Crab Reach

AnimalBW

From Crab, one arm reaches overhead and behind while the hips drive up into a bridge, creating a deep shoulder and thoracic extension stretch. One of Animal Flow's signature 'form specific stretches.'

Demo: Animal Flow

Sets

3

Reps

6-8 per side

Rest

45s

Contraindications

Avoid with shoulder impingement or acute low back pain.

Setup

Start in Crab position, hips elevated, hands and feet grounded.

Execution

  1. 1From Crab, drive the hips fully up into a high bridge, squeezing the glute
  2. 2Reach one arm's thumb starting by the ear
  3. 3Once hips are fully extended, reach the thumb up and over the head toward the far ear
  4. 4Keep the supporting shoulder stable and pushed away from the ground
  5. 5Reverse the reach and lower hips back to Crab

Key cues

  • Hips go first — bridge fully before reaching
  • Thumb starts by the ear, travels over the head
  • Push the ground away with the supporting arm the whole time
  • Don't collapse the supporting shoulder to fake range

Common faults

  • Reaching the arm before the hips are extended
  • Collapsing the supporting shoulder for more apparent range
  • Letting the head jut forward under shoulder stress
  • Rushing through instead of controlling the reach

Tweaks

  • Pause at the top of the reach for 2-3 seconds
  • Combine both arms in alternating fashion for a flow set
  • Slow the eccentric return to Crab

Regressions

Crab Position (Hold)

Progressions

Underswitch (Beast to Crab)Traveling Crab

Muscles

Primary: Glutes, Shoulders, Thoracic Spine

Secondary: Triceps, Core, Latissimus Dorsi

Notes

Onnit Academy helped popularize this move in mainstream strength training content alongside Mike Fitch.

Sources

Attribution: Mike Fitch / Animal Flow