By Peri Zourides (L3 MCT) and Jerome Rattoni (MovNat Team Instructor)
Crawling and balancing are both fun, practical, Natural Movement skills that deliver a lot of benefits. These movements can be a little intimidating, especially when you combine them. But with a few smart progressions, anyone can work up to high levels of confidence and performance.
If you’d like to crawl while balancing with skill and ease, this video will guide you through some safe, step-by-step progressions, starting from the ground, and working up to overhead heights.
Key Points For Balanced Crawling with Efficiency
1) Make sure you have mastered the Foot Hand Crawl prior to practicing this movement. It would also be helpful to practice the Split Squat, Low Pivot Reverse, and the transition from the Split Squat to Foot Hand Crawl.
2) Before you begin practicing, check the area for any safety hazards that may be present (e.g. sharp objects, slippery surfaces, etc.).
3) Practice moving through the crawl very slowly to develop proper balance and control. You should be able to stop at any point during the movement. Similarly, speed should come naturally as a result of consistent, controlled practice.
4) Keep your back flat, spine lengthened, and eyes forward while crawling.
5) Maintain balance by moving contra-laterally with opposite limbs – making sure your weight is evenly distributed between your arms and legs.
6) When you’re comfortable with the basic technique, you can practice balanced crawling with this progression (in order of easiest to hardest):
- using a straight line on the ground
- on a flat 2×4 board placed on the ground
- on a slightly elevated surface (e.g. ankle or knee height), such as a 2×4 or log
- on a more elevated surface (e.g. hand rail at waist height)
From there, you can increase the difficulty by balancing at greater heights, on narrower surfaces, or some other VIC variable (volume, intensity, complexity).
Closing Thoughts
Why should you bother learning how to crawl while balancing? Because it’s challenging, fun, delivers a lot of fitness benefits, and you may have to someday.
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