Bear Crawl

Muscles worked by the Bear Crawl

Primary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidAbsRectus Abdominis

Secondary

ObliquesOblique AbdominalsQuadsQuadriceps FemorisTricepsTriceps Brachii

Also called: front deltoid, anterior delt, front delt, anterior deltoid, abs, six-pack.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Bear Crawl

1. Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
2. Tuck your toes and lift your knees a few centimeters off the floor.
3. Keeping your back flat and hips low, step your right hand and left foot forward together.
4. Then move your left hand and right foot, crawling forward in a controlled rhythm.
5. Keep your core braced and your hips from swaying side to side.

Form tips

• Move opposite hand and foot together, like an exaggerated crawl.
• Keep your knees low and hips level — do not let them pop up or rock.

At a glance

Bear Crawl in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Battle Rope Double Slam
• Battle Ropes
• Clean and Jerk
• Double Kettlebell Dead Split Snatch
• Double Kettlebell Split Jerk
• Dumbbell Snatch
• Kettlebell Lunge Press
• Kettlebell Offset Reverse Lunge and Press

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "bear-crawl",
  "name_en": "Bear Crawl",
  "name_de": "Bärengang",
  "name_es": "Caminata del Oso",
  "description_en": "A quadruped bodyweight crawl on hands and toes with the knees hovering just off the floor, building shoulder stability and core control as you travel forward.",
  "description_de": "Ein Krabbeln im Vierfüßlerstand auf Händen und Fußballen mit knapp über dem Boden schwebenden Knien, das beim Vorwärtsbewegen Schulterstabilität und Rumpfkontrolle aufbaut.",
  "description_es": "Un gateo en cuadrupedia sobre manos y puntas de los pies con las rodillas suspendidas justo por encima del suelo, que desarrolla la estabilidad del hombro y el control del core al desplazarse hacia adelante.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "dynamic",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "full_body",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "rectus_abdominis"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "obliques",
    "quadriceps",
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "endurance"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "full_body",
    "conditioning",
    "core",
    "bodyweight"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.",
    "Tuck your toes and lift your knees a few centimeters off the floor.",
    "Keeping your back flat and hips low, step your right hand and left foot forward together.",
    "Then move your left hand and right foot, crawling forward in a controlled rhythm.",
    "Keep your core braced and your hips from swaying side to side."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Beginne im Vierfüßlerstand, Hände unter den Schultern, Knie unter der Hüfte.",
    "Stelle die Zehen auf und hebe die Knie einige Zentimeter vom Boden.",
    "Halte den Rücken flach und die Hüfte tief und setze rechte Hand und linken Fuß gemeinsam nach vorn.",
    "Bewege dann linke Hand und rechten Fuß und krabble in ruhigem Rhythmus vorwärts.",
    "Halte den Rumpf fest angespannt und die Hüfte ruhig, ohne seitliches Schwingen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Empieza en cuadrupedia con las manos bajo los hombros y las rodillas bajo las caderas.",
    "Apoya las puntas de los pies y eleva las rodillas unos centímetros del suelo.",
    "Con la espalda plana y las caderas bajas, avanza juntos la mano derecha y el pie izquierdo.",
    "Luego mueve la mano izquierda y el pie derecho, gateando hacia adelante con ritmo controlado.",
    "Mantén el core firme y evita que las caderas se balanceen de lado a lado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Move opposite hand and foot together, like an exaggerated crawl.",
    "Keep your knees low and hips level — do not let them pop up or rock."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Bewege gegengleich Hand und Fuß zusammen, wie ein übertriebenes Krabbeln.",
    "Halte die Knie tief und die Hüfte waagerecht — nicht hochkommen oder wackeln lassen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mueve juntos la mano y el pie opuestos, como un gateo exagerado.",
    "Mantén las rodillas bajas y las caderas niveladas: que no suban ni se balanceen."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/bear-crawl-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/bear-crawl-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "bear-crawl");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.