How many reps of the lateral beast crawl should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Do 3 rounds of 6 to 8 steps to each side, resetting to a square stance before reversing direction, and rest until your hips feel completely level again before the next round. Add steps per side before adding more rounds.

How do you make the lateral beast crawl easier or harder?

Make it easier by touching the knees down between each side-step instead of holding a continuous hover. Make it harder by adding more steps before you reverse direction, or by slowing the tempo so each step is held and controlled rather than quick.

What is the lateral beast crawl good for?

It trains frontal-plane shoulder and hip control that forward and backward crawling mostly skip, rounding out a locomotion warm-up and building the base side kickthroughs need. It is a poor choice with a current wrist or shoulder impingement, since the sideways loading through a planted hand can aggravate both.

Intermediate

Lateral Beast Crawl

Traveling sideways in the beast position asks the middle deltoid and adductors to move you laterally while the core fights rotation. It is an excellent frontal-plane drill that most crawling neglects. Use it to round out a locomotion warm-up or to build the hip and shoulder control that side kickthroughs demand.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Abs, Shoulder
Type: Functional
Browse by muscle: Deltoid Anterior, Deltoid Middle, Abdominal External Oblique

How to do it

1
Set up in a beast hold with knees hovering and a flat, braced back.
2
Moving to the right, step the right hand and right foot out to the side.
3
Follow by bringing the left hand and left foot in to meet them, restoring the square stance.
4
Keep the hips low and level, avoiding any pike or twist as you shuffle across.
5
Complete the reps to one side, then reverse and travel back to the other side.
6
Lower the knees to finish.

Tips

Do not let the hands drift too far apart; reset the square base every step to protect the shoulders.
Keep the crown of the head reaching forward so the neck stays neutral through the shuffle.
Move at a pace where you can pause on any single rep without collapsing the hover.

Variations

Common mistakes

The trailing hand and foot land well short of the leading ones, so the base narrows a little more with every step instead of resetting square.
Once the shuffle speeds up, the hips twist slightly toward the direction of travel instead of staying square and level.
Leading with the same side too many times in a row without switching directions trains one side's push-off strength more than the other.
The head tilts to look at the moving hand and foot, pulling the neck out of line as the shoulders do the frontal-plane work.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the lateral beast crawl should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Do 3 rounds of 6 to 8 steps to each side, resetting to a square stance before reversing direction, and rest until your hips feel completely level again before the next round. Add steps per side before adding more rounds.
How do you make the lateral beast crawl easier or harder?: Make it easier by touching the knees down between each side-step instead of holding a continuous hover. Make it harder by adding more steps before you reverse direction, or by slowing the tempo so each step is held and controlled rather than quick.
What is the lateral beast crawl good for?: It trains frontal-plane shoulder and hip control that forward and backward crawling mostly skip, rounding out a locomotion warm-up and building the base side kickthroughs need. It is a poor choice with a current wrist or shoulder impingement, since the sideways loading through a planted hand can aggravate both.

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