Bear Crawls: A Simple Drill for Core, Shoulders and Conditioning
A bear crawl is moving on your hands and feet with your knees hovering an inch or two above the floor and your back flat, stepping opposite hand and foot together. It trains your trunk to stay still while your limbs move, loads your shoulders in a position most adults never visit, and raises your heart rate quickly without any jumping. Done slowly with a level back, it is one of the best value drills you can do in a few square metres. Done fast with your hips in the air, it is mostly a way to get out of breath.
What the bear crawl actually trains
Three things happen at once. First, your trunk has to resist rotation: every time a hand and opposite foot leave the floor, your body wants to twist and sag towards the unsupported side. Keeping your hips level is the core work, and it is the same skill you need to keep your back steady under a barbell. Second, your shoulders carry a meaningful share of your bodyweight in a closed-chain position, with the hands fixed and the shoulder blades working to keep the upper back from collapsing. Third, your legs stay bent at roughly 90 degrees under constant tension, so your quads burn far sooner than people expect.
Add those together and you have a full-body exercise that builds strength-endurance and coordination, and doubles as conditioning when you string several lengths together. It also needs no equipment, which makes it useful on days you cannot get to a gym.
How to do a bear crawl, step by step
- Set up on all fours. Hands under shoulders, knees under hips, toes tucked so you are on the balls of your feet.
- Brace and lift. Breathe out, tighten your trunk as if someone were about to poke your stomach, and lift your knees one or two inches. Your back should be flat enough to balance a glass of water on it.
- Hold for a few seconds first. If you cannot hold this static position for 20 seconds without your hips rising or your back sagging, stay here until you can.
- Move opposite limbs together. Right hand and left foot step forward a short distance, about the length of your hand. Then left hand and right foot.
- Keep the steps small. Long strides force the hips up. Short steps keep the position honest.
- Breathe steadily. Short breaths through the nose if you can. Holding your breath for a whole length is a sign the pace is too fast.
Crawl forwards for five to ten metres, then crawl backwards to where you started. Backwards is harder to coordinate and tends to expose any tendency to lead with the hips.
The faults that waste the exercise
- Hips in the air. The most common one. It turns the crawl into a downward dog on the move and takes the load off the trunk and quads.
- Knees too high. If your knees are a foot off the floor, the drill is easier and less useful. Think “hover”, not “stand”.
- Hips swaying. Watch yourself in a mirror or film it from behind. If the hips swing side to side with each step, slow down and shorten the stride.
- Sinking between the shoulders. Keep pushing the floor away so the upper back stays slightly rounded rather than collapsing between the shoulder blades.
- Same-side stepping. Moving right hand and right foot together is a different, clumsier pattern. Opposite limbs is the point.
- Racing. Speed hides every other fault. A slow crawl is harder and better.
How long and how far: a simple progression
There is no magic distance. What matters is how long you can keep the position clean. This is how I would progress most adults starting out.
| Stage | What to do | Move on when |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Static bear hold, 3 x 15 to 20 seconds | You can hold 30 seconds with a flat back |
| 2 | Bear hold with alternating shoulder taps, 3 x 8 each side | Hips stay still on every tap |
| 3 | Forward and back crawl, 3 x 5 metres each way | No hip sway, steady breathing |
| 4 | Crawl 4 x 10 metres each way, or 4 x 30 seconds | Form holds to the last length |
| 5 | Lateral crawl, slow crawl with a weight plate on the back, or a timed set of 45 seconds | Coach or partner confirms the back stays level |
Rest 30 to 60 seconds between sets. For most people, two or three short sessions a week is plenty, because the shoulders and wrists need time to adapt.
Wrists, shoulders and who should be careful
Crawling puts your wrists into full extension with weight on them, and many desk workers have stiff wrists. If yours ache, try making fists and crawling on your knuckles, or use a pair of hexagonal dumbbells as handles so the wrist stays straight. A minute of gentle wrist circles and rocking on all fours beforehand helps a lot.
If you have a current shoulder injury, wrist pain that lingers, or a hernia, get it assessed before loading your bodyweight through your hands. Check with your GP first if you are pregnant, have a heart condition, or are returning after a long break from exercise. The NHS physical activity guidelines are a sensible baseline for how much activity adults should be aiming for each week.
Where bear crawls fit in a session
I use them in three places, depending on the person.
As part of a warm-up
Two or three slow lengths wake up the trunk and shoulders before pressing or squatting. Pair them with a few other drills from our guide on warming up before lifting weights.
As core work
Slow crawls and holds sit well alongside exercises like the dead bug and side plank. They are a good fit if you are looking for core work without crunches, because the trunk works the way it does in real life: resisting movement rather than producing it.
As a finisher
At the end of a session, a short circuit such as 30 seconds of crawling, 30 seconds rest, repeated five times, is a hard few minutes. In the studio I sometimes alternate crawls with short efforts on the air bike for a conditioning block that does not involve jumping. For more ideas along those lines, see our post on conditioning workouts.
Variations worth knowing
- Lateral bear crawl. Moving sideways, hand and foot on the same side stepping out together, then the other side following. Harder on the shoulders and hips.
- Bear crawl with a plate on the back. A light plate balanced on the lower back gives instant feedback. If it slides, your hips moved.
- Bear crawl drag. Crawling while pulling a weight with one hand across your body. Strong anti-rotation demand.
- Bear crawl to push-up. Crawl two steps, do a push-up, repeat. Useful conditioning once the basic crawl is solid.
None of these is better than a slow, clean standard crawl. They are for when that has become easy.
Why it suits busy adults in particular
Most people over 30 who come to me have plenty of strength in the movements they practise and very little in the positions they do not. Crawling fills that gap. It asks for coordination, shoulder stability and trunk control at the same time, it takes five minutes, and it needs a hallway rather than a gym. If you train with a coach, it is also a quick way for them to see how well you control your body before adding load. That kind of assessment is part of what private 1-1 personal training in Highgate should cover in the first few sessions.
Questions we get asked
Are bear crawls good for losing belly fat?
No exercise burns fat from one area. Bear crawls build strength and raise your heart rate, which helps, but fat loss comes down to overall activity and eating. They will make your trunk stronger, not selectively leaner.
How long should I hold a bear crawl position?
Start with 15 to 20 seconds and build to 45 to 60 seconds with a flat back. Beyond that, make it harder rather than longer.
Can I do bear crawls every day?
Short, easy sets as part of a warm-up, yes. Hard conditioning sets are better kept to two or three times a week so your wrists and shoulders can recover.
Do I need a lot of space?
Five metres is enough. If you only have two, crawl two steps forward and two back, or use holds and shoulder taps. Visit The Highgate House to see the studio, or read more about training with Artem.
Book with The Highgate House
Ready to start training properly? Email us at [email protected] with the service and the day that suits you, and we will come back to you with times.
Visit The Highgate House · Private personal training
The Highgate House, Archway Road, Highgate, London N6.
