Quadrobics Definition
Quadrobics is the act of walking, running, or jumping on all fours. “Quadrobics” is the practice of moving around on all fours, like a quadruped animal, such as a cat. It’s mostly done by therians—people who identify as a specific non-human animal—as a way to feel connected to the animal they identify with. Quadrobics includes all types of quadruped movement, from walking to sprinting to jumping. Quadrobics may also be used in a clinical setting as a form of physical therapy. However this practice is extremely uncommon and unresearched.
Quadrobics History
Quadrobics is closely linked to the therian subculture. Crawling as an exercise has been around for a long time. In fact, the longest crawl on record belongs to a Canadian who crawled for 35 mi (56 km) in 2001. Quadrobics as a sport, though, rose in popularity alongside kinnies and therians, who really took off in the 2000s, thanks to the internet. More recently, forms of crawling have started to gain popularity in various fitness communities, and people say it’s great for your core and dexterity. Currently, quadrobics isn’t an official sport, but you may be able to find groups of other people to do it with.
Is quadrobics bad for you?
Quadrobics can be good exercise, but can also lead to bad posture or injury. For humans, good posture involves a straight spine, with your shoulders, neck, hips, and legs aligned. Quadrobics involve moving on all fours, which isn’t proper posture, and may lead to bad habits or injury if you’re not careful. That said, there’s no doubt that crawling exercises like quadrobics can be a great workout, so long as you play it safe and only do it for about an hour each week. Keep in mind that quadrobics as a sport and activity isn’t very well-researched. There may be consequences that healthcare professionals aren’t aware of, so use caution!
Quadrobics Hand Position
Curl your fingers and rest your weight on your palm. Many people who do quadrobics prefer to use a paw-like hand position, which they find is most comfortable and authentic. Curl your fingers toward your palm, so that the last 2 knuckles on each finger are bent, but so that your hands don’t quite form fists, and your palms are flat. As you move, rest your weight mostly on your palms. Also, keep your thumbs straight and to the side of your hands to avoid injury. Many therians and quadrupeds also walk with flat hands and an open palm, or use gloves to protect their hands. Do whatever is most comfortable for you.
Standing
Get on your hands and knees on a soft surface. To start, it’s important to get comfortable standing stationary before you start walking or running. Find a soft surface, like carpet, grass, or a yoga mat. Then, get on your hands on knees, with your feet straight behind your knees. Do your best to keep your back straight, shoulders engaged but loose, and core tight.
Rise onto the balls of your feet. Lift your knees off the ground, supporting yourself with the balls of your feet, and keep lifting your knees until you’re comfortable and can hold the lifted position for a good while—1-2 minutes at a time. You may need to practice just standing for a while to work up the core, arm, and leg strength for other motions. You’ll be most agile with your shins parallel to the ground, but this also takes a good amount of strength. Widen your stance and separate your feet farther apart for more stability. Also feel free to straighten your knees a bit until you feel stable.
Walking
Walk as normal, while bent over, and use your hands to support your front. Walking in quadrobics is simple. Just put one foot in front of the other, as you’d walk normally, except stay on all fours. As your feet walk, also walk your hands forward to help your front keep pace with your back. Feel free to keep your rear high for now—you can lower it as you get more comfortable. While walking, don’t worry too much about the rhythm or movement patterns of your hands and feet. This will come naturally with experience. Keep your back straight, core tight, and neck mostly straight, bending it only to look forward and see where you’re going.
Trotting
Practice lifting your opposite hand and foot at the same time. In quadrobics, a trot is a springy, slightly faster walk. Trotting has its own movement pattern. To start, get in a quadruped standing position. Raise your left hand and right foot at the same time, then bring them down and raise your right hand and left foot at the same time. Practice alternating hands and feet like this while staying stationary. As you do, try to incorporate a little spring and bounciness into the movement, which is signature to trotting.
Propel yourself forward once you’ve mastered the movement pattern. Once you can comfortably trot in place for 10-20 seconds at a time, start moving forward. The forward motion comes from a gentle push or “leap” with your feet. Meanwhile, your hands keep you stable and decide your direction. Start slow, and gradually try to get faster and faster. Remember, though, a trot isn’t more than a slightly more energetic walk.
Cantering
Practice kicking off with your feet and catching yourself with your hands. A canter is between a walk and a run, and is a little more intense than a trot. First, get in a quadruped standing position. Then, lift both hands off the ground while raising your body and propelling yourself forward with your legs, then land on your palms. At this stage, your feet don’t leave the ground—they’re there to anchor you and give you forward movement. To start, don’t raise your hands more than a few inches off the ground, which will help prevent injury while you build up wrist strength.
Kick your feet off the ground as you land, then repeat. Once you’ve landed on your palms, kick your feet up into the air so that your behind lifts. Aim to have your feet land close behind your hands, but not so close that you lose your balance. You’ve just completed a canter! Repeat this until it feels natural. Push forward, land on your palms, and follow with a little jump from your feet. It’s sometimes more comfortable if your feet and hands are slightly out of sync—landing on one hand followed by the other, then kicking with one foot followed closely by the other. Keep stringing the whole process together until it feels fluid, and you can do it without thinking.
Running
Lengthen and speed up your canter to start running and sprinting. In quadrobics, a run or a sprint is simply a longer and quicker canter. As you canter and lift your hands off the ground, aim to have them land farther forward than a typical canter, and follow up with your feet. Again, it might be more comfortable to have one hand land slightly before the other. As you run, focus on straightening your torso and opening up your posture as you reach forward. Keep practicing! Quadrobics is a whole new system of movement, so don’t be discouraged if you start slowly.
Jumping
Tuck your arms and push off higher during a canter to jump. A quadrobics jump is basically a tweaked canter stride. To do one, start moving in a canter. Then, when you lift your hands, bend your elbows and bring your hands near your chest. As you push off with your legs, aim your torso more vertically than normal. Kick, and let your feet leave the ground, and land on your palms. Practice jumping over low obstacles, at first, like shoes. As you get comfortable, try jumping onto the couch, or over boxes
Staying Safe & Avoiding Injury
Stretch your whole body before you do quadrobics. Quadrobices engages almost every part of your body, and the movements are usually pretty unfamiliar to your muscles, so it’s important to stretch, just like you would before any workout. Especially focus on stretching your arms, your legs, and your core. Reach down and touch your toes for 10 seconds while keeping your legs straight to stretch your legs. Make your arms loose and swing them around your torso in a windmill for 10 seconds to stretch your arms. Pivot your torso from side to side for 10 seconds to stretch your core. Stretch for 3-5 minutes before each quadrobics session.
Only do quadrobics for about an hour each week. Human bodies aren’t really meant to walk on all fours, even if you identify with a quadruped animal. To stay safe and avoid injury, limit the time you spend doing quadrobics to about an hour each week. Otherwise, you might develop poor posture or other muscle or skeletal injuries or complications.
Avoid quadrobics if you have an existing injury. Again, quadrobics is a great workout, but it isn’t your body’s natural way of moving. If you’re already injured or have other conditions, like arthritis or prior injuries, it’s best to stay away from quadrobics and focus on more upright and natural exercises that are easier on your body. Talk to your doctor about quadrobics before you dive in, even if you aren’t injured or don’t have existing conditions.
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