Most people haven’t been belly-up with their weight on their hands since they were a kid on the playground.
That’s a big part of why the Crab is worth your time. It drops you into a position you almost never train as an adult, and your shoulders, chest, and back have to wake up and do some work they’re not used to.
The Crab is a locomotion movement, which just means moving your whole body through space. Like the Bear, Monkey, and Frogger, it’s one of the “animal” movements that have been used in gymnastics, martial arts, and strength and conditioning for decades. They build a lot of capability and you don’t need any equipment to do them.
I’ve had a few shoulder surgeries, and getting comfortable with load behind me, hands planted and hips up, was something I had to rebuild slowly and on purpose. The Crab drops you right into that position. You’ll feel a little ridiculous the first few times, nobody looks dignified doing this, and it comes back faster than you’d expect once you start practicing it.
How To Do The Crab Walk
- Step 1: Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat, about hip-width apart, and place both hands flat on the floor behind you.
- Step 2: Press through your hands and feet to lift your hips, so only your hands and feet are touching the ground.
- Step 3: Keeping your hips up, step forward with your left foot and right hand, then your right foot and left hand. Keep that pattern going to travel forward or backward.
Notes on the Crab Walk
Keep your hands and feet close to your body. The most common mistake I see is reaching the hands too far behind you, which makes the whole thing less stable and a lot harder than it needs to be. Tuck them in closer and it settles right down.
Pull your shoulders down and away from your ears. That keeps them in a stronger position and helps you hold your hips up without sagging.
You’re putting your bodyweight on your hands, so don’t be surprised if your wrists complain at first. If that’s you, spend some time with our wrist strength and flexibility routine and ramp up slowly.
The Crab asks for a decent amount of shoulder strength. If it feels like too much right now, work the Bear and our strong shoulder guide for a while, then come back to it.
Crab Walk Variations For Stability And Body Control
Below you’ll see four variations of the Crab Walk that we use in our programs.
- Basic Crab Walk – straight arms, bent legs, forward and backward movement
- Crab Underswitch To Table Top – straight arms, bent legs, core rotation to the table top position
- Crab Lateral Walks – straight arms, bent legs, side-to-side lateral movement
- Crab Walks Underswitch To Table Top – straight arms, bent legs, forward and backward movement, core rotation to the table top position
Pick a variation you can do with good form that still challenges you. If you want more shoulder stability, spend your time on the Crab Underswitch To Table Top instead of the lateral walks. Once the underswitch feels solid, go explore the others with your newfound stability.
What If I Can’t Do The Crab Walk Like They Do In The Videos? 🤔
You don’t have to match us, and at the start you probably won’t. If you’re struggling to travel, back up and practice the reverse table top position instead:
Hold that position for time. If it’s tough, hold for as long as you can, even if that’s one or two seconds. Build from there, adding a little each session until you can hold 10 seconds or more with your hips up and shoulders set.
That hold builds the shoulder and arm strength the Crab walk needs, and it gets you comfortable being belly-up in the first place. When the hold feels easy, start adding small steps.
Crab Exercise Variations And Benefits
| Variation | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Basic Crab | • Scapular strength through concentric and isometric protraction, eccentric and isometric retraction, and eccentric control of elevation • Rotator cuff strength to control eccentric internal rotation and concentric, isometric external rotation • Spinal strength for isometric extension, rotation, and flexion • Hamstring and calf flexibility • Increase in hip strength and mobility • Increase in spinal extension strength and scapular depression |
| Crab moving right and left | • All the benefits from basic Crab + • Increased emphasis on motor control and coordination moving side to side |
| Crab under switch to floating table top and back | • All the benefits from basic Crab + • Increased emphasis on motor control and coordination flowing in and out of the movement |
The Crab Walk asks for full-body strength and control, and it’ll challenge you moving forward, back, and side-to-side in a position that feels pretty foreign at first.
It builds strength through your shoulder blades and rotator cuff, along with stability through your spine. You’ll also work hamstring and calf flexibility and build more mobile hips. Getting comfortable here carries straight over to other movements like the Monkey and Frogger.
The Crab shows up in flows all through our Elements training for exactly that reason. It connects to everything.
Using The Crab In Your Training
The Crab builds coordination, control, and core strength in the belly-up position, which is the same base you need for skills like the L-sit and for transitioning smoothly between movements on the ground.
Strong, mobile hips matter for single-leg work, so the Crab pairs well with training built around the pistol squat and shrimp squat. Spend a little time on your squat too, and the whole lower body starts working together. Run the Crab for a set stretch of time and you’ve also got yourself a sneaky bit of conditioning.
The Crab is one of four animal movements that, practiced together, rebuild the kind of body control that makes everything else you do feel easier. You learn it once and you keep it.
That’s what Elements is for.
Build a Foundation You Can Rely On at Any Age
With Elements, you’ll get strong, flexible, and capable using the Bear, Monkey, Frogger, and Crab, so you can move well without restriction.
Hi, I'm Ryan Hurst đź‘‹
After a training accident ended his competitive gymnastics career, Ryan moved to Japan, where he spent close to 30 years training and competing in judo, kendo, and other martial arts until another injury made him rethink what training is for.
As Head Coach, he leads program design and teaches every week on our YouTube channel. His book, Stay On The Mat Forever, is aimed at helping you keep training for decades. He loves handstands, dogs, and hiking.
