Underswitch (Beast to Crab)

AnimalBW

The signature Animal Flow transition connecting Beast to Crab. One leg sweeps underneath the body while the trunk rotates, flipping from a prone quadrupedal shape to a supine one in a single fluid motion.

Demo: Animal Flow

Sets

3

Reps

5-6 per side

Rest

1 min

Contraindications

Requires competent Beast and Crab holds first. Avoid with wrist or shoulder pain.

Setup

Start in Beast position, knees hovering.

Execution

  1. 1Lift one hand and the opposite leg, rotating the hips open
  2. 2Sweep the lifted leg underneath the body through the space created
  3. 3Rotate the torso to face upward as the hips drop into Crab
  4. 4Land in a stable Crab position with both hands and feet grounded
  5. 5Reverse the same pathway to return to Beast

Key cues

  • Lead with the eyes and rotate the head first
  • Sweep the leg through the window, don't step it around
  • Keep the supporting arm pushing the floor away
  • Land Crab with hips lifted, not sagging

Common faults

  • Moving too fast and losing control of the landing position
  • Elbow of the supporting arm collapsing during rotation
  • Butt too high in the Beast phase before the switch
  • Hips sagging immediately upon landing in Crab

Tweaks

  • Practice the leg-sweep in isolation before adding rotation
  • Slow the tempo dramatically for control practice
  • Chain into a Beast-to-Crab flow for continuous reps

Regressions

Progressions

Muscles

Primary: Obliques, Shoulders, Hip Flexors

Secondary: Core, Glutes, Forearms

Notes

One of the core 'switches' that link the two anchor positions (Beast and Crab) into continuous flow sequences.

Sources

Attribution: Mike Fitch / Animal Flow