Difficulty: Medium
Impact Level: Normal
Target Body Parts: abs, triceps, upper back, lower back, shoulders
How to do Inch Worms
Back to ExercisesInstructions
Start standing with your feet set at shoulder width and your arms down by your sides. Keeping your legs as straight as you can to really stretch out your hamstrings, bend forwards from the hips until your fingers touch down underneath your shoulders.
Then start to walk your hands out along the floor and stabilize with your core and shoulders. Your heals will lift up off the floor and you will rock up on to your toes, but your feet don’t move forwards. Keep walking your hands out until you are in a high plank position with your hands underneath your shoulders (or the top of the push-up position). Make sure your hips don’t drop below the straight line of your head down to your heals.
From this high plank position, push your hips up and back as you walk your hands back in towards your feet. Once your heals return to the floor, take your weight back into your feet and take your hands off the floor and lift your upper body up to return to standing.
How to make Inch Worms easier
Try our Plank exercise to build up strength in your core to help with this exercise. If you find it hard to bend forwards and touch the floor with your fingers because your hamstrings and lower back are tight, then use our Hamstring Stretch Standing and Lower Back Stretch.
How to make Inch Worms more challenging
Progress this exercise by walking your hands out in front of your shoulders so that you lengthen your body out into a long plank, but build up the distance gradually as your shoulders and core get stronger.
Also for variety, you can walk your feet in to your hands instead of moving your hands back to your feet. For harder exercises check out our Two-Point Plank and Swipers moves.
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