My expert commentary for Women’s Health UK was translated and republished by Men’s Health Spain in a feature looking at the alligator crawl, a demanding bodyweight exercise that challenges coordination, core stability and upper-body strength.
The article was published in February 2026 and adapted for the Spanish Men’s Health audience, giving the original feature a wider international reach.
What is the alligator crawl?
The alligator crawl is a quadrupedal movement performed close to the floor.
You begin in a push-up position and move forwards using opposite arms and legs together.
That contralateral pattern means the body has to coordinate movement across both sides while maintaining trunk control.
As I explained in the article:
“The alligator crawl is a full-body exercise that develops coordination and strength and teaches us to move as one interconnected unit rather than as isolated parts.”
It also creates a significant challenge for the shoulders, chest and abdominal muscles.
Why moving as one unit matters
One of the things I like about crawling patterns is that they force different areas of the body to work together.
The shoulders and wrists provide stability.
The chest contributes to upper-body support.
The abdominal muscles and obliques work to control the trunk.
The hip flexors help bring the legs forwards, while the glutes and upper back help maintain posture and position.
That makes the movement very different from simply isolating one muscle at a time.
Control matters more than speed
The alligator crawl works best when it is performed slowly and deliberately.
The goal is not to cover as much distance as possible.
You want to keep the spine neutral, prevent the hips from excessively rotating and avoid allowing the lower back to sag.
A few metres performed well can be enough to make the exercise demanding.
Rushing generally reduces the amount of control required and makes it easier for technique to deteriorate.
Making the exercise easier
Not everyone needs to begin with the lowest, most demanding version.
As I explained to Men’s Health Spain, one regression is to keep the arms straighter and the body slightly higher.
That reduces the intensity while still challenging the shoulders, trunk and legs.
This is often a better way to learn the movement before trying to stay extremely close to the floor.
Making it harder
The more advanced version looks much more like the movement the exercise is named after.
You stay in a lower plank position with the body closer to the floor as you move.
That increases the demand on the trunk and shoulders and requires considerably more control.
As with most progressions, I would only make the exercise harder once the basic movement can be performed well.
More than an abdominal exercise
Although the alligator crawl is often described as a core exercise, that only tells part of the story.
It requires strength and stability through much of the body.
It can also challenge muscular endurance and coordination because several muscle groups are working simultaneously while the body moves through space.
That is one reason bodyweight exercises can be so effective.
You do not always need heavier weights to make an exercise more demanding.
Sometimes changing the position, movement pattern or stability requirements is enough.
An international Men’s Health feature
It was particularly good to see the original Women’s Health UK feature subsequently translated and republished by Men’s Health Spain.
The article retained my expert commentary and introduced it to another major fitness publication and an international audience.
That kind of syndication is valuable because it shows how useful fitness content can travel beyond the publication where it first appeared.
You can read the original Spanish Men’s Health article HERE.
Joseph Webb
Expert coaching. Entirely personal.
Chartered Personal Trainer | FRSPH | FCIMSPA
