Why Crawling Should Be Part of Your Fitness Routine (+ Different Ways to Do It)
Spartans don’t switch things up for the sake of change. They do things differently with intention. That’s what this series is all about. In this Spartan Fit franchise, we’ll share ways to purposefully adjust or modify certain aspects of your training to optimize performance. Next up: crawling.
'One of Our Most Innate Functional Movement Patterns'
“Crawling is one of our most innate functional movement patterns,” says Spartan SGX L2 coach Laura Gill. But once we learn to walk and run, crawling is a skill many of us never think about again.
Here’s why you should work it back into your routine: Getting on all fours can improve overall strength, stability, and mobility. In particular, it trains the muscles and connective tissues of the shoulders, quadriceps, glutes, hip flexors, wrists, and ankles.
Related: Shoulder Power: 3 Workouts to Enhance Strength, Posture and Athleticism
And done right — maintaining a neutral spine, rigid torso, and stable core —crawling arguably hammers the abdominals more than any other muscle group. The core is all about transferring force and power between the lower and upper body, and can elevate your strength and stamina in any physically-demanding scenario.
“For Spartans specifically, being efficient at crawling comes into play when tackling race obstacles,” Gill says. For example, in the Barbed Wire Crawl, athletes have to move 100 to 200 feet under low-set barbed wire, making the Army crawl a popular option. Even when tackling the Olympus climbing wall and getting up and over other hills, Spartans are literally crawling at an incline, she explains.
Crawling Variations
To get reacquainted with crawling, try integrating these variations into your weekly routine.
Bear Crawl Balance
Do this if you’re a beginner or your form needs a cleanup.
The addition of a yoga block adds an external cue to help improve your form and torso stability, while also keeping you honest, Gill says.
Instructions: Get on your hands and knees, and engage your core to posteriorly tilt your pelvis and assume a tabletop position. Place a yoga block or another light item on top of your back. From here, hook your toes and raise your knees to hover above the ground. Using your opposite arm and leg at the same time, take a step forward, moving each limb only as far as you can reach without rocking. Then repeat on the opposite side. Keep the yoga block balanced on your back and your hips as low as possible, which will further increase core recruitment during the exercise.
Related: The At-Home Strength Band Workout for Your Arms
Circle Crawl
Do this if you want to improve rotational strength.
This crawl variation takes the bear crawl and adds a rotational element, increasing the demands on both your coordination and obliques.
Instructions: Get on your hands and knees and engage your core to posteriorly tilt your pelvis and assume a tabletop position. Hook your toes and raise your knees to hover above the ground. From here, step one hand and the opposite foot away from the midline of your body, then step the other hand and foot toward the midline. Repeat until you’ve performed one full circle, then repeat in the opposite direction. To ensure that you’re staying in a controlled circle, place an object on the floor under you and focus on keeping it in line with your navel at all times.
Lateral Plank Walk
Do this if you want to safeguard your hips.
A crawl-plank hybrid, this exercise hones in on the shoulders, core, and quads. It also works the oft-undertrained lateral movement pattern, strengthening the gluteus medius and minimus for improved hip stability and reduced risk of lower-body injury.
Instructions: Get in a low plank position and brace your core to maintain a strong, stationary torso. From here, step your right forearm and right foot a few inches to the right, and follow with your left forearm and foot. Continue stepping laterally to the right, then repeat toward the left. Work to not let your body tip from side to side as you move.
Army Crawl
Do this if your upper body needs extra work.
The pinnacle of crawling for upper-body strength, this crawling technique targets the chest, shoulders, and back. Proper technique also trains hip mobility in a big way.
Instructions: Lie stomach-down on the floor with your upper body propped up on your forearms, your hips opened as wide as possible, and your inner knees braced against the ground. From here, step one forearm forward, keeping it at a diagonal from your body. Simultaneously reach forward with the opposite knee. Pull through both your upper and lower body to drag your body forward, then repeat on the opposite side to continue moving forward.
Related: 10-Minute Strength Workouts
Hill Crawl
Do this if you want to build power.
Incline changes everything. In this case, it trains athletes to build more power through their lower body and improves both climbing and running efficiency.
Instructions: Set up at the base of a hill or incline, lower your hands and knees, and engage your core to posteriorly tilt your pelvis and assume a tabletop position. From here, hook your toes and raise your knees to hover above the ground. Using your opposite arm and leg at the same time, take a step forward. Then repeat on the opposite side. For added eccentric strength, reverse the crawl, moving backward down to the base of the hill.
Run Crawl
Do this if you want to put it all to the test.
Run like an animal and you’ll improve total-body plyometric strength and aerobic power. This one’s elite level.
Instructions: Get on your hands and feet with your knees bent and hips raised, so your body forms an upside-down V. Brace your core. From here, as quickly as possible, drive through one leg and the opposite arm to spring your body forward, then repeat on the opposite side to run forward on all fours. Focus on linking your strides, immediately exploding out of each foot strike. Here, the bulk of your power will come from your lower body, with your arms largely working to support your fast-moving weight.
