Bear Crawl
A quadruped crawl with the knees hovering just off the floor, travelling by stepping opposite hand and opposite foot together.
How to do it
- Start on all fours with the wrists under the shoulders and the knees under the hips.
- Tuck the toes, brace the trunk, and lift both knees one to two inches off the floor.
- Keep the back flat and the hips level with the shoulders.
- Step the right hand and left foot forward together a short, even distance.
- Step the left hand and right foot forward next, keeping the knees hovering.
- Continue the contralateral crawl for the desired distance or time, then reverse.
Key technique cue
Knees an inch off the floor, hips level with shoulders — don't pike up.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Letting the hips pike up, which unloads the trunk and shoulders.
- ✕ Sagging the lower back instead of holding a braced, nearly level spine.
- ✕ Taking steps so large that the hips rock side to side.
- ✕ Allowing the knees to tap the floor, which turns the crawl into a kneel shuffle.
Benefits
- ✓ Trains core control, shoulder stability, and hip coordination in one bodyweight pattern.
- ✓ Raises the heart rate without impact, so it fits low-impact conditioning blocks.
- ✓ Needs no equipment and only a short strip of floor, so it works at home.
About the exercise
The bear crawl is a bodyweight locomotion drill done on hands and feet with the knees hovering a few inches off the floor. Opposite hand and opposite foot step together so the trunk has to resist rotation and sagging while the shoulders carry a large share of bodyweight. The back stays nearly level, the hips stay low, and the knees never tap down.
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