Gorilla – Animal Style

About This Class

This 44-minute Animal Style class centers on the "gorilla," a foundational movement pattern performed in a wide-stance squat with feet turned out, hands on the ground, and weight transferring between arms and legs. After a thorough joint warm-up (neck rolls, shoulder circles, hip circles, knee and ankle circles, wrist mobility), the instructor builds progressively through gorilla hops forwards and backwards, gorilla stretches with straight-leg hamstring opening, sliding and lifting variations, lateral side-to-side travel, and finally a full combination routine in all four directions. The class targets the legs (quads, glutes, adductors/abductors), core, shoulders, wrists, hips, and hamstrings while simultaneously developing coordination, agility, balance, and explosive power. The instructor consistently encourages rest breaks, emphasizes quality over quantity, warns against pushing through pain, and offers modifications (sliding instead of lifting, hands wider for wrist relief). A short cool-down includes a weighted neck stretch, cross-body shoulder stretches, and side-body intercostal stretches with breath work.