Bear Crawl

Move · Resistance Training · Movement, Typed Supps

Only two limbs are on the ground at any moment, so the body spends the whole time stopping itself from twisting.

Stage by stage

Set-up (Hips low, knees hovering): Hands under shoulders with the knees a few centimetres off the floor; piking the hips shifts weight forward onto the shoulders.
During the crawl (Diagonal pairs support you): Opposite arm and leg move together, reproducing the contralateral pattern of gait on a narrow, shifting base.
Throughout (Obliques resist rotation): Each diagonal stance creates a transverse-plane moment the trunk holds isometrically — anti-rotation under locomotion, not anti-extension.
Weeks later (Closed-chain shoulder endurance): Serratus-driven scapular control under a moving centre of mass improves, with plausible but not directly trialled transfer to overhead work.

Muscles trained

Primary: abs, shoulders
Secondary: hip flexors, obliques, quads, triceps

Intensity

8 METs (Calisthenics (e.g., push ups, sit ups, pull-ups, jumping jacks), vigorous effort).

Time to effect

Weeks: Coordination is usually the first thing to click — the opposite-limb pattern feels awkward initially and smooths out within a few sessions.
Months: Shoulder stability and core control under a moving load both improve meaningfully, which tends to show up as steadier form in other exercises that demand a braced core, like the overhead press.

Common myth

"Bear crawls are just a warm-up drill, not real training." In reality: Done for distance or time with hips kept low, a bear crawl is genuinely demanding on the shoulders and core — plenty of strength programs use it as a standalone conditioning piece, not just a warm-up.