If you’re tired of traditional workouts and looking for something fun, challenging, and effective, it’s time to try Animal Flow. This unique bodyweight training system will have you moving like a cat, leaping like a frog, and crawling like a bear—all while improving your strength, mobility, and coordination.
In this article, we’ll dive into the wild world of Animal Flow, covering what it is, the benefits it offers, who can benefit, and how to break it down into its core components. Plus, we’ll throw in a beginner-friendly Animal Flow workout to get you started. Ready to unleash your inner beast? Let’s go!
What is Animal Flow?
Animal Flow is a ground-based workout system that combines mobility, strength, flexibility, and coordination into one seamless practice. Created by fitness expert Mike Fitch, it draws inspiration from animal-like movements and primal patterns to create a challenging yet fluid routine that engages your entire body.
Imagine crawling, lunging, and twisting in ways you probably haven’t done since childhood. It might look like you’re playing around on the ground, but every movement is calculated to develop functional strength, stability, and balance.
Animal Flow can be done anywhere—no equipment necessary—making it a versatile workout you can squeeze in at home, in the park, or even in your living room. Plus, it’s scalable for all fitness levels, so everyone from beginners to advanced athletes can benefit.
The Benefits of Animal Flow Movements
So, why should you start moving like an animal? Here are some of the top benefits:
1. Improves Mobility and Flexibility
Animal Flow emphasizes dynamic, full-range-of-motion movements, which help increase mobility in your joints and improve flexibility in your muscles. It’s particularly good for loosening up tight hips, shoulders, and hamstrings.
2. Builds Functional Strength
Forget isolating muscle groups. Animal Flow trains your body as a connected unit, targeting muscles you didn’t even know you had! These movements engage your core, arms, legs, and back all at once, building strength that translates to better performance in everyday life.
3. Enhances Coordination and Balance
Animal Flow challenges your body to move in new, complex patterns, which sharpens your mind-body connection. This improves coordination and balance, making you more agile and aware of your body in space.
4. Boosts Endurance and Cardiovascular Health
Don’t be fooled by the playful nature of the workout—it can be as intense as you want it to be. The flowing transitions between movements can elevate your heart rate, giving you a cardio boost without traditional running or biking.
5. Reduces Stress
There’s something deeply therapeutic about moving freely on the ground like an animal. The rhythmic, flowing nature of the movements encourages mindfulness and stress relief. Plus, it’s fun! And we all know how powerful movement and play can be for mental health.
What the Experts Say
Mike Fitch, the creator of Animal Flow, has shared great insight into why this movement-based workout is so powerful. He explains:
Training to learn a new skill has always been something that I’ve really enjoyed doing throughout my life… It essentially makes the ‘exercise’ secondary to the goal.
This mindset shift, where exercise becomes part of a larger goal of mastering movement, creates a fun and purposeful approach to fitness.
Furthermore, Devrath Vijay, a master Animal Flow instructor, emphasizes that these ground-based, bodyweight movements not only enhance strength and mobility but also deepen the mind-body connection. This improved coordination, flexibility, and strength benefits a wide range of people, from fitness beginners to professional athletes.
If you’re looking to add fun and purposeful movement into your routine, Animal Flow is a fantastic option that not only challenges your body but also engages your mind. And, anyone can benefit…
Who Can Benefit from Animal Flow?
The beauty of Animal Flow is that anyone can benefit. Here’s a breakdown of who might love this wild workout:
- Fitness Newbies: If you’re new to exercise, Animal Flow offers a great way to start moving without the intimidation of weights or complex equipment.
- Athletes: Since Animal Flow builds strength, mobility, and coordination, it’s a perfect cross-training tool for athletes looking to enhance their performance in sports like running, swimming, or martial arts.
- Desk Workers: If you’re someone who sits at a desk all day and battles tight hips, stiff shoulders, or lower back pain, Animal Flow can help counteract the negative effects of sitting and improve your posture.
- Yoga and Pilates Lovers: If you love yoga or Pilates, you’ll appreciate the fluidity and control required in Animal Flow. The movements build on similar concepts of body awareness and breathwork.
Breaking Down Animal Flow: The Core Components
Animal Flow consists of several components that work together to create a dynamic and versatile practice. Here’s a quick look at the different building blocks of an Animal Flow workout:
1. Mobility Drills
Mobility drills are designed to open up your joints and increase your range of motion. These drills include exercises like wrist mobility stretches, shoulder circles, and spinal rolls, preparing your body for the more complex movements to come.
2. Traveling Forms
Traveling forms are the core of Animal Flow. These are animal-inspired movements like the Bear Crawl, Ape Shuffle, and Crab Walk. You’ll move across the floor, mimicking the movements of animals, which challenges your body’s coordination, strength, and endurance.
3. Switches and Transitions
Switches and transitions are the glue that binds the movements together. They help you flow from one traveling form or position to another. Think of Front Step Throughs or Side Kickthroughs, which create smooth transitions between movements and help you stay connected to the ground.
