A while ago I filmed myself for one of my Workout of the Week videos doing some crawling movements. Specifically the Inch Worm, Bear Crawl, and Crab Walk. And while I know that crawling around on the floor isn't the coolest way to stay fit (although Chris Hemsworth makes it look pretty cool), it is a basic human movement that remains important long after we've successfully learned to walk.
Doing some work on all fours, including crawling exercises like these, can promote and maintain proper movement patterns, build new connections in the brain, protect us from injury and challenge our strength and stability. That's why I think getting down on the floor, to do some crawling exercises, is a great addition to anyone's exercise program.
Why crawling?
If you are skeptical about whether crawling can be a great form of strength and mobility exercise, you can simply check out a football practice because you are very likely to see professional football or rugby players crawling on the field during practice. They use this movement to help build lateral strength and the ability to transfer power from the lower body to the upper body.
You may also have seen soldiers crawling as part of their basic training. As they say, "Keeping low can keep you alive," and I couldn't agree more.
Fitness and rehab professionals have seen a big rise in the popularity of crawling movement patterns as well. Exercises involving rocking, squatting, rolling, and crawling are now being used regularly to help people out of their chronic pain.
Give crawling a try
For us adults, who spend all of our locomotion time on our two hind feet and our sedentary time in the “double 90-degree” chair position, we can use crawling to keep our body guessing and surprise it with new motions and new angles to make exercise interesting, fun and effective.
Try this:
- Get down on all fours
- Try to keep your bottom down and in line with your head
- ...
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