If you’re looking for a new exercise to build your abs, then look no further than the inchworm. This is an excellent core workout that will strengthen your entire body. It’s also easy to do anywhere and doesn’t require any equipment! Read on for instructions on how to perform this movement correctly so you can get started right away.
What is the inchworm exercise? This exercise resembles the ups and down actions of a worm. That’s why we call it the inchworm exercise. These exercises target the chest, lower back, upper back, chest, and abs for a total body workout that is effective and enjoyable. However, this is not the only benefit of the inchworm. It is also perfect for stretching your hamstrings safely and requires no equipment. So, you can perform it anywhere.
Because it is essentially a warm-up activity that stretches and prepares your muscles for more rigorous athletic training, the inchworm is a great exercise to add to your training regimen. This is wonderful for any type of training, including strength, flexibility, and cardio, etc. You can add these exercises at the beginning of your workout routines for a more effective workout.
How to do Inchworm Workout?
Following are the step-by-step instructions of inchworm exercise for beginners;
- Begin by standing at the back edge of the mat.
- Lean your body forward and walk down the floor with your hands out in front of you, keeping your feet in place.
- Walking your arms past the plank position is a good idea. Raise your arms over your head, and your feet should remain at the back of the mat.
- Begin by taking steps from your feet to your hands.
- Continue crawling your body until your palms contact your feet, then repeat.
Before you begin, keep in mind to maintain a straight back and make minor movements as you walk on your hands towards a plank position, then return to a standing position.
Once you have this move down, add in pushups while you are in plank position. By adding pushups with inchworm exercise, you can achieve full-body stretch and strengthen the upper body. The added Pushup element is also fantastic for activating the muscles in your shoulders, triceps, chest, and abs, developing the normal inchworm and making it more difficult.
Muscles Involved and Physical Skill it Improves.
The inchworm exercise is a significant activity to incorporate into any workout. It is well-positioned to be used as part of an active warm-up or as part of a high-intensity interval training routine because it can strengthen and stretch multiple muscle groups at the same time.
When you are entering, exiting, and holding the plank portion of the activity, you are strengthening yourself. As you take a step forward with your hands away from your feet, your shoulders, triceps, chest, and eventually your abdominals engage, so do the stabilizing muscles of your shoulders and hips, glutes, and quads to hold your body’s weight as you reach the plank.
Furthermore, the inchworm is an excellent exercise since it uses only your body weight to target almost every major muscle group. Try incorporating it with air squats, high knees, lateral slides, and lunges.
Common Mistakes While Doing Inchworm
In general, any mistakes you make with the inchworm exercise are unlikely to result in severe consequences. However, the danger is not so much in the risk of injury but is not getting the full benefit of exercise. Some common mistakes while performing this exercise are:
- Keep in mind not to perform the inchworm for speed. Collapsing your torso quickly as your hands reach for the floor, racing your hands or feet forward, or yanking your back up to stand are all good ways to strain a muscle or lose out on exercise’s complete strengthening and stretching benefits.
- When executing inchworm, it’s easy to overlook your core, relying instead on arms and legs to carry out through each phase. This is true if you are traveling too quickly. The issue is that you need your core to protect your back from harm by limiting unwanted spine movement.
- The exercise may tempt you to crane your neck to gaze ahead as you extend your hands to the ground, enter the plank position, begin walking your feet forward and rise to stand. However, this action knocks your spine’s alignment out of whack. It’s unlikely to pose severe difficulties for most individuals, but this action can cause neck strain if you are not careful.
Medical Modifications
- For Weak Knees: if you injured your knees, slightly bend them throughout this exercise to feel less strain.
- For Weak Wrists: if you have trouble with your weak wrists, try putting your hands on a dumbbell positioned correctly in each shoulder.
If the activity causes pain, stop and replace it with other active warm-up exercises such as walking lunges, air squats, or steadily going between plank and downward dog.
The Last Word on the Inchworm Exercise
The inchworm is a full-body workout that improves flexibility and strength. To make this low-impact exercise incredibly effective, you only need your body as gym equipment. This workout, inspired by the rhythmic movements of inchworms, works the core, arms, chest, and upper back.
It’s an excellent warm-up since you can use it to distribute stress throughout the entire muscle system with only one movement. In general, most individuals find the inchworm to be a safe exercise, especially when done in a controlled, steady manner.
Anyone with tight hamstrings, wrist pain, or shoulder pain, on the other hand, may find the exercise challenging to complete. The inchworm gives a crucial stretch for the entire body. This is an important exercise to extend your hamstrings and the space between your vertebrae, from your hips to your head. It lengthens your body, stretches your legs, engages your core, and works your arms, and you can feel it all over.
If you’re looking for a way to incorporate more strength and flexibility into your workout, the inchworm exercise might be just what you need. You can use it as an active warm-up at the beginning of a workout or as part of a high-intensity interval training routine because it has the potential to strengthen and stretch multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Have any luck with this exercise? Let us know! We would love to hear how well it worked out for you in our comments section below.
