Remember the time when you could goof off all day and eat as much candy as you wanted without any consequences? Remember when the shark in Jaws looked real, and you didn’t have that darn pain in your lower back? Time travel is impossible, but acting like a child definitely isn’t. Recently, personal trainers and fitness gurus have been getting their clients to crawl around like babies, and for a good reason. Crawling exercises are a great way to retrain coordination and activate the muscles you’re probably not using correctly as a grown up. Read on to find out exactly why crawling exercises are so popular, the benefits they provide and three easy exercises you can try at home.
How Crawling Exercises Can Help You
Generally, people who’ve developed lower back pain from sitting too long have a decreased efficiency in muscular activation and usually also have not so great posture.
Adding Crawling Exercises Into Your Workout Will Help You Retrain:
- Shoulder Stability
- Core Stability
- Hip Mobility
- Pelvic Stability
Another benefit of crawling exercises is that they take a lot of pressure away from your spine and legs by distributing your weight into your hands as well as your feet. This can give the discs in your back a break while you improve your body on the floor.
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3 Crawling Exercises You Definitely Need to Try
There are a few concepts you need to be aware before you hit the deck, to be sure you’re developing your muscles and not doing yourself more damage through poor form.
Crawling Guidelines:
- Always keep a nice natural straightness in your spine by bracing your abs
- Roll your shoulders back and down, pinching them together to set them in a stable position
- Make sure you’re able to breathe comfortably and avoid holding your breath
- Try to limit any unnecessary rotations in your pelvis, especially during the bear crawl exercise
1) Bird Dog
This exercise is great for beginner crawlers because it focuses on the coordination of opposite limbs and also on maintaining stability in the core. Make sure you can perform this exercise while breathing comfortably and without twisting in the upper or lower back before moving on.
Bear Crawl. Photo// HIIT Playbook
2) Bear Crawl
The bear crawl is an intermediate crawling exercise that involves – you guessed it – crawling!
Try not to take big steps where your knee passes the line of your elbow during this exercise, as it will cause your pelvis and lower back to twist.
3) Spiderman Crawl
The Spiderman crawl is a more advanced crawling exercise and, because it involves stretching the hip flexors, you will need to have a slight twist at the pelvis as you transition between steps. It is important that you go slowly to start and brace your core to avoid any overt twisting.
