little more about moving beyond the basics of this article further down.  

Notable benefits of crawling for adults:

  • Neural system development (brain-body connection to be able to do more stuff)
  • Improvement in coordination, learning, and behavior
  • Strengthen the shoulder complex
  • Increase proprioceptive feedback, hand strength, and dexterity
  • Core developer
  • Mobility training for the joints like hips and shoulders
  • Excellent transfer from the gym into real-world tasks and activities

A large majority of adults de-evolve with age. 

This is a sad reality.

When we are young, we move frequently. Somewhere along the way, usually, after college ends and careers start, daily movement nose dives.

Non-exercise activity drops, which is concerning because of the undeniable data being published related to daily step count and the relationship to all-cause mortality.

Movement, and our ability to move well, is a use it or lose it situation.  Wolff’s Law at it’s finest. Either keep moving or the ability to move gradually declines.  

So, before you listen to that fitness pro barking out orders to plow through a 60-minute high-intensity crawling workout, please consider taking a more sensible approach.  

Haven’t worked out consistently for a while? Guess what… biologically you’re different now.

Work back into slow, in manageable doses, with adequate rest and recovery separating work sets and workouts throughout the week.

Now, the positive news is that you can get back into fitness, movement, and more specific to this article, CRAWLING, right now. 

Below are some AMAZING introductory drills that’ll reveal how challenging bodyweight, the floor, and a few positional shifts can be.  

[FYI:  Consistency with physical practice is HUGE, one of the deciding factors if you achieve goals.  Not just with exercise, but with anything.  You must continue to practice these exercises to earn the benefits.  Fitness is not an instant gratification game… it’s the opposite.  People who continually show up and put in the work, get the reward. Play the LONG GAME]

If you’re already an avid lifter or engaged in some form of exercise most days of the week, great!  You’ll get plenty of benefit from these drills, and likely find them to be challenging beyond what you anticipated.

Here. We. Go.

Clear a small space.  You don’t need much.  A 6ft x 6ft space free of furniture and other obstructions will work.   

Crawling in small spaces gets the green light from me. You can get a ton of work done inside of an imperfect space.

Reach your arms out, spin around one time. Did you touch anything? No? You’re good… let’s get to work.

Start with Non-Moving Holds

Non-moving, or static, variations are a logical place to acclimate to the demands of crawling.  

The purpose of these drills is to get a feel for what a good body position feels like.  Take a mental note of what you’re feeling in the arms, shoulders, chest, core, and lower body.  Be in the moment, not somewhere else.  

Pro-tip:  Once you’ve locked in body position, imagine balancing a glass of water on your back.  Don’t spill a drop.  Or, place a shoe or other small object on your back for immediate feedback.  

Remain still, stable, and avoid jostling as much as possible!

To start, practice holding these two positions for 3 sets of 30-40 seconds:

Limit the Base of Support from 4-Points to 3-Points

Ok, now, let’s play around with the impact of limiting the base of support does to these exercises.  

Perform 3 sets of 8 shoulder taps (each arm):

During each shoulder tap, your body is doing it’s best to react and re-stabilize itself given the change of floor contacts.  The loaded arm takes on the weight of the upper body, working overdrive.  

Contralateral Lift Offs

Next, let’s play around with limiting the base of support from 3-points, down to 2-points of contact.  

This next series of drills are TOUGH.  

You’re going to lift the opposite arm and leg AT THE SAME TIME and hold that position for 10-15 seconds:

If you want, speed up the tempo.  Pause and hold the 2-point position for 2-3 seconds before moving to the other side.  Keep alternating for time (60 seconds) or for reps (12-15 reps).

Crawl

Set a timer and work each crawling pattern for 3 sets of 30-60 seconds PER EXERCISE.

Move slow, focused, and with control.  

Keep your mind’s eye on body position and make hand/foot contacts quiet.  Soft and quiet floor interactions are closely associated with control. 

Crawling has been an important part of my workouts for a long time.  It’s become an essential component of my warm-ups, workouts, and conditioning circuits.  

If you find any of the drills above to be overwhelming, you’re not alone.  To be honest, even short duration basic variations like the forward/backward crawl was soul-crushing for me in the beginning. 

