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

Five to eight slow reaches per side for two or three rounds, most days if you are using it as mobility work, or as part of a warm-up before lifting. Nothing needs to be held on the first sessions. Once the position feels normal, pause two seconds at full reach, and let the depth of the reach grow over weeks rather than within a single session.

How can I scale the crab reach up or down?

Easier: keep the hips lower, reach only to shoulder height, work from a static tabletop hold, or put the hands on a low step so the shoulders sit in less extension. Harder: pause two seconds at full reach, lift the opposite foot as the hand sweeps over, hold a light weight in the reaching hand, or flow straight from the reach into a beast position and back.

What is the crab reach good for, and who should skip it?

It pairs full hip extension with thoracic rotation and shoulder opening, which makes it a useful counter to long hours of sitting and a good warm-up before pressing or squatting. Skip it if your shoulders do not tolerate bearing weight behind you, and use fists, handles, or a raised surface if the wrists complain. It is a mobility drill, not a glute builder: a hip thrust loads far more.

Intermediate

Crab Reach

Do not let the name fool you; this is the classic animal-flow crab reach built on a strong bridge. From a reverse tabletop you drive the hips up and sweep one hand up and over, opening the chest and thoracic spine while the glutes and support arm carry the load. It combines hip extension power with shoulder mobility, making it a favorite for undoing hours of sitting while still training the posterior chain.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Glutes, Shoulder
Type: Balance, Functional
Browse by muscle: Gluteus Maximus
Browse by movement: Hinge, Rotation

How to do it

1
Sit with your feet flat and hands planted behind you, fingers pointing away, in a crab position.
2
Press through the heels and hands to lift the hips into a tabletop bridge.
3
Squeeze the glutes hard so the hips reach full extension.
4
Peel one hand off the floor and reach it up, over, and across toward the opposite side.
5
Let your gaze and chest follow the reaching hand to open the thoracic spine.
6
Return the hand to the floor, lower the hips with control, and alternate sides.

Tips

Keep driving the hips high; a dropped bridge kills the glute work.
Press firmly through the supporting hand so that shoulder stays stacked and safe.
Reach for length, not speed, letting the chest rotate open.
Keep the neck long and follow the hand with the eyes rather than cranking it.

Variations

Common mistakes

The planted hand stays fixed while the body turns over it, so the wrist gets wrung at the end of the reach; let that hand pivot on the floor to follow the rotation.
Range gets bought by cranking the low back into an arch instead of turning the upper back, which is the one part of the spine this drill exists to open.
The supporting shoulder sits in deep extension that most people have never loaded, so start with a short reach and open it over weeks rather than chasing the full sweep on day one.
Once the hips rotate, the knees fall inward and the bridge loses the glute drive holding it up; keep the shins vertical and the knees tracking over the toes.
The freer shoulder ends up taking most of the reaches while the stiff side is quietly avoided, and the gap widens; match the count and let the tighter side set the depth.

Frequently asked

How many crab reaches should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Five to eight slow reaches per side for two or three rounds, most days if you are using it as mobility work, or as part of a warm-up before lifting. Nothing needs to be held on the first sessions. Once the position feels normal, pause two seconds at full reach, and let the depth of the reach grow over weeks rather than within a single session.
How can I scale the crab reach up or down?: Easier: keep the hips lower, reach only to shoulder height, work from a static tabletop hold, or put the hands on a low step so the shoulders sit in less extension. Harder: pause two seconds at full reach, lift the opposite foot as the hand sweeps over, hold a light weight in the reaching hand, or flow straight from the reach into a beast position and back.
What is the crab reach good for, and who should skip it?: It pairs full hip extension with thoracic rotation and shoulder opening, which makes it a useful counter to long hours of sitting and a good warm-up before pressing or squatting. Skip it if your shoulders do not tolerate bearing weight behind you, and use fists, handles, or a raised surface if the wrists complain. It is a mobility drill, not a glute builder: a hip thrust loads far more.

Related exercises

Other movements among FitRay's 2,000+ exercises that load the same target muscle — same equipment and level first.

All Glutes exercises