What Is the Bear Crawl? Tips, Technique, Correct Form, Benefits and Common Mistakes

Bear Crawl is a well-known exercise that engages your full body. It is usually considered as a cardio, strength, crossfit and mobility exercise.

This exercise involves crawling on the ground like a bear, hence the name bear crawl. It engages several muscles in the body and especially engages your shoulders, core and quads.

The benefits of this bear crawl workout include better mobility, core stability and strengthening of the muscles. You can add bear crawls in many ways to your workout routine, for instance as a cardio exercise or as a warm-up.

On that note, let's understand more about the dynamic bear crawl exercise:

How to Do a Bear Crawl?

Is bear crawl crossfit exercise too? (Image via Pexels/ Nappy)

The bear crawl exercise is frequently incorporated into fitness routines such as boot camp and crossfit training.

Follow these steps to do this exercise.

Initial position – position yourself on both knees and hands. Raise your knees above the floor approximately an inch while keeping your back straight.
Start bringing one hand and an opposite foot forward to cover a similar distance while staying near the floor.
Do the same on the other side. Repeat.
Control your breathing. Make sure that you bear your body weight on your toes and hands. Also, keep your knees above the ground during the exercise.

Tips and Techniques for Bear Crawl Exercise

Bear crawl workout. (Image via Pexels/ Nathan Cowley)

Here are some tips and techniques you can follow for a bear crawl to avoid getting injured and to reap all the benefits of the bear crawl exercise:

Assume your initial position for this exercise by doing the push-up stance.
This exercise does not require a machine, but make sure to do this in an open space to have a better crawling place.
Attempt to keep your back straight while doing the crawling movement.
Do not lift your knees too high off the floor. Ensure that the distance between your knees and floor is viable.
This exercise can be easily modified according to your fitness goal or if you have weak wrists.

Health Benefits of Bear Crawl

This mobility and strength exercise provides multiple health benefits. Bear crawl exercise for weight loss has also shown promising results. The health benefits of bear crawls are as follows:

Work on Key Muscles Groups

The bear crawl works on strengthening your quads, chest, hamstrings, glutes, shoulders and core muscles at the same time. Including this exercise in your workout regime can help in building complete body endurance as well as strength.

Improves Shoulder Health

The movement of this exercise requires your shoulders to stabilize and move your upper body forward. That can be useful in improving the range of motion, improved strength and stability in your shoulders, enabling you to maintain the correct form during the exercise.

Improved Mobility

This exercise is often included in agility workouts and can be highly beneficial for athletes in various phases of training. Regularly doing this exercise can provide better mobility in your muscles. It can also help in improving the coordination of the body to a certain degree.

Great Cardio and Warm-Up

This exercise can act as both a good warm-up and improve cardiovascular exercise. It's a low-impact cardio exercise that can help you in raising your heart rate too. It can be considered a dynamic warm-up, as it engages various muscles and provides flexible motion in body parts such as knees, shoulders, ankles and so on.

Challenge Your Core and Abs

The bear crawl works on many muscles in your core. Its movement requires you to engage your core throughout and support your whole body. That can help in building your core strength.

Can be done without any equipment

This exercise can be performed without any machine and does not require you to hit the gym. Additionally, it can be easily incorporated into your workout routine, as it doesn't require much time to do it.

Common Mistakes While Doing Bear Crawl

Here are some common mistakes you should avoid while performing bear crawl:

Keeping your hips too high – If you lift your hips too high while doing the movement, that can reduce the pressure on your upper body and core, decreasing the effectiveness of the bear crawl.

Drooping back – While doing this exercise, make sure that your shoulders and hips are in a straight line. Try not to sag your back and head. If you droop your back or head, this exercise will not engage your core efficiently, thereby reducing its effectiveness.

Bear crawl is an excellent exercise that works on the entire body without the need of any machine.

Strength, agility, and cardio are draped in this single exercise, which provides several advantages, including strengthening core stability, improving joint coordination, strengthening the shoulder muscles, working on body movement and better posture, and so on.

This exercise can be modified easily by reducing the intensity or adding any new element. Considering the advantages provided by this exercise, you should include it in your workout routine. Make sure to incorporate the proper stance of bear crawl exercise to maintain its effectiveness.