Anything new generally is.  Your body doesn’t know how to be efficient yet.  Soreness will likely follow in the days ahead.

But, adaptation is a beautiful thing.  I made gradual progress from non-moving variations, to a limited base of support hold and into basic crawling patterns and beyond.  

Today, I’ll engage in more aggressive crawl workouts that last anywhere from 5, 10, 15 minutes without breaks.  But that didn’t happen overnight.  

What’s cool about crawling is that it can be progressed far beyond the basics described in this article.  

The lizard crawl is a prime example of an advanced, low position crawling pattern that’ll put your strength to the test.  A 15-foot lizard crawl can feel like 50 feet.  

Leveraging the principle of progressive loading and add weight to crawling exercises to further challenge your strength and coordination.  Again, this doesn’t happen overnight, but it’ll give you a glimpse into where you can take this stuff. 

Sometimes my workouts are purely ground-based movement sessions jam-packed with crawling and other unique movements. 

Benefits and results?  

Here’s what I get out of crawling work.  

1.  Skill transfer.  Transitioning from a standing position or walking to the floor is second nature now.  I don’t blink. The transition work is seamless. It’s amazing how often I use crawling in real-world situations with my kids, to complete a task or while in the woods hunting.  

2.  Lean muscle.  Nutrition is king for body composition, but the added time under tension crawling definitely added some muscle and definition to my frame.  I don’t chase aesthetics, but it’s a nice added bonus.  

3.  Gains in other lifts.  Pushing, squatting, deadlift, etc… all felt more organized.  Weight increased, volume increased (reps/sets per workout) and progress was made.  

4.  Fun.  If you’re stuck in a workout rut, it’s time to inject something different into the mix.  Doing the same thing over and over will drive you insane, and can fizzle out your interest in exercise.  Mix in some crawling, it’s both challenging and refreshing.  

Crawling is only the tip of the iceberg. There’s SO MUCH more to explore inside of the ground-based movement category.

Ground-based training is a fantastic supplement to traditional resistance training and mobility work.  

Want to go further down the rabbit hole?

If you want to dive into more ground-based work, I don’t blame you and quite frankly I highly recommend you continue to learn about this stuff.

Check out Animal Flow or Movement20XX.

These are the premier ground-based movement training systems. Both are comprehensive platforms with subtle differences in approach.

Animal Flow integrates different training methodologies: gymnastics, break dancing, Yoga, calisthenics, Capoeria, and various crawling and locomotion variations into movement sequences and flow.

Movement 20XX you to use this article as a stepping to investigate comprehensive training programs like Animal Flow and Vahva Fitness Movement20XX.

I’ve shared these programs with thousands of people and the feedback has been tremendous.

Which program is the best? Tough question to answer, both are great.

Lately, I’ve been guiding people to Movement20XX. Movement20XX creator, Eero Westerberg, shares a similar approach to training as me. Naturally, my compass points toward the Movement20XX curriculum.

At the end of the day, both programs deliver amazing content that’s clearly articulated. Skill level doesn’t matter.

Beginners will get the coaching they need, and so will advanced movers who are seeking mastery and next-level gains.

Movement Flow| Cossack Squats, Kick Throughs and Static Beast

Motion, Movement Flow

Flow training challenges movement capacity and ownership and are a great addition to any workout.

Organizing 2-5 different movements into a sequence gives you a chance to focus on smooth transitions, soft ground contacts and stability throughout the effort.

Flow sequences can be up-tempo, or slow and controlled.

Slow and controlled flow training can be humbling for any fitness level, beginner to advanced.

Today’s movement flow includes Cossack Squats, Kick Throughs and Static Beast. Each exercise is great in it’s own right.

The Cossack Squat is a unique squat variation. It’s a strength and hip mobility builder.

How to Perform this Flow

Lower your butt to the floor using a Cossack Squat.

What’s a Cossack Squat?

Bottoming out on the Cossack Squat (whatever depth that may be) find the floor with the same side hand.

Raise the extended leg, pulling it underneath your body as you turn into static beast.

Hold Static Beast for 5 seconds. Stay tight.

