Move · Videos · Technique · 7 min

Animal Dice Game: Bear Crawl, Crab Walk and More

Animal Dice Game: Bear Crawl, Crab Walk and More — video by Greater Austin YMCA Play · 7:08

Video by Greater Austin YMCA on YouTube · Open on YouTube

A YMCA personal trainer shows how to make a dice from a covered cardboard box with an animal move on each face, then demonstrates bear crawl, crab walk, stork hinge, frog hops, gorilla and lizard crawl. Roll, move, repeat with kids or friends.

  • 7 min
  • Beginner
  • High impact (jumping)
  • No equipment

Good forFun workouts

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Step by step 6

Tap a time to watch that step in the video.

  1. Make the dice: fill a square cardboard box with newspaper, cover it in paper and draw an animal move on each face. 0:25
  2. Bear crawl: hands under the shoulders, knees under the hips, toes dug in, knees an inch up and a flat back. 2:13
  3. Crab walk: sit with your hands behind you, lift your hips off the floor and walk. 3:05
  4. Stork hinge: balance on one leg, tip forward as the other leg reaches back, then drive the knee up; switch. 3:50
  5. Frog hops, then gorilla: squat with the hands down, bring the feet up between them and keep the chest high. 4:43
  6. Lizard crawl: low to the floor, reaching a hand and leg out wide, first with a push-up, then without. 5:41

The steps are a summary in our words, checked against the video — the coach shows every move.

Form cues from the coach

  • In the bear crawl, dig your toes in, lift your knees an inch and keep a flat back
  • In the crab walk, put your hands behind you and lift your hips off the floor
  • Keep your chest high as you squat for the gorilla move

What it works

Tap an area for more videos that work it.

Joints it uses 5 takes load

  • Shoulders takes loadbear crawl, crab walk, lizard crawl push-ups
  • Wrists & hands takes loadbear crawl, crab walk, frog hops, lizard crawl
  • Hips takes loadstork hinge, frog hops, gorilla squats
  • Knees takes loadfrog hops, gorilla squats
  • Ankles & feet takes loadfrog hops, stork hinge, bear crawl on toes
  • Elbows moveslizard crawl and its push-up
  • Lower back movesstork hinge, crab walk hip lift
  • Jumping or hopping. Impact goes through the ankles, knees and hips.
  • Weight on your hands. The wrists bend back under load. Fists, push-up handles or your forearms ease it.
  • Down on the floor. You get down to the floor and back up again.
  • Standing on one leg. Keep a chair or a wall within reach.

A guide to the joints this video’s moves load, from what the coach does — not medical advice. This video was harder to rate from its talk and pictures, so treat it as a rougher guide. Some ache is normal; stop if a joint hurts sharply. How joints are rated

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Video by Greater Austin YMCA; the summary, steps, cues, body areas and joint notes are Notbroken’s, written from what the coach actually does in the video and checked a second time. Warm up first, take the easier options until a move feels easy, and stop if you feel sharp pain, chest pain or dizziness. General instruction, not advice for your body. About & safety