How far should I lizard crawl in a session, and what should I be able to do first?

Own 20 push-ups and be able to hold the bottom of a push-up for several seconds before you try travelling in it. Then four to six sets of 3 to 5 metres with a minute of rest, because it is far harder than it reads. Add a metre a week. Put it at the end of a session, and stop the set the moment the chest starts rising rather than pushing for the distance you wrote down.

How do I make the lizard crawl easier or harder?

Easier: raise the chest a few inches into a half-lizard, put the hands on a low step, crawl down a gentle slope, or switch to a straight-arm spiderman crawl until the shoulders catch up. Harder: drop until the chest is a fist off the floor, crawl uphill or backward, take two seconds per step, or crawl a set distance with no rest between trips.

What is the lizard crawl good for, and when is it a poor choice?

It builds pressing endurance and hip mobility under load while the shoulders and triceps hold a bent-arm position the whole way, which makes it a strong finisher and useful prep for ground-based sports. It is a poor choice while the shoulders or elbows are irritated, since it is a long isometric near the bottom of a push-up. For pressing strength, a loaded press builds more with far less fatigue.

Advanced

Lizard Crawl

The lizard is the most demanding of the low crawls because you travel with the torso hovering just above the ground, so the shoulders and triceps carry a bent-arm load the whole way. As each leg swings wide and the knee drives toward the elbow, the hip flexors and adductors work hard while the core resists sagging. Reserve it for well-conditioned trainees; a few good yards of lizard crawl will humble almost anyone.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Shoulder, Triceps
Type: Cardio, Functional
Browse by muscle: Deltoid Anterior, Triceps Brachii Long Head, Triceps Brachii Lateral Head, Triceps Brachii Medial Head
Browse by movement: Core Brace

How to do it

1
Lower into a push-up position, then bend the elbows to hover the chest close to the floor.
2
Step the right hand forward as you sweep the right knee out toward the right elbow.
3
Reach with the left hand and drive the left knee up on the next step.
4
Keep the elbows bent and the body low, gliding forward like a lizard.
5
Maintain a flat line from head to hips; do not let the belly touch down.
6
Continue for the prescribed distance, then rest and repeat.

Tips

Keep the hips low but level; letting them rise turns it into an easy crawl.
Stay on the balls of the feet to keep the drive light and quick.
If the shoulders fatigue, shorten the distance rather than raising the chest.
Point the fingers forward and press the floor away to protect the elbows and wrists.

Variations

Common mistakes

The chest and hips settle onto the floor for a beat at each step, which is a rest dressed up as a rep; the body should glide forward without touching down.
Once the pace picks up, the knee drives forward underneath the body instead of out toward the elbow, so the hip never opens and the stride shrinks to a shuffle.
The chest bobs up and down with every step, turning the crawl into a string of half push-ups; it should travel at one steady height, like a plate sliding across a table.
Your face is a hand's width from the ground, so the head cranes up to see ahead and the neck holds that extension for the whole crawl; look about a metre past your hands.
The crawl only ever goes forward, so the same shoulder angle gets hammered every session; crawling backward for part of the set loads the triceps differently and evens things out.

Frequently asked

How far should I lizard crawl in a session, and what should I be able to do first?: Own 20 push-ups and be able to hold the bottom of a push-up for several seconds before you try travelling in it. Then four to six sets of 3 to 5 metres with a minute of rest, because it is far harder than it reads. Add a metre a week. Put it at the end of a session, and stop the set the moment the chest starts rising rather than pushing for the distance you wrote down.
How do I make the lizard crawl easier or harder?: Easier: raise the chest a few inches into a half-lizard, put the hands on a low step, crawl down a gentle slope, or switch to a straight-arm spiderman crawl until the shoulders catch up. Harder: drop until the chest is a fist off the floor, crawl uphill or backward, take two seconds per step, or crawl a set distance with no rest between trips.
What is the lizard crawl good for, and when is it a poor choice?: It builds pressing endurance and hip mobility under load while the shoulders and triceps hold a bent-arm position the whole way, which makes it a strong finisher and useful prep for ground-based sports. It is a poor choice while the shoulders or elbows are irritated, since it is a long isometric near the bottom of a push-up. For pressing strength, a loaded press builds more with far less fatigue.

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