Crab Walk Race
Quick Intro
Crab Walk Race uses the crab walk, a ground-based travelling exercise in which you sit, lift the hips into a table-top shape with the hands behind you and the feet in front, and move along by stepping the opposite hand and foot together. You line up side by side and race to a marker, for example ten metres away, and whoever gets there first wins a stake you chose in line with your agreed forfeit style. The crab walk is awkward for almost everyone, so the race tends to produce as much laughter as speed.
How to lift the hips, where to place the hands and how to take a proper stride is covered at Crab Walk.
What You’ll Need
Ten metres or so of clear, non-slip floor for each of you, wide enough for two lanes about an arm span apart. Something to mark the start and the finish, such as tape or a pair of cones. Bare hands and shoes with grip are best, and a thin mat on a hard floor takes some pressure off the wrists.
How to Do It Together
- Pick the stake. Before anything starts, choose what the winner gets in line with your agreed forfeit style.
- Mark the course. Set a start line and a finish line a fixed distance apart, for example ten metres, with a lane for each of you.
- Get into position. Sit side by side at the start line, place the hands behind you and lift the hips into a table-top shape, facing up.
- Agree the call. Decide who says go, or count down together.
- Race. Move the opposite hand and foot together in strides, keeping the hips lifted all the way.
- Finish. The first to get the hips across the finish line wins the stake.
- Recover. Lower the hips, shake out the wrists and settle the stake together.
Breathe as you need to. It is a short sprint and nobody needs to count.
Keeping the Hips Up
The thing that makes a crab walk race fair is the one that makes the exercise work: the hips stay lifted. Dropping them to the floor and shuffling along on the seat is faster and easier, and it is not crab walking. Agree before the call that the hips stay up for the whole distance, and that touching the floor with the seat means pausing for a moment, lifting back up and continuing. There is no need for a penalty beyond the lost time. The sag is the natural thing to do when the legs and shoulders tire, and the rule exists because it spoils the exercise.
Taking real strides matters too. Tiny, hesitant steps slow you down and can go together with sagging hips. Reach confidently with the hand and the opposite foot, then bring the others along. A good crab walker looks a little like a table that has decided to run.
Lanes keep the race safe. Two people moving on hands and feet in a tight space can tangle arms and legs, and the one who goes down first can take the other with them. Leave an arm span between you, start level and stay in your own lane to the end. The face-up position means you cannot see the finish line well, so the person at the marker can call out when you are close, or you can look back at it between strides.
Pay attention to your hands. Press firmly through the whole palm and not just the heel of it, and keep the fingers pointing toward your body so the wrist is not forced into an odd angle. Slippery floors are the other hazard, because both hands and feet depend on grip. Check the surface and your footwear before you begin, and wipe damp palms.
The race works best short. Ten metres is enough to feel in the shoulders and the backs of the arms, and a few rounds with proper rests between them gives everyone a turn at winning. A best-of-three format is easy to agree and lets a slow starter win back the set.
If a bear crawl is more your speed, Bear Crawl Race runs the same format face down. Cossack Squat Race and Step-Up Race do it with other movements, and Duck Walk Meet has partners walk toward each other and meet in the middle.
If You’re at Different Fitness Levels
A shorter distance and a lower hip position suit a couple newer to the crab walk, and the race itself is unchanged. Where the two of you move at different speeds, the slower partner gets a head start that matches the usual gap between you, so the race stays properly contested. It is easy to calibrate after one practice round. Winning is fun and a close finish is more fun, so adjust the head start until the results are mixed.
Safety and Consent
Keep the fingers pointing toward the body, press through the whole palm and stop if a wrist or shoulder complains. Check the floor for slipperiness and your hands for damp patches. Stay in your own lane and slow down if the surface feels uncertain.
Every connection moment in these exercises is something either partner can skip or scale back at any point, including this one, no explanation needed. Race the crab walk with nothing at stake and the exercise is unchanged.
FAQ
Where does the stake come from? Your agreed forfeit style, chosen together before you start.
Is it still a race if one of us is slower? Yes. The slower partner gets a head start sized to your usual gap.
What counts as the finish? The hips crossing the finish line while still lifted.
What if the hips touch the floor? Lift them again and carry on. The only cost is the time.
How long should the course be? A fixed distance you agree beforehand, for example ten metres, with a rest between rounds.
Can I do the crab walk on my own? Yes. Crab Walk covers the solo exercise.
Built on Crab Walk. Bear Crawl Race is the face-down version of the same race, and Duck Walk Meet is a low travelling exercise with a high-five in the middle.