How many beast reaches should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Three sets of five reaches per side with a three-second hold at full extension, resting 45 to 60 seconds between sets, two or three times a week. Work up to eight per side with a five-second hold. After that, add a light weight in the reaching hand or move on to lifting the opposite foot at the same time rather than piling on more reps.

How do I make the beast reach easier or harder?

Easier: put the knees on the floor for a quadruped reach, widen the knees, or shorten how far the hand travels. Harder: bring the knees and feet closer together, hold the reach for five or six seconds, lift the opposite foot so you are down to two points of contact, or hold a light dumbbell or band in the reaching hand.

What is the beast reach good for, and when should I use a different exercise?

It trains the obliques to resist rotation while one shoulder supports and the quads hold the hover, which makes it a good bridge between a static beast hold and crawling. Use something else if you want core work you can load and track, since a Pallof press or a suitcase carry gives you a number to beat. Skip it until you can hold a beast for 20 seconds, and if the wrists complain, try fists or handles.

Intermediate

Beast Reach

Lifting one hand off the floor from the knee-hover position turns the beast hold into a fierce anti-rotation exercise, since the core must stop the hips from dumping to the open side. It also loads the standing arm and the quads holding the hover. Program it as a controlled strength drill before progressing to dynamic switches.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Abs, Shoulder
Type: Balance, Functional
Browse by muscle: Abdominal External Oblique, Deltoid Anterior
Browse by movement: Anti-Rotation

How to do it

1
Begin in a beast hold with knees hovering, hands under shoulders, back flat.
2
Set the base wide enough to feel stable, then brace the trunk hard.
3
Slowly reach the right arm straight out in front, keeping the hips square to the floor.
4
Hold briefly, then return the hand to the floor without letting the pelvis rotate.
5
Repeat on the left arm, alternating for the prescribed reps.
6
Lower the knees to finish.

Tips

Grip the floor with the supporting hand and push down to keep that shoulder from sagging.
Move slowly; the whole point is resisting the rotation, not racing the reach.
If the hips twist, widen the knees slightly to give the core a more forgiving lever.

Variations

Common mistakes

The pelvis stays honest while the ribcage turns instead, so the rotation has simply moved upstairs; the chest should face the floor as squarely as the hips do.
The hips drift back toward the heels as the hand comes up, which is a different and much easier exercise; keep them stacked over the knees where they started.
Reaching only as far as the head means the arm is being lifted rather than sent forward; push the hand as far from the hips as it will go and the core has to work for it.
The free hand is up and back down inside a second, so nothing is ever really resisted; three or four seconds out in front is where this drill actually lives.
Knees creep upward into a pike as the arm extends, which lifts the hips out of the way of the load and takes the anti-rotation demand with them.

Frequently asked

How many beast reaches should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Three sets of five reaches per side with a three-second hold at full extension, resting 45 to 60 seconds between sets, two or three times a week. Work up to eight per side with a five-second hold. After that, add a light weight in the reaching hand or move on to lifting the opposite foot at the same time rather than piling on more reps.
How do I make the beast reach easier or harder?: Easier: put the knees on the floor for a quadruped reach, widen the knees, or shorten how far the hand travels. Harder: bring the knees and feet closer together, hold the reach for five or six seconds, lift the opposite foot so you are down to two points of contact, or hold a light dumbbell or band in the reaching hand.
What is the beast reach good for, and when should I use a different exercise?: It trains the obliques to resist rotation while one shoulder supports and the quads hold the hover, which makes it a good bridge between a static beast hold and crawling. Use something else if you want core work you can load and track, since a Pallof press or a suitcase carry gives you a number to beat. Skip it until you can hold a beast for 20 seconds, and if the wrists complain, try fists or handles.

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