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Bear Crawl

A quadruped locomotion drill that trains shoulder stability, anti-rotation core control, and coordinated hip and shoulder movement.

OtherBodyweightQuadruped locomotion
GoLightWeight mediabear-crawl

Demonstration coming soon

Primary

CoreAnterior deltoids

Secondary

QuadricepsTricepsSerratus anteriorHip flexors

Equipment

Bodyweight

Pattern

Quadruped locomotion

Setup

  1. 01Start on hands and knees with wrists under shoulders and knees under hips.
  2. 02Tuck the toes and lift the knees about one to two inches off the floor.
  3. 03Flatten the back so a cup of water could sit on the lower back.
  4. 04Brace the trunk before taking the first step.

Execution

  1. 01Step the right hand and left foot forward together, keeping the step short.
  2. 02Step the left hand and right foot forward to continue the crawl.
  3. 03Keep the hips level and the knees hovering just above the floor.
  4. 04Crawl for the planned distance, then reverse or reset.

Checkpoints

  • -Knees stay close to the floor without touching it.
  • -Hips stay level with no side-to-side rocking.
  • -Opposite hand and foot move as one unit.
  • -Neck stays neutral with eyes slightly ahead of the hands.

Common mistakes

  • -Piking the hips high and turning it into a walking plank.
  • -Taking long strides that force the torso to rotate.
  • -Letting the lower back sag as the crawl gets longer.
  • -Rushing the pace and losing the contralateral rhythm.

Programming notes

  • -Use 2 to 4 rounds of 10 to 20 meters as a warm-up or core finisher.
  • -Crawl slowly for control work; add backward crawling for shoulder stability.
  • -Timed sets of 20 to 40 seconds work well when floor space is limited.

Related exercises

Inchworm

Bodyweight / Other

Burpee

Bodyweight / Other

Turkish Get-Up

Kettlebell / Other

Almost there

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