Animal Flow for Beginners: Build Strength Through Natural Movement

More than once since I’ve begun structured exercise I’ve experienced that moment which has been both humiliating and enlightening – it showed me just how disconnected I’d become from the natural movement patterns we’re all born with. What we don’t use, we lose physically; and we can get it back.

Animal flow brought me back to those fundamental patterns, but it wasn’t the smooth journey I’d expected. If you’re thinking about diving into this practice, let me save you some of the trial-and-error I went through and give you a realistic roadmap for building strength through these incredibly powerful movements. https://www.rushwalter.com/holistic-strength-training-for-beginners/

What Animal Flow Actually Is

Animal flow isn’t just crawling around on all fours, though that’s definitely part of it. It’s a ground-based movement practice that combines elements from various bodyweight training disciplines, yoga, and breakdancing, all organized around animal-inspired movement patterns.

The genius of the system is that it works with your body’s natural movement tendencies rather than fighting against them. https://www.rushwalter.com/natural-movement-strength-patterns-for-real-world-power/ When you watch a cat stretch after a nap, or see how a lizard moves across rocks, you’re observing movement efficiency that humans have largely lost through years of sitting in chairs and moving in straight lines.

I first encountered animal flow on videos. What struck me immediately wasn’t the complexity of the movements – though some are incredibly challenging – but how intuitive they felt once you stopped overthinking them. https://www.rushwalter.com/intuitive-strength-training-listening-to-your-bodys-signals/ Your body wants to move in these patterns; you just need to give it permission and practice.

Starting With the Basics: Wrist Preparation

The biggest mistake beginners make is jumping straight into full animal movements without preparing their wrists. I learned this when I spent my first week watching my friends nursing sore wrists that felt like they had been doing pushups for hours.

Your wrists probably haven’t supported your full body weight in years, maybe decades. They need time to adapt to the increased load and range of motion required for ground-based movement. Spend at least a week, maybe two, just working on wrist mobility and strengthening before attempting any full animal patterns. An advanced way to increase your wrist strength and begin working on improving your health is to do “plank” exercises from your hands.

Start with simple wrist circles, both directions, for thirty seconds each. Then try gentle stretches – pressing your palms together in front of your chest and slowly lowering them while keeping palms connected. Follow that with reverse stretches, placing the backs of your hands together.

The strengthening component involves gradually loading your wrists in the positions you’ll use during animal movements. Start in a tabletop position on your hands and knees, then slowly rock forward and back to vary the angle and weight distribution. Progress to lifting one hand at a time for a few seconds.

The Foundation: Beast Hold

If animal flow had a foundational movement, it would be the beast hold. This position looks deceptively simple – you’re on your hands and feet with your knees hovering about an inch off the ground – but it’s incredibly challenging and reveals weaknesses most people don’t know they have.

When I first attempted a beast hold, I was shaking like a leaf after thirty seconds. My core was on fire, my shoulders were screaming, and my wrists felt like they might snap. But there’s something almost magical about this position once you build the strength to hold it comfortably.

Start by mastering the tabletop position – hands under shoulders, knees under hips, neutral spine. From there, tuck your toes under and lift your knees just an inch off the ground. The goal is creating a stable platform with minimal movement or shaking.

Most beginners can’t hold this position for more than ten to twenty seconds initially, and that’s perfectly normal. Work up to a sixty-second hold before progressing to movement patterns. This foundation will make everything else much easier and safer.

Basic Traveling Patterns

Once you’re comfortable with the beast hold, you can start exploring traveling patterns. These movements take the stable beast position and add locomotion, which dramatically increases the coordination and strength demands.

The bear crawl is probably the most accessible traveling pattern. From your beast hold, step forward with your right hand and left foot simultaneously, then repeat with the opposite hand and foot. The key is maintaining that low position with knees close to the ground throughout the movement.

Most people rush the bear crawl, which defeats the purpose. Focus on slow, controlled steps with smooth weight transfers. Each step should be deliberate and stable before moving to the next. Speed comes naturally once the pattern is ingrained. Keep your back straight to prove core balance. Take controlled steps, not long ones.

Backward bear crawling is significantly more challenging because you can’t see where you’re going and the movement pattern feels less natural. Start with just two or three steps backward, focusing on smooth coordination between opposite limbs.

The Crab Walk Challenge

Crab walks are where things get interesting and where most beginners hit their first major roadblock. This movement requires significant shoulder and wrist flexibility along with posterior chain strength that many people have lost through years of desk work.

Start in a seated position with your hands on the ground behind you, fingers pointing toward your feet. Press through your hands and feet to lift your hips off the ground, creating a reverse tabletop position. This static hold is challenging enough for most beginners.

The traveling version involves walking on hands and feet while maintaining the elevated position. Forward crab walking is easier than backward because the movement feels more natural, but both directions challenge your coordination and strength in unique ways.

Don’t be discouraged if crab walks feel impossible at first. I’ve had clients work on the basic position for weeks before attempting any movement. Building the necessary shoulder flexibility and posterior strength takes time, especially if you’re starting from a desk-bound lifestyle.

