You may recall the crab walk from your school days, but this move isn’t child’s play. Moving forward and backward on your hands and feet while pressing your chest and hips upward is a serious workout.
“The crab walk is an excellent full-body exercise that offers a wide range of benefits,” says Akane Nigro, CPT, a personal trainer at Life Time in Charlotte, North Carolina. In particular, it boosts strength, coordination, posture, and overall fitness.
If you haven’t revisited this childhood classic, it may be time to brush up on your crabwalking skills. We tapped a couple of experts to break down proper crab walk technique, benefits, muscles worked, and more.
How to do the crab walk exercise with perfect form every time
Nigro demonstrates how to perform the crab walk exercise with proper form:
- Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat. Place your hands on the floor behind your hips, with your fingers pointing away from your body.
- Push into your hands and feet to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from your head to your knees.
- Engage your core and begin walking backward, moving your right hand with your left foot, followed by your left hand with your right foot.
- Once you’ve taken several steps backward, reverse directions to walk forward.
- Keep your chest open and shoulders down the entire time.
Which muscles does the crab walk exercise work?
The crab walk hits an impressive number of muscles. Here are the main ones, according to Nigro.
1. Shoulders
“Supporting your body weight helps strengthen the deltoids and rotator cuff,” Nigro says. The rotator cuff muscles (the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis) support your shoulder’s ball-and-socket joint. Meanwhile, the deltoid muscle on the outside of your shoulder functions to move your arm forward, backward, and to the side of your body.
2. Arms
The primary muscle groups in your arms the crab walk exercise works are your triceps (on the back of your upper arm) and your biceps (on the front of your upper arm). These muscle groups engage as you move your body forward and backward and help hold your body off the floor.
3. Legs
Your quadriceps (the muscles on the front of your thigh), hamstrings (the muscles on the back of your thigh), glutes (your butt), and calves (the muscles on the back of your lower leg) work to propel you forward and backward.
4. Core
Crabwalking engages your entire core, especially your lower back and obliques (the side abs). These muscles keep your hips lifted and stabilized while you move back and forth.
4 benefits of adding the crab walk exercise to your workouts
1. It improves posture
The crab walk strengthens the muscles along the backside of your body (your back, glutes, hamstrings, and back of your shoulders) and the muscles in your midsection (your abdominals). Together, these muscles—especially those in your lower back and core—help keep your torso upright.
If you spend chunks of your day sitting, you may be weaker in these muscles and more prone to slouch. By engaging your postural muscles, the crab walk exercise helps correct muscle imbalances that contribute to poor posture, Nigro says.
2. It enhances balance and coordination
Most of us don’t walk backward using our hands and feet on a regular basis—a major reason the crab walk is so beneficial for improving balance and coordination. Your brain must work overtime to coordinate your arms and legs while keeping your core engaged.
“Since the crab walk requires you to move in an unnatural position—walking backward while supporting yourself with your hands and feet—it challenges your coordination and proprioception—awareness of body position,” Nigro explains. As you develop greater balance and coordination, you may find these skills carry over to other activities that require balance and coordination, such as running, sports, or even avoiding falls and injuries in daily life and as you age.
3. It strengthens multiple muscle groups
As you’ve seen, the crab walk is a full-body exercise. It targets your shoulders, arms, core, legs, and wrists and hands, Nigro says. As the crab walk forces your lower back and abdominals (your rectus abdominis, also known as the “six-pack” muscle, and your obliques, also known as the “side abs”) to fire non-stop, the exercise is especially effective for strengthening your core muscles.
Greater core strength translates into safer, more efficient movements in sports and daily life. It can also help ease low back pain by ensuring your lower back doesn’t have to take on the work your other core muscles should be doing.
4. It provides a cardiovascular workout
“While not as intense as running or cycling, crab walks can get your heart rate up, especially when done over longer distances or for extended periods,” Nigro says. “This makes it a mild-to-moderate cardiovascular workout, depending on intensity.”
At a mild-to-moderate intensity, crab walks help boost cardiovascular endurance, which is your ability to perform rhythmic activities over a longer period. Greater endurance (also known as aerobic fitness) benefits other cardio exercises, such as running and cycling, and is vital for overall health.
4 crab walk variations to mix things up
1. Crab walk with resistance band
Looping a resistance band around your thighs adds intensity, targeting your glutes and core even more effectively, says Josh York, CPT, founder and CEO of GYMGUYZ.
- Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat. Wrap a mini loop resistance band around both thighs, just above your knees. Place your hands on the floor behind your hips, with your fingers pointing away from your body.
- Push into your hands and feet to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from your head to your knees. Push your knees outward until you feel tension in the band.
- Engage your core and begin walking backward, moving your right hand with your left foot, followed by your left hand with your right foot.
- Once you’ve taken several steps backward, reverse directions to walk forward.
- Keep your chest open and shoulders down the entire time.
2. Crab toe touch
This variation challenges your core strength and stability. Plus, it improves balance, York says.
- Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat. Place your hands on the floor behind your hips, with your fingers pointing away from your body.
- Push into your hands and feet to lift your hips a few inches off the floor.
- Engage your core and lift your right foot off the floor. Lift your left hand and reach it forward to touch your right toes.
- Set your right foot and left hand on the floor again. Repeat the movement with your left foot and right hand.
- Keep your chest open and shoulders down the entire time.
3. Single-leg crab walk
Shifting onto one leg challenges your balance. It also strengthens your core and supporting leg, York says.
- Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat. Place your hands on the floor behind your hips, with your fingers pointing away from your body.
- Push into your hands and feet to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from your head to your knees.
- Engage your core and lift your right foot off the floor. Then, begin walking forward with both hands and your left foot.
- Once you’ve taken several steps on the left foot, switch to the right foot.
- Keep your chest open and shoulders down the entire time.
4. Crab walk with shoulder tap
Keeping your feet planted while lifting one hand to touch the opposite shoulder is a great way to boost the intensity of the exercise. “This move enhances core engagement and improves upper body stability,” York says.
- Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat. Place your hands on the floor behind your hips, with your fingers pointing away from your body.
- Push into your hands and feet to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from your head to your knees.
- Engage your core. Lift your right hand off the floor and reach it across your torso to tap your opposite shoulder.
- Set your right hand on the floor again. Repeat the movement with your left hand.
- Keep your chest open and shoulders down the entire time.
Tips for getting the most from the crab walk exercise
Maintaining proper form is a surefire way to reap maximum benefits from the crab walk exercise. “Keep your chest open, shoulders down, and back straight, and avoid slumping or letting your hips drop too low,” Nigro says.
Remember to keep your core tight while you do this move, too. This will help you maintain stability and prevent lower back strain, she says.
It’s also important to keep your movements slow and controlled. Don’t rush the exercise; moving too fast can compromise your form and cause injury, Nigro says. Coordinating your breathing and movement may help: “Inhale as you prepare for movement, and exhale as you push yourself backward or pull yourself forward,” Nigro suggests.
How to add the crab walk to your routine
Nigro suggests incorporating crab walks into a full-body or core workout two to three times per week. Give yourself at least one rest day in between to avoid overusing muscles and joints, especially your shoulders and wrists, she says.
Try combining crab walks with complementary exercises, such as push-ups, planks, or bear crawls to create a dynamic movement circuit, Nigro suggests. “For a full workout, try alternating crab walks with exercises that target opposing muscle groups, like squats or lunges,” she says.
If you’re new to crab walks, start with 20 to 30 seconds (about 10 to 15 yards). Progress to three sets of 30 to 45 seconds (about 15 to 20 yards forward and backward), followed by three to four sets of 45 to 60 seconds, Nigro says.