Release out of Static Beast, reversing the flow.

Slide the hovering leg through and out the other side where you’ll REACH and point the toes.

Extend the foot out as far as possible re the free arm pulls back in the opposite direction.

This picture should give context to the technique.

The Kick Through will be felt in the quads, hip flexors, core, up and out the opposite side shoulder.

Pulling back with the arm should resemble the draw of a bow, where the hand stops behind the ear.

Freeze the Kick Through posture and hold. This will be tough.

Re-initiate the Cossack Squat, sliding through the middle and repeating the sequence.

Quiet and Smooth Transitions

In a flow sequence, working toward quiet ground contacts and smooth transitions between exercises is the name of the game.

Quiet interactions with the floor is a good indicator of control over the movements.

With practice, ground contacts become softer as your body adapts to the demands of the movements.

Transitions are present in every day life.

We’re constantly moving from one posture, position or activity to the next.

One minute you’re lifting a heavy, awkward shaped object. The next minute you’re crawling underneath a table to play with your kids.

Static and dynamic movements show up every single day, and the in-between transitions are often overlooked.

Flow workouts are great for improving movement capacity.

conditioning the body to navigate various transitional moments, and move with greater confidence.

Where does Flow Training Fit in a Workout?

Using movement flows in pre-workout warm-ups is a great way to prime the body (and mind) before more aggressive training.

You can practice a flow for 4-5 minutes before lifting weights or performing cardio.

Flow + Resistance Training

Combining tried and true resistance training with movement flow is an effective way to maximize productivity in the gym.

1a) Chin-Up

1b) Squat

1c) Flow Sequence (give this one a try)

Perform the exercises from top to bottom for a target number of sets.

This structure leverages non-competing exercises. Using non-competing exercises, you can move from one exercise to the next relatively quickly because different muscle groups are used for each movement. Chin-ups are an upper body effort, while squats are a lower body effort. The flow might challenge the upper and lower body, but not at an intensity that would take away from the chin-up or squat.

Non-competing exercises organized into a tri-set allows for shorter rest periods, keeping the workout moving along.

People get fixated on lifting weights, adding weight to the bar, numbers, etc.

Put these people on the floor and ask them to execute the flow sequence shared today, and they look like stiff robots.

Flow work is a perfect addition to a resistance training program.

It gives you a chance to put those gains into practice with free flowing bodyweight movements.

Flow Sequences in Circuits

Mixing and matching flow sequences with resistance exercises, ballistic movements like kettlebell swings and a little core work is a great way to create a total body movement session.

1a) Kettlebell Swings x10

2a) Kettlebell Overhead Press x5 each arm

3a) Kettlebell Bent Over Row x8 each arm

4a) Hollow Body Rocks (core)

5a) Flow Sequence

Work through 1a-5a, rest for 45-60 seconds after the flow sequence. Perform 3-5 rounds.

Total body workout in less than 20 minutes.

Circuit training like this is are great for fat loss and performance.

Integration = Best Fitness and Health Results

It’s not any ONE thing that catapults health, performance and aesthetics.

You’ve got to pay a attention to all of the moving parts that contribute equally to a pain-free, athletic, lean and muscular body.

What are those moving parts?

  • Mobility Training
  • Resistance Exercise
  • Cardio
  • Ground-Based Movement (flow, etc)
  • NEAT (non-exercise activity, like walking)

Most people would be extremely happy with their results by organizing a workout regimen to include a steady mix of:

By including each element, you’re improving joint function and tissue health, performance, building strength and useful lean muscle, movement capacity in unique positions, and overall health.

Your body will have the look you want, free of ache and pains, and the movement performance.

If you’re ready to take your workouts to the next level with quality movement training, this is the program

Beginner Flow Training: 5 Challenging Bodyweight Exercise Combinations

Motion

Natural movement flow is a key training element missing from most people’s fitness regimens.

Including movement combinations, ground-based exercises and sequences bridge the gap between linear resistance training and natural movement.

Practicing exercises in isolation essential for developing performance.  

What is isolation?  

Deadlifts, front squats, push-ups and pulling without the addition of any add-on exercises, using a work-then-rest format, is isolation.  