Wave Movements: Finding Your Flow

This is where animal flow starts feeling less like exercise and more like dance. Wave movements involve creating undulating motions through your spine while maintaining contact with the ground. These patterns improve spinal mobility while building core strength and body awareness.

The scorpion reach is a great introduction to wave movements. Start in your beast position, then reach one hand forward and across your body while rotating your torso. The movement should create a wave-like motion from your reaching hand through your spine to your opposite hip.

Wave movements are where your personality can start emerging in the practice. Some people naturally move with smooth, flowing waves. Others prefer sharper, more dynamic movements. Both approaches are valid – the key is finding what feels natural for your body.

Building Your First Flow

A flow is simply a sequence of animal movements connected together without breaks. Creating your first flow is exciting because it represents the transition from isolated exercises to continuous movement practice.

Start ridiculously simple. Your first flow might be: beast hold for ten seconds, bear crawl forward three steps, beast hold for ten seconds, bear crawl backward three steps, return to beast hold. That’s it. No complex transitions or advanced movements needed.

The magic happens in the transitions between movements. Instead of stopping completely between patterns, you start learning to flow smoothly from one position to the next. This continuity is what makes animal flow feel different from traditional exercise.

As you become more comfortable with basic patterns, you can start experimenting with longer sequences and more complex transitions. But remember – complexity for its own sake isn’t the goal. Smooth, controlled movement quality should always take priority over fancy sequences.

Strength Building Benefits

The strength-building aspects of animal flow are comprehensive and functional in ways that traditional gym exercises often miss. You’re building strength through full ranges of motion while integrating multiple muscle groups simultaneously.

Your core strength will improve dramatically, but not through isolated exercises like crunches or planks. Instead, your core learns to stabilize your spine while your limbs are moving dynamically through space. This translates directly to real-world activities and other sports.

Shoulder stability and strength develop naturally through the weight-bearing positions required in most animal movements. Your shoulders learn to function as mobile joints and stable platforms simultaneously, which is exactly how they’re designed to work.

Common Beginner Mistakes

The biggest mistake I see beginners make is trying to progress too quickly. Animal flow patterns look simple when demonstrated by experienced practitioners, but they require significant strength, flexibility, and coordination that takes time to develop.

Another common error is holding your breath during movements. These patterns require sustained muscular effort, so learning to breathe rhythmically while moving is crucial. https://www.rushwalter.com/breathwork-techniques-for-enhanced-strength-training-results/ Practice conscious breathing during static holds before attempting flowing movements.

Many beginners also get caught up in trying to copy advanced movements they see online instead of mastering the fundamentals. There’s no shame in spending weeks or months working on basic patterns. The advanced stuff will come naturally once your foundation is solid.

Creating Your Practice Schedule

For beginners, I recommend starting with three sessions per week, fifteen to twenty minutes each. This gives your body adequate recovery time while maintaining consistency for skill development. And I encourage you to expand your exercise options with other activities such as functional strength training, bike riding, walking, or pickleball, etc…

Begin each session with five minutes of wrist preparation and joint mobility. Spend ten minutes working on your current skill level – maybe beast holds and basic bear crawling for the first few weeks. Finish with five minutes of gentle stretching or relaxation.

Progress is often non-linear with animal flow. Some days everything feels smooth and natural, other days you might struggle with movements that felt easy the week before. This variability is normal and part of the learning process.

Equipment and Space Needs

One of the beauties of animal flow is its minimal equipment requirements. All you need is enough floor space to crawl around – about six by eight feet is adequate for most patterns. A exercise mat helps with grip and comfort, but isn’t absolutely necessary.

The most important equipment consideration is your clothing. You need to be able to move freely in all directions, so avoid restrictive clothing. Many practitioners prefer bare feet for better ground contact and proprioception. Try it, you’ll like it.

Building Long-Term Success

The key to long-term success with animal flow is approaching it as a practice rather than a workout. This mindset shift changes everything about how you engage with the movements.

Instead of focusing on burning calories or hitting specific performance metrics, you’re exploring movement possibilities and building body awareness. Some days you might spend the entire session working on one transition that isn’t quite clicking. Other days you might flow for twenty minutes without repeating the same sequence twice.

Find ways to incorporate animal movement patterns into your daily life. Drop into a beast hold while watching TV. Practice crab walks in your backyard. Bear crawl with your kids or pets. These informal practice sessions often lead to breakthrough moments in your formal training.

Most importantly, remember that every expert was once a beginner who felt uncoordinated and weak. https://www.rushwalter.com/holistic-strength-training-for-beginners/ Your body has an incredible capacity to adapt and learn, but it needs time and consistent practice. Trust the process, enjoy the journey, and celebrate small improvements along the way.

Always remember that everyone starts somewhere, and the willingness to look foolish while learning is often the first step toward mastery. Rarely do I master a new exercise or movement within the first two weeks, however I learn from each session how to become more aware how to be better. With persistence and worthy practice you will become healthier each session.

Thank you for reading this fitness blog. Contact us to increase your strength, endurance, and flexibility, with the right direction and fitness tools. I hope you enjoy a healthy day, Walter