UberExercise — Build Flat, Waffle Iron Abs With Commando Crawling Planks

Crawling Planks, Quick Hits

What’s So UBER About Crawling Planks & How to Do Them

Planking is so…basic. Spice things up and graduate to the upper echelon of ab exercises with Commando Crawling Planks.

Ab planks are still — and always will be — one of the most effective all-around exercises to fortify and steamroll the core. Crawling planks invoke the same essence, but crank it up a notch by adding forward movement and full-body coordination to the mix.

The barrage of long-duration isometric contractions (think traditional plank, when the muscles contract without moving), paired with elevated crawling — including the balance + stabilization elements that come with it — creates a typhoon of unfamiliar muscular activity, which effectively sparks new growth and promotes core definition.

THAT combination demolishes the transverse abdominis (the inner abs); sucks the region up into a tight, defined, compact package; and sets the core ablaze into a searing, fiery, abdominal inferno. Plus you’ll hit the lats, biceps, serratus (the finger-like muscles under the chest), and shoulders, and burn a flurry of calories in the process.

Crawling planks are excruciating, they burn, and they require every ounce of focus you’ve got; but every circuit will push your body a little bit closer to a freshly pressed, elite set of abs.

How to Do Crawling Planks

1. Find an area that’s long enough to move forward 10-20 steps.

2. Place a towel under your feet and move into plank position. Your elbows should be directly under your shoulders, forming a 90º angle with the floor. That’s your starting position.

3. Step your right elbow forward, followed by your left elbow, and pull your body forward as if you’re crawling through mud. DO NOT move your feet — they should remain on the towel and slide forward with the rest of your body.

4. Continue to pull your body forward until you’ve taken 20 steps (each pull with a single arm is one “step”). Squeeze your core and maintain a flat back throughout; don’t let your back arch up or sag down, and resist the pull to tilt to either side. Focus on staying low, flat and tight.

5. Once you’ve completed 20 steps, turn around and immediately complete another 20 going in the opposite direction. If that’s too difficult at first, shorten the length of each circuit OR take a short rest after the initial 20 steps.

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Bryan DiSanto

Owner & Editor-in-Chief at Lean It UP

Bryan DiSanto is the Owner & Editor-in-Chief of Lean It UP, a culinary student at Le Cordon Bleu – Paris, an ACE-CPT & CSN, NYU graduate, ex-fat kid, and all-around fitness/nutrition nutjob.

He also contributes to Men's Health Magazine.

When he’s not working on his (or somebody else’s) abs, whipping up Eggocados, or running a Tough Mudder, he’s probably off yelling at a Carolina Panthers game somewhere.

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