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Exercise library · Full body

Bear crawl

Core stability for the whole body with your bodyweight.

How to do it

1 of 3

Hands and toes down, knees low

  1. Starting position

    Start on your hands and toes with hands under shoulders, knees under hips and just above the floor.

  2. The movement

    Crawl forward by moving the opposite hand and foot together, keeping your back steady and your knees low.

Most common mistake

Don't lift your hips high, keep your knees close to the floor and your back as steady as possible.

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Muscle group
Full body
Equipment
Bodyweight
Where
Home or gym
Logged as
Time and distance

Muscles worked

The bear crawl looks simple but is a tough trunk workout on the move. Your abs keep your back still against gravity, and when one hand and the opposite foot lift together, your obliques work to stop your hips from twisting. Your shoulders and the muscles around your shoulder blades carry your upper body. Your quads work the whole time to hold your knees just above the floor, and your hip flexors bring your legs forward. The exercise also trains coordination and gets your whole body going, which is why it is common in warm-ups.

Common mistakes

  • Your steps are too long. Long strides make your hips sway from side to side, and the trunk work disappears. Move your hands and feet only a short way at a time, about a hand's length.
  • You sink between your shoulder blades. Your upper body then hangs from your shoulders. Push the floor away so your shoulder blades slide apart and your upper back fills out.
  • Your head hangs. Looking back towards your feet bends your neck and hurts your balance. Look at the floor a little ahead of your hands, so your neck continues the line of your back.

Variations and alternatives

  • The bear hold is the same position without crawling, a good way to learn it first.
  • Plank shoulder taps also train resisting rotation as one hand lifts, but with straight legs.
  • The inchworm walks out to a plank and back, stretching the hamstrings more, and suits a warm-up.

Sets and reps

The bear crawl is measured in distance or time. 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 20 metres, or 20 to 40 seconds, suit most people. Crawling forwards and back in the same set is harder and needs less space. As part of a warm-up, a couple of short lengths are enough. More set-ups are described in the guide to sets and reps.

Make the exercise harder before you make it longer: crawl more slowly, sideways or backwards, or lower your knees closer to the floor. As a technique check, balance a water bottle on your lower back. That is progressive overload without adding any kilos. If your wrists start to hurt, stop and get a doctor or physiotherapist to look at them.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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