I don’t like when people say “This is the greatest” or “This is the best”. Putting something on a pedestal makes it
much easier for me to knock it off. Alas, there is a movement called “The World’s Greatest” and that term rolls off the tongue better than “This is an effective and efficient dynamic mobility drill that you should be including in your warm-up.”
That being said, this is an effective and efficient dynamic mobility drill that you should be including in your warm-up. #Boom.
The Walking Spiderman can help to prepare the ankles, hips, and thoracic spine for exercise. Those are the joints that we want to be mobile using the Joint by Joint approach, and the musculature surrounding those joints should be adequately prepared for exercise. You can enhance movement quality with a proper dynamic warm-up, and this exercise helps get a lot done, which is essential for commercial gym goers, aka the 99%. Well, maybe the 9%.
10% of the country that has a fitness membership, and I know that going through a “long and drawn out” (your words) “complete and effective” (my words) dynamic warm-up isn’t at the top of your priority list. Good movement and appreciable mobility are universally helpful, and can help you get stronger, bigger, or leaner; everybody needs to move well. If you’re not a fan of the warm-up, this might do the trick.
When completing the Walking Spiderman, focus on the following:
- Deep lunge slightly away from the mid-line, with both arms inside of the knee.
- Rotate through the upper back and reach for the ceiling with the arm on the side you stepped out with.
- Take a breath.
- Rinse and repeat.
It’s simple. It’s effective. It will help you prepare for exercise, reduce stress during your lunch break, or can be used as a quick mobility drill throughout the day. The “Walking Spiderman” is called the World’s Greatest Stretch for a reason, and it would behoove you to try this one.
At least before I find a better one.
Harold Gibbons 