ExercisesPrimal / Animal Movement
Monkey Walk — Step (No Swing): A Complete Guide
Quick Intro
Monkey Walk — Step (No Swing) is an animal-movement exercise performed from the same deep squat and hand-walking setup as the Monkey Walk, stepping the feet through to land beside the advancing hand rather than jumping or swinging them past it. With the airborne leapfrog taken out, this is the place to learn the hand-to-foot sequencing before adding a bound.
Equipment Needed
No equipment is required. A yoga mat under the hands is a matter of comfort on a hard floor, nothing more.
Why It Matters
A controlled step removes most of the explosive hip drive and reactive coordination the jump demands and leaves hip mobility and sequencing as the main things being trained. A muscle at the back of the thigh (hamstrings, biceps femoris) still stretches and works through the deep squat travel, and the deep hip flexor (hip flexors, iliopsoas) guides the stepping leg. The front of the shoulder cap (deltoid, anterior) bears weight through each hand reach, and a front thigh muscle that crosses both the hip and knee (quadriceps, rectus femoris) controls the stepping leg’s placement.
When to Do It
This version works well as a first step into hand-to-foot crawling patterns, whether learning the pattern for the first time or rebuilding hip mobility before adding a bound. A couple of sessions a week is enough to get this base solid.
Anyone with a current wrist, hip or lower back issue should still get individual guidance before starting, since sustained deep-squat travel loads all three even without the jump.
Getting Ready
A few minutes of deep squat holds and wrist circles open the hips and wrists before travel begins. A few isolated, slow steps previews the hand-to-foot sequencing before covering any distance.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. The setup. Sink into a deep squat, hands planted on the floor between the feet.
2. The hand step. Reach one hand well ahead of the body.
3. The foot step. Step the feet through one at a time to land beside that hand, without jumping.
4. The repeat. Step the other hand forward and continue the same stepping pattern, keeping the movement smooth and unhurried while it is being learned.
How Many, How Often
Monkey Walk — Step (No Swing) is dosed by distance, since the goal is learning a smooth hand-to-foot sequence over ground covered.
| Level | Where you’re at | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | New to the hand-to-foot stepping pattern | 3 sets of 6 to 8 feet, moving slowly and deliberately |
| Intermediate | The stepping sequence feels smooth and unhurried | 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 15 feet |
| Advanced | Comfortable sustaining the pattern over longer distances | 4 sets of 15 to 20 feet, or move up to the Monkey Walk to add the leapfrogging jump |
Getting the hand-then-feet sequence right on every step matters more here than how far the set covers, since this version exists to let that sequencing become automatic before a jump is added.
Modifications and Variations
As the harder version, Monkey Walk replaces the stepping feet with a leapfrogging jump that lands outside the leading hand, once the hand-to-foot sequencing feels solid.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Letting the feet drift too close to or past the hand. Stepping the feet in too tight or too far removes the deliberate hand-to-foot spacing this pattern is meant to build. Landing the feet consistently beside the hand keeps the spacing the same from step to step.
Rushing the hand placement. Moving the hand forward quickly to cover ground skips the setup this pattern depends on for a clean step. A deliberate, controlled hand step sets up a cleaner foot step behind it.
Standing up too tall between steps. Letting the hips rise out of the deep squat between reaches makes the next hand reach less stable. Keeping the squat consistently deep through the whole set preserves the pattern’s intent.
After Your Set
Standing and folding forward with the knees soft releases the hamstrings and hips after a set of squat-travel work. A few gentle wrist stretches finish easing the wrists that supported the hand steps.
Going Deeper
This version is the starting point for hand-to-foot crawling, since a controlled step lets the sequencing become reliable before the explosive leapfrog is added. The deep squat position is already tiring to sustain, so the hips tend to start rising between steps well before the arms tire, which makes each hand reach less stable. Putting a consistently deep squat ahead of distance builds a base that carries over to the leapfrogging version.
Someone new to this pattern typically manages a smooth, slow stepping sequence within the first session or two, then works toward the leapfrogging jump of the Monkey Walk over two to three weeks.
How to Know You’re Improving
- Feet that consistently land beside, not past or short of, the hand
- A hand-then-feet sequence that stays smooth and deliberate
- A squat depth that holds steady, with no rising between steps
- A distance that keeps growing while the sequencing stays clean
A hand-to-foot sequence that stays smooth and deliberate is the signal to add the leapfrogging jump, whatever the distance covered.
Muscles Worked
- Biceps Femoris (a muscle at the back of the thigh, working through the deep squat travel)
- Iliopsoas (the deep hip flexor, guiding the stepping leg)
- Anterior Deltoid (the front of the shoulder cap, bearing weight through the hands on each planted step)
- Rectus Femoris (a front thigh muscle that crosses both the hip and knee, controlling the stepping leg’s placement)
FAQ
Is this the same pattern as Monkey Walk, just slower? It shares the same deep squat and hand-walking setup as Monkey Walk, but the feet step through under control instead of jumping past the hand, which removes the explosive bounding element.
When is it time to add the leapfrogging jump? Once the hand-to-foot stepping sequence feels smooth and automatic over a full set, adding the leapfrogging jump of the Monkey Walk is a reasonable next step.
Why practice stepping at all if the goal is eventually to jump? Learning the hand-then-feet sequencing without the added complexity of a jump tends to build a cleaner pattern than trying to learn the sequencing and the bound at the same time.
Is any hip or wrist tiredness after this exercise expected? Yes, a mild, worked feeling in the hips and wrists after several sets is normal. Sharp pain in either joint calls for a doctor or physical therapist’s opinion instead of continuing.
How often should the stepping version be trained? A couple of sessions a week suits most people well, often early in a session while the legs are fresh.
Related to Monkey Walk, the harder version replacing the stepping feet with a leapfrogging jump.