The Rise of Quadrobics: When Fitness Goes Wild

Finding Your Inner Animal Through Movement

The fitness world is witnessing the emergence of “quadrobics,” a workout trend that has people embracing their primal side by moving on all fours. This unconventional exercise style has gained significant traction on social media, where enthusiasts showcase their bear crawls and cat leaps—sometimes while sporting furry masks and tails. One such practitioner is Soleil, a twentysomething from Germany who began practicing quadrobics after discovering therians, people who identify as nonhuman animals. It’s important to note that therians differ from furries, who engage with and dress as anthropomorphic animals. Though popular within the therian community, quadrobics isn’t exclusive to them, nor do all therians practice it. Soleil, who creates content under the handle @wild.soleil, describes quadrobics as “definitely a full-body workout” that helped her lose weight and develop muscle definition, including a six-pack. Despite practicing for a year, she admits the workout remains challenging: “Try it for five minutes and you will be out of breath.” Soleil has carved out a niche on TikTok by blending her passion for nature and travel with quadrobics, hiking for hours through Southern Germany and Austria to find picturesque settings for her videos. While she feels most connected to ibex (wild goats), she wears cat masks to conceal her identity, both for privacy and aesthetic appeal.

More Than Just Animal Mimicry

While the average gym-goer might dismiss the idea of prancing around in an animal mask, they might be surprised to learn their standard workouts likely already incorporate similar movements. According to Jarrod Nobbe, a personal trainer and national coach, quadrobics substantially overlaps with what fitness professionals call primal movement or quadrupedal movement training. “Primal movement, animal flow and similar practices are gaining traction because people are craving more functional, holistic and playful ways to move,” Nobbe explains. One significant advantage of quadrobics is its accessibility—no gym membership or equipment required—and its ability to train the body in ways traditional exercises often miss. The trend’s effectiveness is exemplified by Alexia Kraft de la Saulx, a 28-year-old documentary filmmaker who experienced a remarkable physical transformation after being introduced to quadrobics and primal movement in 2021. While filming in Barcelona, she encountered Victor Manuel Fleites Escobar, founder of the Tarzan Movement, a primal movement variation. During the production of her 2022 documentary “Tarzan Movement,” Kraft de la Saulx trained with Escobar for two to three hours daily, learning to move on all fours, climb trees, and swing from branches. What might appear childlike was actually an intense workout that developed her arm, shoulder, chest, and abdominal muscles. Training barefoot, she developed “very thick soles” as her feet adapted to various terrains, and recalled feeling consistently sore or tired during the first six months.

The Physical and Mental Benefits of Moving on All Fours

The physical benefits of quadrobics are substantial and wide-ranging. Nobbe confirms that “the six-pack effect is real, especially when paired with smart nutrition.” He explains that quadrobic movement delivers a comprehensive full-body workout with particular emphasis on the core: “You’re constantly engaging your abdominals, obliques and deep stabilizers to support your spine and stay balanced.” Beyond the core, this movement style heavily recruits the shoulders, chest, lats, glutes, and quads. The dynamic and continuous nature of the movements elevates heart rate and promotes fat loss. Additionally, quadrobics enhances mobility, stability, and coordination—qualities often overlooked in conventional exercise regimens. The benefits extend beyond the physical realm. “Mentally, it can boost body awareness, reduce stress and build confidence in movement,” Nobbe says. “There’s also a playful, almost meditative aspect to it—it forces you to be present and connected to how your body moves in space.” Kraft de la Saulx’s experience supports this assessment. She credits quadrobics with teaching her to be “present and in tune with her primal instincts,” describing it as “almost like a spiritual practice.” This heightened awareness and focus proved critical when she climbed a 130-foot tree in Costa Rica—a feat that could have been dangerous without the mental discipline developed through her training. “You enter a meditative state for sure,” she reflects, highlighting the mindfulness aspect of this movement practice.

Navigating Social Perceptions and Misconceptions

Like many activities that deviate from conventional norms, quadrobics practitioners often face misunderstanding or judgment. Kraft de la Saulx, who shares videos of her quadrobics and tree climbing on Instagram to over 76,000 followers, acknowledges receiving “a lot of hate but also a lot of love” online. She’s learned to focus on positive responses: “My videos will touch the people that it needs to touch in a positive way, in a beautiful way, and those are the people that I’m focusing on.” Soleil has experienced similar reactions. While finding the therian community “very supportive,” she’s encountered backlash from viewers who misinterpret her activities. “Many people who have never seen this before might think it’s something sexual… ‘Oh, you look like an animal? Are you attracted to animals?'” She emphasizes that such assumptions completely miss the mark. To avoid unwanted attention, Soleil typically doesn’t wear her mask or practice quadrobics in public. While her close family and friends know about her online presence, she keeps this aspect of her life separate from her professional environment. She points out the normality of her life outside quadrobics: “I have a healthy family, two jobs, friends, and I pay all my bills and my rent, so I don’t know why everyone could be mad with what I’m doing.” She attributes negative reactions to a fundamental lack of understanding about what is ultimately “just something harmless that I want to show on social media.”

Community Connections and Identity Exploration

The quadrobics movement creates interesting intersections between different communities and identities. Kraft de la Saulx, who didn’t know about therians until community members began responding to her posts, appreciates the connection without identifying as a therian herself: “I feel like it’s such an interesting way to explore and to play around with movement and with identity… But I don’t identify myself as a therian. I’m just a being that enjoys moving and playing around and feeling this primal instinct when I’m outdoors.” Though no longer collaborating with Fleites Escobar, Kraft de la Saulx continues advocating for primal movement and quadrobics. She co-hosts tree climbing retreats called Roots of Play and is developing an online quadrobics course for beginners. Her experience illustrates how these movement practices can transcend subculture boundaries and appeal to broader audiences seeking more natural, intuitive ways of moving. For Soleil, quadrobics offers a unique connection to her inner animalistic spirit. She’s created a community around her content, selling her handmade masks on Etsy and connecting with like-minded individuals who appreciate the physical challenges and expressive elements of quadrobics. Despite the occasional misunderstanding, both women have found value in this unconventional approach to fitness and self-expression.

Getting Started Safely and Effectively

For those intrigued by quadrobics, experts emphasize the importance of proper technique and gradual progression. Nobbe advises that “beginners should focus on form and control, not speed,” warning that the “biggest risks are wrist strain, shoulder overload, or low back stress from poor form.” He recommends starting with fundamental movements like bear crawls, beast holds, leopard crawls, kick-throughs, and crab reaches. Traditional exercises such as planks, push-ups, bird-dogs, and glute bridges can help build the necessary core, shoulder, and hip strength to support more advanced quadrobics movements. Soleil echoes this cautionary approach, having learned from personal experience after “snapping” her wrist attempting a jump before she was ready. “It is an intense workout, and even though it looks funny, it really should be treated like one,” she warns. This advice underscores an important point: despite its playful appearance and sometimes quirky presentation, quadrobics is a legitimate and demanding form of exercise that requires respect and proper preparation. With the right approach, however, it offers a uniquely rewarding way to strengthen the body, center the mind, and perhaps connect with a more primal, instinctual side of ourselves that conventional workouts rarely access.