Why run when you can crawl?
Why run, when you can crawl your way to fitness?
This new exercise trend, promoted by training system Original Fitness, has people getting back to the fundamentals by promoting exercise down on the floor in order to regain strength, mobility and stability.
Clodualdo Martinez, a trainer at Advocate Condell Centre Club in Gurnee, Ill. says the new fad is more than just hype, and agrees there are many benefits.
“Crawling is a high intensity exercise that can be performed by many people who have the ability to maintain proper body alignment while performing the crawl,” says Martinez. “Crawling is a great core exercise because it forces you to engage a lot of muscles in the action, which helps to stabilize the spine.”
He explains that the core is the area above and below the hips including the abdomen, gluteus, lumbar spine and parts of the upper leg.
But even though this can be a beneficial exercise for some, Martinez warns there are risks to performing these movements.
“Crawling can add strain to the knees, feet, wrist and neck, so if you have any issues with these areas, I would recommend to not crawl.”
Want some other options to exercise your core? Martinez’s recommendations include:
- Bridging on the floor or with a stability ball
- A balance exercise that forces you to engage the core, like standing on one foot while you perform a bicep curl
- Body plank or side plank – modified if needed
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health enews staff is a group of experienced writers from our Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care sites, which also includes freelance or intern writers.
Might be a great article for those who are familiar with the terms used but I don’t know what a plank or a bridge is so this doesn’t help me
So where are the instructions for these exercises?
Video or link to a video would have been helpful.
Love to see a video on Crawling. I’m always looking to update my workouts.