You’re isolating an exercise and performing it for a set number of sets, reps and rest.

In a separate blog post, I dove deeper into Ido Portal’s general training template, which included an overview of his methods following this approach:

Isolation 👉 Integration 👉 Improvisation

Walk into any gym, and you’re likely going to see people exercising in isolation.  

Perform a set of deadlifts, rest, check Instagram, a sip of water, then back to the next set of deadlifts.

This is the isolation phase of movement training.

Movement Flow

If you’re looking to add a fresh challenge to your workouts, combining exercises together to create movement flow sequences is a great way to do that. 

Several years ago, I started mixing and matching traditional movement patterns and non-traditional exercises together to create 2 or 3 exercise flow sequences.

Here’s an example:


Gym workouts and real-world movement can be very different experiences.  

While I value pursuing a mechanically perfect squat, do I ever stop to align my feet before squatting in a real-world scenario?

NEVER.

The modified squat I’m using in a real-world situation is often combined with 1 or 2 other movements.  

Squat down, lunge up, twist and carry.  

It’s rarely every just a perfect bodyweight squat in the real-world.

One goal of controlled environment training (aka gym workouts) is maximum transferability.

We lift and conditioning with the idea that it will enhance the physical moments (daily tasks, sports, and recreation, health, etc) help us improve the functionality of our body.

Yet, natural bodyweight movement is completely absent from most workout templates.

Crawling, climbing, rolling, navigating changing levels (laying to standing, fall training, etc), rotation or fusing exercises together in a pre-planned movement sequence or improvised movement work where you don’t know what’s coming next.

Practicing how to transition efficiently and effectively between two different body positions or patterns just makes sense to me.

Benefits of Movement Flow Training

👉  Improve movement IQ (confidence, dissipating fear of unexplored positions and tasks).

👉  Coordination and skill-building.

👉  Improving spatial awareness and how to transition between movements.

👉 Strength at more angles and positions.

👉  Injury mitigation via conditioning tissues to handle stress.

👉 Improve mind-body connection 

👉  Control over one’s bodyweight. 

👉  Fun, refreshing, never boring. 

Movement flow is very challenging for the mind, which to me, is one of the greatest benefits of flow work.

While you’re learning a flow, you really have to think it through to execute it properly and avoid getting twisted up, trips and falls.

“Ok, so my hand goes here, foot over the top, create tension, then relax, drop down, etc…”

The elevated thinking involved with a lot of ground-based movements is a major benefit.

Plus, introducing flow training is refreshing and fun. 

Hours in the gym working the same exercises, chasing the numbers (weight increases, more reps, more sets, faster finishing times) can get quite bland. 

Remaining excited every to move every single day is best for the long-term.   

5 Bodyweight Movement Combinations

#1  Parallette Bar Pass Through to L-Sit

Parallette Bars are inexpensive to buy and easy to build from PVC pipes.

Start in a push-up position, passing the legs through the middle of the parallettes right into an L-Sit.  

If an L-Sit is too aggressive, transition into a tuck position instead.

Hold the L-Sit for a 2-3 second count, then reverse the motion back to the start position. 

Perform 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps.

No parallettes?  

Chairs, stools or yoga blocks a good equipment substitutes.      

#2  High Bridge Rotation to Lizard Crawl

A reasonable looking back bridge used to be impossible for me.  My body was stiff as a board and incapable of arching through the spine. My shoulders lacked mobility, etc.  

Using dedicated joint mobility drills really accelerated the process, expanding the positions I was able to get into and out of, but bulletproofing my joints as well. 

MyDailyMobility is my recommendation for mobility conditioning. 

Today, I practice some variation of back bridging in nearly every workout, either as maintenance or to make progress.  

High Bridge Rotations require an adequate amount of spinal extension, shoulder mobility, stability and strength, which is why I recommend adopting a mobility program to accelerate the process.  

From an exercise progress perspective, practicing basic back bridges is the starting point.  

Adding in the rotation will come after.  

Transitioning out of the high bridge rotation can be a dizzying experience.  Refocus your vision, lower down and crawl lizard-style. 

The lizard crawl is an amazing strength and conditioning exercise.  