4. Flows
The flow is where the magic happens! Flows are sequences of movements linked together into one continuous, fluid routine. As you get more comfortable with the individual components, you’ll start combining them into longer flows that improve both your mental focus and physical endurance.
The Importance of Warming Up Properly and Starting with the Basics
Warm Up Properly
Animal Flow includes ground-based, multi-planar movements that require mobility and stability in your joints, particularly your wrists, shoulders, and hips. Starting your session with a warm-up tailored to these areas helps reduce the risk of injury and ensures your body is ready for the demands of this unique workout.
Wrist mobilization is especially important since many Animal Flow movements involve bearing weight on your hands and wrists. Simple wrist stretches and mobilizations should always be part of your warm-up to increase flexibility and strength over time.
Warming up also enhances your body’s readiness for the multi-directional and fluid movements that Animal Flow incorporates, giving your joints the range of motion they need to move through transitions smoothly. Neglecting this step could lead to stiffness or even injury, so always set aside time for it.
Start with Basic Animal Flow Movements
Animal Flow is fun, but it can also be challenging, especially for beginners. That’s why it’s important to master the basics before advancing to more complex flows. Movements like the Loaded Beast and Front Step Through might seem simple, but they lay the groundwork for more dynamic, flowing sequences. By starting with these foundational movements, you’ll build strength, mobility, and coordination while perfecting your form.
Taking the time to build up gradually helps prevent injury and allows you to develop the neuromuscular coordination needed for more complex patterns later on. Starting slow and focusing on technique ensures that you can move with control and efficiency, making your practice more effective and enjoyable over time.
A Beginner-Friendly Animal Flow Workout
Ready to get started? Here’s a simple Animal Flow workout designed for beginners. It includes mobility drills, traveling forms, and transitions to help you build a foundation.
Warm-Up (5 minutes)
- Wrist Mobilizations: Sit on your knees, place your hands on the ground, and rock gently back and forth to stretch your wrists.
- Shoulder Circles: Stand tall and make big, slow circles with your shoulders in both directions.
- Spinal Waves: From a standing position, tuck your chin and round your spine as you roll down into a forward fold, then reverse the motion to stand back up.
Main Flow (3 rounds)
- Loaded Beast (30 seconds): Start in a quadruped position (all fours) with your knees hovering just above the floor. Shift your hips back toward your heels, keeping your arms extended in front of you, like a crouched animal. This move helps engage your core, shoulders, and legs while preparing your body for dynamic movements.
- Beast Crawl (30 seconds): From the Loaded Beast position, lift opposite hands and feet to crawl forward and backward, keeping your knees close to the ground. This move builds strength, coordination, and endurance.
- Front Step Through (30 seconds): From the Beast position, step one foot forward between your hands while lifting the opposite arm. Extend the other leg behind you in a long lunge. This movement focuses on core stability, flexibility, and hip mobility, giving you a powerful full-body stretch.
- Underswitch (30 seconds): In the Beast position, lift one hand and the opposite foot, then rotate your body to face upward, moving into a crab-like position. This move challenges your coordination and balance as you smoothly transition from one form to another.
- Ape Shuffle (30 seconds): Squat down, place your hands on the floor in front, and hop your feet to one side, then the other.
- Side Kickthrough (30 seconds): In the Beast position, lift one hand and kick the opposite leg through your body, extending it to the side. Return to Beast and switch sides.
- Crab Reach (30 seconds): Sit with your feet on the floor and hands behind you. Lift your hips and reach one arm up and over your body, creating a side bend. Alternate sides.
- Rest (1 minute): Take a break before repeating the round.
Cool-Down (5 minutes)
- Child’s Pose: Kneel on the ground, extend your arms forward, and sit back onto your heels to stretch your spine.
- Cat-Cow Stretch: On all fours, arch your back and then round it, following your breath.
- Forward Fold: Stand tall, hands reaching above your head, hinge at the hips, and fold forward to release your hamstrings and lower back. Fold your arms and allow them to pendulum swing for a deeper stretch.
Watch This: Animal Flow Beginner Class
Get ready to jump into your first Animal Flow class with none other than Mike Fitch, the creator of the program! In this beginner-friendly 30-minute workout, Mike will guide you through essential wrist mobilization drills to prepare your joints for movement. Then, you’ll dive into learning several foundational movements, perfect for newcomers.
You don’t need any prior experience, Mike will break down each move step by step, making it easy to follow along. In this class, you’ll be introduced to four of the core Level 1 movements: Loaded Beast, Front Step Through, Underswitch, and the exhilarating Jumping Side Kickthrough. By the end, you’ll put these moves together into a fun and fluid flow, giving you a taste of the dynamic energy Animal Flow offers!
Conclusion
Animal Flow is a fun, dynamic workout that combines mobility, strength, and coordination in a unique, primal way. Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or someone just starting their fitness journey, you can benefit from this innovative system. But remember it’s important to warm up properly, start with the basics and build up from there. With movements that improve flexibility, endurance, and functional strength, Animal Flow is a workout worth trying if you’re looking to move better, feel stronger, and have a little fun while doing it.
So go ahead, get on the floor, and unleash your inner animal—you might just discover a whole new way to train!
