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The HIT MethodAn independent guide to high-intensity training

Bear Crawl: How to Do It, Muscles Worked and Easier Options

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The bear crawl is a low-impact, beginner to intermediate exercise that challenges your entire body without requiring any equipment. By crawling on your hands and feet with your knees hovering just above the floor, you build strength and stability.

This movement heavily targets your shoulders, core, and quadriceps while recruiting your triceps and hip flexors for support. It forces you to coordinate your upper and lower body, making it a highly effective addition to your high-intensity intervals.

Exercise data

Impact
Low
Level
Beginner to intermediate
Equipment
None
Main muscles
shoulders, core, quadriceps
Also working
triceps, hip flexors
Movement
Crawling on hands and feet with the knees hovering
Low-impact swap
bear hold, knees hovering without moving

How to do a bear crawl

Start on your hands and knees with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.

  1. Tuck your toes under and lift your knees slightly off the floor.
  2. Keep your back completely flat and your neck neutral.
  3. Move your right hand and left foot forward at the exact same time.
  4. Plant them securely on the ground while keeping your hips level.
  5. Repeat the movement with your left hand and right foot.
  6. Continue crawling forward, maintaining a steady and controlled pace.

Form cues

  • Keep your knees close to the floor.
  • Imagine balancing a glass of water on your lower back.
  • Push the ground away with your hands.
  • Move opposite limbs simultaneously.

Common mistakes

  • Hips too high. Keep your knees hovering just slightly off the ground to keep the tension on your core and quadriceps.
  • Rushing the movement. Slow down and focus on moving your opposite arm and leg at the exact same time.
  • Dropping your head. Look slightly ahead of your hands to maintain a neutral spine from your neck to your tailbone.
  • Taking steps that are too large. Take small, controlled steps so you do not overextend your body and lose your balance.

Easier and harder versions

Easier

  • bear hold, knees hovering without moving
  • Hands and knees crawl with your knees resting on the floor

Harder

  • Reverse bear crawl by moving backward instead of forward
  • Add a push-up after every four steps

Using it in intervals

When programming the bear crawl into your high-intensity intervals, focus on time under tension rather than speed. This move requires significant coordination, which often breaks down as fatigue sets in. During the later rounds of your workout, prioritize keeping your back flat and your knees low. If your form starts to slip, pause in the static bear hold for a few seconds before resuming your crawl. This ensures you maintain maximum effort safely.

Formats that suit this move: 40/20 Intervals, EMOM Workout, Low-Impact HIIT Workout.

Similar moves

When to stop and see a doctor

  • Sharp or shooting pain in your wrists or shoulders.
  • Numbness or tingling in your hands or fingers.
  • Sudden lower back pain that worsens as you move.
  • Dizziness or a feeling of faintness while looking down.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, joint problems, are pregnant or have been inactive for a long time, talk to your doctor before starting vigorous exercise.

How this page was made. Exercise data (impact, level, equipment, muscles) was compiled by our editors as a general anatomy and coaching guide. Text drafted with AI assistance and checked by the Training Desk; see how we write. Last checked October 2026.