Here is a variation better suited for beginners: 

–  Alligator Crawl

–  Hand Slide Lizard Crawl 

–  Elbow Crawl

#3 Burpee Sprawl – Push Up – Squat – L Sit

Perform a push-up, hop forward into a deep squat position, place the hands on the floor slightly behind the butt cheeks as the legs extend and LIGHTLY tap the floor with the heels. 

Reverse the flow.  

Keep the sprawl motion soft and graceful. 

#4  Lunge to Pistol Squat Flow

Lower body training is essential for health and performance. 

Our legs need to be strong and well-conditioned, but also mobile and capable of expressing strength and stability throughout a large range of motion.

Especially the hips.  Hip mobility training has been a game-changer for me.

This combination connects two movement patterns:  lunges and squats.  

During the transition from front to back, do your best to avoid making contact with the floor.

This is one combination probably best executed for reps. 

3-5 sets of 6-10 reps per side will work. 

#5  Lizard Crawl + Low Scorpion 

This lizard crawl + low scorpion combination is a unique, high-value movement combination. 

There’s no beginning or end with this sequence, which makes it a great bodyweight-based cardio alternative.

This flow is relatively compact, making it perfect for a small home gym or other imperfect training spaces.  

Practice this sequence for repetitions or time. 

I like to set a timer and go.  Not having to keep track of reps allows me to focus on what my body is doing.  

Time-wise, I’ve used this flow for 5+ minutes continuous and it’s a challenge every time.

MOVEMENT20XX 

Fusing movements together to create flows is a great addition to traditional lifting and cardio, and is sure to bring a refreshing challenge into workouts. 

If you want to learn more about movement flow training, I highly recommend checking out the MOVEMENT20XX program from Vahva Fitness.

MOVEMENT20XX is one of the best movement-based products I’ve come across.  

Eero Westerberg did a brilliant job organizing and communicating the techniques of each exercise, how to create flows and leverage this method of training to build a high functioning body.

 

Related Blog Posts

✅ Basics of Movement 20XX| The A-B-C’s of Crawling Exercises

✅ 14 Exercise Total Body Warm-Up Routine

✅ A Giant List of Effective Core Exercises| Part 1

Benefits of the Crab Reach Exercise

Motion

The Crab Reach is a great bodyweight exercise with a whole bunch of options of use before, during and after a workout.  

For a simple bodyweight move, this exercise offers a lot of benefits. 

Benefits of the Crab Reach

  • Posterior chain activation and hip extension
  • Active Thoracic Mobility
  • Anterior body stretch (hip flexors, quads, torso)
  • Shoulder stability/endurance emphasis in loaded shoulder
  • Trunk rotation
  • Right and Left Side 
  • Low-impact

Combat Sitting 

The Crab Reach is a great exercise to battle/off-set the negative effect of long duration sitting. 

It’s not “the cure”, the only tool or the “best” tool, but it’s a good one to implement on a regular basis.   

Reversing aches and pains caused by primarily long duration sitting requires dedication, discipline, and volume.  There is no quick fix.  

A quick hip flexor stretch, thoracic mobilization, and glute bridge are not going to cancel out 8+ hours of sitting in the same turtle-like, wound up position.  

Body restoration takes time, effort, consistency and volume.  Lots of repetitions, likely lots of time and an aggressive mindset.  Assuming you’re doing everything right, expect improvements over time.

Most people slump like a turtle while sitting.  Sitting like a slouchy turtle for 8-10 hours per day, 5 days per week isn’t good for our bodies.

We become the positions we use most.  

Fill in Gaps with Movement Training

Strength and conditioning built from traditional resistance training can benefit greatly from practicing multi-planar movements like the crab reach.   

Deadlifts are great.  Chin-ups are great.  Rows, push-ups and rotational core training are all great.

These are fundamental movements to build a strong body.  

But there are movement gaps leftover from each of these exercises.  

Once you’re on the floor crawling, transitioning between locomotion exercises, you find out pretty quick there’s a difference between squatting up and down with lots of weight on the bar and moving gracefully through space.  

It’s humbling. 

