Animal walks are exactly what they sound like in the context of a workout: exercises that mimic the movements of various animals. This can include unusual (for a person) patterns of jumping, hopping, and crawling. Six of our favourites are demonstrated in video form below.
Frog jump
A frog jump is comparable to a squat jump in that you jump while catapulting yourself forward instead of straight up. The squat makes this an excellent exercise for developing lower-body strength, while the forward jump helps you develop explosive power.
Duck walk
Squat down onto the balls of your feet to perform a duck walk. Take a step forward with one leg, then drag the back foot forward, staying low to the ground and keeping your knees fully flexed and your torso upright.
We’re loosening the hip flexors, strengthening the gluteus muscles, and improving their ability to maintain that’s back’ position while keeping the core braced in an upright stance.
Lizard crawl
In a lizard crawl, you keep your body parallel to the ground and move forward by twisting your torso and legs. This particular motion improves hip mobility while also engaging your core. As you get more comfortable with it, you can make it more difficult by adding a pushup or working harder to keep your body as close to the ground as possible.
The lizard crawl is the best for building overall strength. The forward lunging movements increase hip and leg strength and flexibility, while the pushup exercises the core, triceps, and shoulders.
Platypus walk
Squat at a 90-degree angle with your toes pointed outward and walk forward and backwards to perform a platypus walk. This movement is excellent for increasing lower-body strength and mobility.
When performing these movements, the glutes, quads, and hamstrings are all heavily contracted from start to finish.
Inchworm
You’ll start in a plank position to do the inchworm crawl. Walk your hands out, then walk your legs back to your hands, keeping them straight the entire time, and repeat the motion.
The inchworm crawl focuses on stretching the hamstrings and improving flexibility by having you hinge your hips forward at the torso without rounding your back and keeping a “neutral” spine.
Alligator walk
To perform the alligator crawl, start in a plank position and crawl forward with opposing legs and arms, performing a push-up with each movement. This difficult move has an effect on the mobility of your chest, shoulders, core, and hip flexors.
