Spiderman Crawl

The spiderman crawl is a travelling bodyweight crawl performed low to the floor, stepping each foot up beside the same-side hand, that trains the abs, hip flexors and shoulders on every stride. Unlike the stationaryspiderman mountain climber, the hands walk forward too, so you cover ground while the chest stays a fist above the floor and the trailing arm holds the whole torso on a bent elbow. The low position keeps the shoulders loaded for the entire length, and each step opens the hip to its full range. Coaches use it in warm-ups and bodyweight conditioning circuits.

What Muscles Does the Spiderman Crawl Work?

• Primary: Rectus abdominis, external and internal obliques
• Secondary: Hip flexors (iliopsoas, rectus femoris), anterior deltoid, serratus anterior
• Tertiary: Triceps brachii, gluteus medius, quadriceps

How Do You Set Up for the Spiderman Crawl?

Clear a strip of floor at least ten metres long and free of grit. Take a push-up position with your hands under your shoulders and your feet together, then bend your elbows until your chest hovers a fist above the floor. Brace your abs, tuck your pelvis and look at the floor a hand ahead of your fingers. Shift your weight onto your left hand before the first step.

How Do You Perform the Spiderman Crawl?

1. Hold the low push-up position with your elbows bent and your chest a fist above the floor.
2. Step your right foot forward along a wide arc and plant it flat just outside your right hand.
3. Reach your left hand forward a hand length and load it, which shows your weight has moved onto the new base.
4. Pause for one count with your right knee beside your right elbow and your hips level with your shoulders.
5. Step your left foot forward past the right, planting it outside your left hand while your right hand slides ahead.
6. Continue alternating for the set distance, then stand, walk back to the start and take the low push-up position again.

What Are the Key Form Cues?

• Stay under the ceiling: imagine a bar a foot above your back for the whole length, so the hips never rise when a foot steps.
• Knee to the outside of the elbow: aim the kneecap wide of the arm so the hip opens sideways rather than tucking under the chest.
• Land each foot flat and quiet so the abs, not momentum, control the swing.
• Keep the elbows bent throughout; a straight arm means you have stood up in the plank.
• Reach the hand forward only as far as the foot stepped so the stride stays even.

What Are the Most Common Mistakes?

• Rising into a high plank between steps: the shoulders and abs unload each time the elbows straighten; keep the chest low from start to finish.
• Piking the hips as the knee comes forward: the trunk hinges instead of the hip opening, and the step shortens; keep the hips level with the shoulders.
• Dragging the stepping foot along the floor: the movement loses its arc and the hip flexors take over from the obliques; lift the foot clear and swing it wide.
• Letting the lower back sag under the bent-arm position: the lumbar spine hangs in extension under body weight with the abs switched off, so tuck the pelvis before each stride.
• Taking oversized strides: the foot lands past the hand and the knee cannot reach the elbow; shorten the step until the foot lands beside the hand.

What Are the Best Spiderman Crawl Variations?

• High spiderman crawl: elbows straight and hips slightly higher, an easier version for lifters new to crawling.
• Spiderman crawl with push-up: a push-up every time a foot lands, adding chest and triceps work to each stride.
• Backward spiderman crawl: reversing the direction loads the shoulders more and demands more hip control.
• Lateral spiderman crawl: stepping sideways shifts the emphasis to the hip abductors and the trailing side obliques.
• Sliding disc spiderman crawl: the feet slide on discs so the abs stay under tension for the whole stride.

How Do You Progress the Spiderman Crawl?

• Progress by lowering the chest closer to the floor rather than adding load; bodyweight is the only resistance.
• Build from 8 to 16 strides per set before making the position lower.
• Add a set at a time, from 2 to 4, once the hips stay level through the whole distance.
• Slow each stride to a two-second step and hold the knee beside the elbow for one count.

How Should You Program the Spiderman Crawl?

Use the spiderman crawl in the warm-up before squats or lunges, or as a core drill late in a bodyweight session. Two to three sessions a week is enough. Perform 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 16 strides, or 20 to 40 seconds of crawling, with 45 to 60 seconds of rest. Pair it with a dead bug so theabsalso train holding still against a moving limb.