How to crawl to achieve endurance and lose weight

The goal of our Spring Flow is to achieve mobility, endurance, strength and definition – real panthers! What exactly is cat / panther crawling and what do we get out of it?

You can think of your body as a big “X”. Neurologically, your left arm is connected to your right leg and your right arm is connected to your left leg. They intersect in the center, which many of us know as “core”. It is a center of power production, transmission and reduction. So the stronger the central part of your body, the stronger the potential of the rest of your body.

One of the best ways to empower the body, especially the middle, is through counter-transverse movements (opposite arm and opposite leg) or crossing movements in the center. This is because such movements increase and strengthen the nerve connections between the two halves of your brain, helping the brain and body to function more efficiently. (The theory is that the brain literally uses less ATP for central processing, so it is not so loaded and therefore you do not feel CNS fatigue or burnout). These movements literally connect your body, making the “X” stronger and stronger. You don’t believe me? Get down and do a push-up with one arm and leg and keep your body level as you do so. This is a classic test for real “core” strength. Can’t do that? There seems to be a lot of work ahead of you.

Interestingly, this heightened nervous efficiency is the primary reason why I put a particular form of crawling into every Born2Flow and Hard body training protocol – it won’t burn your CNS. It will burden you muscularly and metabolically, but because of the ability to strengthen the “X”, it actually makes your CNS more efficient.

In doing so, they strengthen the neural connections between the hemispheres, and it is possible to do more with less energy. Larger, thicker nerve pathways require less energy. You can see that “X” in action when you observe walking, our primary means of movement. Sprinting is also a great example of training your “X”. However, we all know that you have to walk before running, and you have to crawl before walking. And that’s why we need a Panther crawling – from a little kitten to a Panther!

Working on strength, we melt fat – there is no division into so-called. cardio exercises and strength exercises! As I described in detail in the introductory article, in our Born2Flow training system, we work together in the flow of 2, 3 and more exercises, and as an active vacation we use the so-called. reset. What happens in the body during intense training? “Functional interval training involves alternating high and low intensity exercise and we distinguish the so-called. aerobic and anaerobic intervals, which are meaningfully combined and complemented during Flow training. Because working with maximum intensity, we reach the extreme limits, then we recover briefly with low intensity, and so on alternately. In this way, we stimulate the metabolic processes by which we achieve, dear to all of us, maximum ‘fat burning’, but at the same time we gain mobility, strength and endurance ”, read the introductory article.
When crawling, use every muscle in your body from head to toe. Your neck will hurt because you are not used to keeping your head up. The shoulder muscles will get a boost and you will work with the shoulder joint rotator just the way it was created – an isometric joint stabilizer. Your legs and hips will burn. This increased and unusual metabolic requirement will cause a lot of shortness of breath.
If you notice that you are too bloated, ie that your pulse is too high, simply lower your knees, and gently swing / reset to all “4” (see Pantera video). When you feel you have recovered, move on. So never work beyond your own limits. Through our progressions, progress will be safe and fast, if you are regular.

As a result, your fitness will increase and you will experience greater fat loss. The first is the obvious “afterburn” effect. Second your body will start to function much better. You will stop working against yourself and you will start to make up for your reflexive strength and stability. You will start to lose compensatory movements and there will be no more dysfunction. This will allow you to access more muscle fibers, create more strength, and raise progression in our B2F workouts. It takes more energy and therefore burns more fat.

Test yourself with our Panthera Challenge Test at the beginning, halfway (after week 5), and at the end of week 10 of the challenge.

The task is to crawl / move like a cat, on all “4”, in all directions. It is very important to emphasize that the knees are slightly raised off the floor, ideally 6 cm. We move in that position of the cat, without standing or resting. Let’s turn on the stopwatch and / or follow the time on our B2F Panthera challenge video and – let’s go! Watch the first Panther video:

Note: Baby crawling is crawling with your knees on the floor. This is the initial level, we use it to “learn” the movement, and as a warm-up. You’ll be surprised, that many of you won’t be able to take a single step with your knees raised at first! And if that happens to you, don’t force it. It is only a reflection of your current state, ie immobility and lack of strength, coordination, in which case record the initial state of the test / challenge 0 seconds, and continue to work small cat / Baby crawling exclusively with your knees on the floor. Very soon, if you practice with us online, our spring Spring Born2Flow 10-week program, you will notice that you are progressing day by day, in every way. If you are able to work with a real cat with raised knees from the very beginning, get tested and record your time according to the table below.

Panther Challenge / Test Value Table:
00:00 – 01:30 minutes – Kitty level – little Cat – so, we are at the very beginning, we start with small, baby steps
01:30 – 03:00 minutes – Young cat level – small Cat – good condition
03:00 – 04:30 minutes – Cat level – Cat – very good condition
04:30 – 06:00 minutes – Tom Cat – Tom Cat / Cat in excellent condition
06:00 minutes & more – You have become a real Panther! Congratulations – you are in excellent shape.
Panther video test:

Warming up: baby crawling – knees on the floor.

Panthera Challenge:

Start Challenge – The goal is to crawl like a cat with your knees raised about 6 inches above the floor – in all directions. Don’t push – work at your own pace and try to balance breathing with movement, when it gets hard or if you notice any pain, be sure to stop!

How to measure the progression / time of the challenge: When you start and raise your knees, start measuring time, when you lower your knees, stop the time, that’s how much your initial test is. Measure yourself at the beginning, after 5 weeks, and finally, after 10 weeks of challenge.

Finally light cooling, slow breathing and stretching to the end of the video. A little tip: you can also use your favorite song, find one that lasts about 6 minutes, and practice with it.

Everyone exercises at their own risk – be sure to consult your doctor before exercising.