In this article
Overview
Banded crab walks are a great accessory movement to add into your lower body days. They’re especially good for home workouts as they really focus on the abductor muscles that we often rely on machines to work.
Banded crab walks are also a great activation exercise to get your glutes to wake up before a lower body session.
How to do Banded Crab Walks
- Place a resistance band above your knees, as shown in the video, and stand with your feet shoulder width apart.
- Widen your feet slightly past shoulder width and bend your knees so you are standing in a half squat position.
- With your left leg step away from the body so that there is a significant amount of resistance on the band. This is typically a wide squat stance but will depend on your strength as well as the strength of your band.
- With the right leg take a half step, you want to make sure that tension remains on the band.
- Each step is a rep but it is good practice to do two steps to the left followed by two to the right to ensure both sides are being targeted evenly.
- Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
Muscles Targeted
Crab walks predominantly recruit from the gluteus medius and the gluteus maximus, the two larger muscles that make the glutes up.
However, you may also find your quadriceps get used as well due to the half squat position you are in.
FAQS
When should I be using a heavier band?
The same as weighted workouts you can go up to a heavier band when it becomes too easy on the rep range you are doing. For example, if your programme says 8 reps and you can easily do 8 reps it’s time to move up a band.
