Inchworm | Illustrated Exercise Guide

Primary muscles: Core, shoulders
Secondary muscles: Arms, chest, back
Equipment: No equipment

Inchworm Instructions

1. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Bend over and touch the floor with the palms of your hands.
3. Walk your hands out, as far as you can while keeping your legs straight, and pause.
4. Walk back up to the starting position and repeat until the set is complete.

Proper Form And Breathing Pattern

Keep your legs straight, don’t let your hips sag, and maintain a neutral spine. Engage your core muscles to stabilize the movement and walk your hands out as far as you can without losing form. Breathe deeply and lift the heels as you walk out, keeping the toes in the same spot.

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Exercise Benefits

The inchworm is a great bodyweight exercise that warms up the entire body. It strengthens your arms, chest, upper back, lower back, and abs and increases your balance and stability. Since your core needs to work hard to maintain stability and proper posture, this exercise can be part of a warm up routine or a core workout.

Inchworm Demonstration

Sets And Reps

Start with 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions and, once you’re comfortable with the exercise, increase the challenge by adding a push up halfway through the movement.

Calories Burned

To calculate the number of calories burned doing the inchworm exercise, enter your weight and the duration of the exercise:

Related Warm Up Exercises

Try these other warm up exercises to increase your heart rate and prepare your body for a workout:
Jump rope
High knees
Mountain climbers
Side to side squats

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