Obesity - Prevention - Exercise
Why Crawling Is the Ultimate Total Body Exercise
When you think of crawling, you probably think of adorable little babies moving around. Several health experts suggest that crawling is an essential move for grown-ups too.
Here are a some of the reasons why crawling is good for you-
Crawling tones all over
It engages your calves, quads, glutes, shoulder girdle, deep abdominal muscles, and muscles in your hips and feet. There are multiple variations on the basic form, too. Aside from crawling on your hands and knees, you can crawl on your hands and toes, or even facing up, in a crab crawl. No matter which type you choose, you'll be working your whole body.
Read- 3 Crawling Exercises To Add To Your Workout Routine
Crawling builds strength for real life
Unlike many traditional fitness moves, crawling actually involves moving—and that’s important. Compare it to the classic plank, for example. Plank is a great way to engage your core, but it’s not something you ever do in the course of an average day.
Getting our bodies to move through full ranges of motion, and getting them to stabilize and hold a movement, is protective against back and shoulder pain.
What’s more, crawling and other fundamental movements can help us feel well and whole. While running on a treadmill is great cardio, being able to support your weight is just as important. If you can run a six-minute mile, but you can’t play around with your kids because you’re unable to squat down or climb with them, is your fitness regime helping you do the things you ultimately want to do?
You can crawl around any time and you don’t need to hit the gym for it.
This goes for other fundamental movements too. You can integrate jumping, running, hanging, climbing, or crawling into a very effective workout, and you can do these activities at home whenever you have time to spare. If you have 10 minutes in your day to get on the floor and crawl, or work on your mobility—even just by jumping up your stairs—it can have tremendous protective value on your body.
Of course, not every activity is for everybody. Modifications can be made to most fundamental movements, but it’s best to skip anything that causes pain. Listen to your body and make sure that it feels good to you. And if your doctor has advised you to avoid certain types of exercise, check with them before you try a new activity.
