A spider crawl is a demanding plank drill. From a high plank you bend your elbows so your body stays low, then swing one leg out to the side and bring the knee up toward the elbow on that side, a bit like a spider climbing a wall. You step it back and switch legs. Your arms, shoulders and stomach hold you low while the hips move through a wide range, so it tests your strength and how far your hips can move, both at once.

How to do the spider crawl

Start in a high plank on a clear floor: hands flat under your shoulders, legs straight behind you, weight on your toes.
Bend your elbows so your chest and hips sit lower, only as far as you can hold steady, and keep your body in one line from head to heels. In the video the chest comes close to the floor.
Lift your right foot, swing the knee out to the side and bring it up toward your right elbow, setting the foot down as far forward as your hip allows.
Step that foot back to the plank, staying low, then do the same with the left leg.
Keep alternating and breathing steadily. Push back up to straight arms when the set ends, or sooner if your form fades.

What you should feel

Strong work in the chest, shoulders and backs of the arms from staying low, and in the stomach and the sides of your trunk. The inner thigh and front of the hip of the moving leg may feel a stretch.

Common mistakes

Letting the hips rise high or drop to the floor as the leg moves.
Twisting the pelvis toward the floor to get the knee closer to the elbow.
Going faster than you can keep your body steady.
Holding your breath.

How often

Many programs use 2 to 3 sets of 4 to 8 steps on each leg, or 20 to 30 seconds of steady work with rests in between, 2 or 3 days a week. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Chest pain or pressure, dizziness or feeling faint, a racing or irregular heartbeat, or being far more out of breath than the effort should cause.
Your wrist, elbow or shoulder catches or hurts sharply.
Sharp pain deep in the groin or hip as the knee comes up.
Pain, pins and needles or numbness spreading down your arm or into your hand.
Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
A sudden pop or tearing feeling in the shoulder that brings sharp pain, new weakness or trouble lifting the arm. Stop and contact your surgical team the same day, or get medical advice the same day if you have not had surgery.
The shoulder feels as if it has slipped out of place, looks a different shape or suddenly locks so you cannot move the arm, or your hand turns cold, pale or blue. Go to an emergency department straight away, without driving yourself, and do not try to put the shoulder back in yourself.

From the clinic

Before trying this, get comfortable holding a plank and doing slow mountain climbers with level hips. An easier version keeps your arms straight so only the legs move, and you can bend the elbows once that feels steady. Spiderman push-ups use a similar knee movement with a full push-up each time. Some versions travel forward along the floor a hand and a foot at a time. The steps here stay in one place, as the voice guide and the video show.

If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try the spider crawl. Bringing the knee up toward your elbow bends the hip well past a right angle as it swings out to the side, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations.

Staying low puts a great deal of weight through bent elbows and the fronts of the shoulders. After shoulder surgery, a dislocation or a broken arm, or with a painful shoulder, check with your physio before you try it. After a broken wrist, hand or forearm, or surgery on any of them such as a tendon repair, start only when your doctor, surgeon, physio or hand therapist says the bone or repair is ready for this, and follow their plan for how much to do.

After a broken or dislocated elbow, or elbow surgery such as a tendon repair, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and start this exercise only when they have cleared you. If you have just hurt your arm and have severe pain, cannot move the elbow or heard a snap, do not exercise it. Go to an urgent care center or emergency department the same day. If the arm looks a different shape or sits at an odd angle, a bone is showing, or your arm or hand tingles, feels numb or turns cold, pale or blue, go to an emergency department straight away or call emergency services, and do not drive yourself.

If you have recently given birth, including by cesarean section, or you have a gap down the middle of your stomach muscles (diastasis recti), ask your physio, midwife or doctor first. If you are pregnant, check with your midwife or physio before you start. With a heart condition or high blood pressure, check with your doctor before you start.

If chest pain, pressure or tightness does not ease quickly when you rest, spreads to your arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, feeling light-headed or being short of breath, call emergency services straight away, as this can be a heart attack. If it eases quickly and none of these happen, get medical advice the same day, and do not exercise again until you have been checked. If you faint while exercising, call emergency services, even if you feel fine again quickly.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Spider crawl