This insane Lizard Crawl will make your glutes burn and give you a total-body work

The lizard crawl exercise became popular when Connor McGregor, a legendary and controversial MMA fighter, included in his training regimen in 2015.

The lizard crawl exercise is considered one of the best floor locomotion exercises and is a great way to achieve full body strength and conditioning. That helps in the development of muscles, balance and control.

According to experts, the lizard crawl is a very advanced exercise and cannot be fully done in the very first practice. Instead, the best way to do this is to break it down into digestible segments and then increase the difficulty level as you progress.

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Benefits of lizard crawl exercise

The excercise has several health benefits. (Image via Unsplash/Olivia Bauso)

The benefits of this exercise are manifold. In a single session, it tests the range of motion and stability, muscular endurance and strength and boosts core strength. During a session, after walking for a few meters, the heart rate significantly goes up, so it's very exhausting work in the initial days.

Here are some benefits of the lizard walk exercise:

#1 Increase in flexibility and core strength

Improves core strength (Image via Unsplash/Dewang Gupta)

The flexibility problems faced during floor locomotion exercises are more because of lack of core stability, and less because of stiffness in muscles. Lizard walk has a significant impact on development of core strength, which improves flexibility.

#2 Improvement in mind-and body coordination

Better mind-and-body coordination (Image via Unsplash/Ahmad Odeh)

Lizard walk involves a person's complete awareness of the position and movement of their various body parts, with the sensory organs, especially in the joints and muscles.

Crawling trains the central nervous system to increase kinesthetic awareness, which strengthens the mind and body connection.

#3 More confident walking

Fixes walking mechanism (Image via Unsplash/Gabin Vallet)

Doing lizard crawl over time can rectify walking defects that may creep in with time giving a straighter and more confident gait.

#4 Better upper and lower body coordination

Better mind and body coordination (Image via Unsplash/Eduardo Madrid)

The exercise involves both the upper and lower body, training both for well-balanced coordination. When the coordination of the upper and lower body is optimal, nearly all physical activities become easier.

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Variations to achieve a perfect Lizard Crawl

Patience is the kay (Image via Unsplash/Edoardo Cuoghi)

Beginner level: Baby crawl

Just like mimicking a baby, keep your both hands and knees on the ground. Slowly try to crawl forward, moving the opposite hand and knee at the same time, keeping the spine straight and core tight.

Intermediate level: Bear crawl

As you get more confident with the baby crawl, try lifting your knees, keeping both hands and feet on the ground.

Stretch your spine by taking your chest forward and packing the shoulders. While keeping the knees on the ground, try to crawl forward softly, moving opposite arms and legs at the same time.

Advanced level: Lizard crawl

After you have mastered both the aforementioned variations, it's time to go for the ultimate test, the lizard crawl.

Keep both hands on the ground, and slowly move your knee up to waist height, placing the ball of your foot on the floor. Slide down so that the chest stays around two inches above the ground before returning to the position. Continue moving forward.

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The lizard crawl, just like the gorilla walk can be a very effective exercise to boost core strength, improve heart health, and increase muscle endurance and stability. That helps in the development of muscles, balance and control.

It's one of McGregor's knowledge nuts that we can add to our training regime and be a milestone in our journey to achieve a better core.