Army Crawl

What is an Army Crawl?

The Army Crawl is a challenging but easily accessible exercise that requires no special equipment. The exercise is most popular in strength training and bootcamp classes, but it’s an exercise you can practice in your own home. The movement of the army crawl is very simple, but it engages your entire body and focuses on strengthening the core and arm muscles.

How do you do an Army Crawl?

  • Step 1

    Begin in a plank position low on your forearms, with your elbows on the mat and hands in loose fists. Keep your body in a straight line and your core engaged.

  • Step 2

    Lift up one arm and move it forward, keeping the body in a steady plank position that stays low to the ground.

  • Step 3

    Your opposite leg will drag behind you as you move your other arm forward. This is the motion that will propel your body forward as you keep your core tight. Focus on relying solely on your upper body to pull you through the crawl as you repeat the movement.

How do you modify an Army Crawl?

  • Army Crawl for Beginners

What are the benefits of an Army Crawl?

  • Core Strength

  • Arm Strength

  • Full-body Strength

Expert opinion

This is a great example of making an exercise harder without putting a client at risk.

You can increase the difficulty of an army crawl by ensuring that nothing in the body is moving except the upper limbs. This is extremely difficult for most people to master. Beyond that, increasing the distance covered can make the exercise more challenging.

Virginia Kinkel,BodyMass Gym in Washington, D.C.

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