# Inchworm: how to do it

- Main muscles: hamstrings, abs
- Also works: front delts
- Equipment: bodyweight
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/inchworm/24c258a6b6/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Stand tall with your feet together and your knees straight.
2. Bend forward from your hips and place your hands on the floor in front of your feet.
3. Walk your hands forward in small steps until you are in a straight-arm plank.
4. Walk your hands back to your feet, then stand up tall.

## Cues

- Knees long, back flat.
- Small hand steps.
- Hips level in the plank.

## Common mistakes

- Bending your knees a lot: keep only a soft bend.
- Hips sagging in the plank: brace your stomach before walking back.
- Overreaching: stop when your hands are under your shoulders.

## The version in our demo

Inchworm in place, no push-up: fold forward, walk the hands out to a high plank, walk the hands back to the feet, stand up.

## Starting position

Standing tall, feet together or up to hip-width apart, knees straight but not locked, arms by the sides, abs braced.

## The movement

Hinge forward from the hips with a flat back and nearly straight knees, reaching the hands down until the palms or fingertips touch the floor just in front of the feet. Walk the hands forward in small steps, keeping the knees straight and letting the heels rise, until the body is in a high plank with the hands under the shoulders. Pause, then walk the hands back in the same small steps to the feet, and roll up through a flat-back hinge to standing. The feet stay where they are throughout.

## Breathing

Breathe out as you fold, breathe steadily while walking, in as you stand.

## Tempo

1.5 s fold, 2.5 s walk out, 0.5 s plank hold, 2.5 s walk back, 1.5 s stand (8.5 s).

## Form in numbers

- Hand steps 15–25 cm each (ACE: 6–12 in); about 4 steps out and 4 back for an average body.
- Heels rise as the hands move out; back stays flat, never rounding at the fold.
- Head stays in line with the spine.

## Sources

1. [ACE, "Inchworms"](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/254/inchworms/)
2. [The Prehab Guys, "Inch Worm - In Place"](https://theprehabguys.com/vimeo-video/inch-worm-in-place/)
3. [The Prehab Guys, "Inch Worm - Walking"](https://library.theprehabguys.com/vimeo-video/inch-worm-walking/)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/inchworm