Exploring bodyweight oriented movement is a key piece of the fitness puzzle that will improve your movement IQ and create a well-functioning body.  

What’s a well-functioning body?

Strong (proportionate to what a person needs to thrive in daily life), mobile, confident in many different postures/positions/patterns, conditioned, free of aches and pains. 

Ground-based conditioning is a great way to backfill any gaps resistance training is not designed to address.  

Free-flowing, multi-planar fitness. 

Practicing postures and movement patterns less common to daily life. 

Improving strength, mobility and stability in uncommon movements make everyday exercises feel easy. 

Rotation

Looking at the average person’s exercise favorites, it’s usually a shortlist made up of linear resistance training and a sprinkling of cardio. 

Break out of the linear matrix. 

Every repetition of Crab Reach moves the body through a multi-planar, active range of motion.  

Through the range of motion, the body will extend and rotate.  

The twist is visible from the hip flexor, moving diagonally through the mid-section to the loaded shoulder.  

How to Use Crab Reach in Workouts

Ground-based bodyweight movement is extremely versatile.   

Keeping it simple, here are a few different options to integrate the crab reach into daily fitness:

  •  In the warm-up
  •  Filler exercise during a lifting session
  •  As part of a flow sequence

Crab Reach can be practiced in isolation or as a combination. 

I recommend practicing new movements in isolation to increase focus on technique. 

Practicing an exercise in isolation is better to understand the mechanics and demands is best. 

Isolating the exercise will give you the opportunity to focus on the mechanics of the movement and spatial awareness.

Warming Up with the Crab Reach

Movement flow exercises are perfect for pre-workout warm-ups. 

These movements are generally dynamic, full range of motion exercises that require movement into and out unique body positions, angles and tempo.  

Crab reach can serve as a valuable movement prep before exercises like deadlifts or kettlebell swings.

Crab Reach as Part of the Workout


Positioning the Crab Reach as part of a Tri-Set is a great way to isolate and practice the exercise while staying active/productive during a strength training session. 

Here’s an example a simple Tri-Set:

Exercise A) Front Squats

Exercise B) Chin-Ups

Exercise C)  Crab Reach

Crab Reach acts as a non-competing exercise with the front squats and chin-ups. 

Flow Training

Crab Reach can be used to create a simple bodyweight flow.

Start with two exercises separated by a switch to keep it simple.  Here’s an example:

The video above is an example of a simple movement sequence.

For an added challenge, increase the number of exercises in the sequence to 4, 5, 6 and beyond. 

Adding more exercises to create longer flows is great for the mind-body connection. 

The ultimate goal of movement training is improvisation, which is essentially moving without a plan.

Improvisational movement is an idea I plucked from Ido Portal’s movement hierarchy, which looks like this:

Isolation —> Integration —>  Improvisation

Read more about Ido Portal Method here.

Reps/Sets/Time 

In the beginning, keep the reps low.  

6-8 reps per side is a good place to start.

Focus on a slow and controlled tempo through the fullest range of motion you can make happen.

After you are feeling good about the mechanics, increase the volume. 

Don’t be shy about bumping up the reps to 15-20 reps per side.  Setting a timer can be a nice option.  

Not interested in counting reps?  

Set a timer and go.  Alternating right and lefts for 2-5 minute timed sets can free’s you up from having to count reps. 

Summary…

  • Bodyweight ground-based movements are effective for building strength, mobility, endurance, and movement IQ
  • Crab Reach is a versatile exercise that can be performed anywhere and anytime.  
  • Benefits of the Crab Reach include posterior chain activation, anterior body lengthening, thoracic mobility, body awareness in space.
  • The Crab Reach is great to include in warm-ups, during the workout or as flow training.  
  • The Crab Reach is an effective exercise to help mitigate aches/pains from sitting, restore function.

Want to Go Deeper? Check This Out…  

Vahva Fitness has created a fully streamable bodyweight-based movement program called Movement20XX.

The movement curriculum in Movement20XX is progressive, challenging, and scalable for beginners, intermediates and all the way up to people seeking movement mastery.   

Movement training is easily scaled to suit each person’s skill level.

Movement20XX is one of a small number of hand-picked online fitness programs I support.