Side Bear Crawl
Master the Side Bear Crawl to boost full-body strength, core stability, and coordination.
Description
A full body exercise that increases strength and stability by challenging your core, shoulders, and hip muscles. The move involves getting on all fours and moving sideways like a bear.
How to Do Side Bear Crawl
- 1Setup
Start on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips, toes tucked. Lift your knees slightly off the ground, maintaining a flat back and engaged core.
- 2
To move to the right, simultaneously step your right hand and right foot out to the right, maintaining a low, stable torso.
- 3
Follow by stepping your left hand and left foot to the right, narrowing the gap between your limbs and maintaining a controlled, fluid motion.
- 4
Continue this coordinated lateral movement, focusing on keeping your hips low and your core actively braced throughout the entire crawl.
- 5
To move to the left, reverse the sequence, leading with your left hand and left foot while maintaining the same stable body position.
Tips
- Maintain a neutral spine: Avoid arching or rounding your back; keep your gaze slightly forward to help maintain a neutral neck and spine alignment throughout the movement.
- Control the movement: Focus on smooth, deliberate steps rather than rushing; this enhances muscle engagement and prevents jerky, uncontrolled motions.
- Keep hips low: Try to keep your hips at the same level as your shoulders and avoid letting them pike up or sag down excessively; this maximizes core engagement.
- Synchronize limbs: Strive for simultaneous movement of the hand and foot on the same side, followed by the other pair; this improves coordination and makes the movement more fluid.
Common Mistakes
- ×Piking hips too high: Avoid lifting your hips excessively high, which reduces core engagement; instead, keep your hips low and in line with your shoulders to maintain tension.
- ×Flaring elbows out: Prevent your elbows from flaring out to the sides, which can strain your shoulders; instead, keep them tucked closer to your body to engage your triceps and lats.
- ×Losing core engagement: Don't let your lower back arch or sag, which indicates a loss of core stability; instead, actively brace your core as if preparing for a punch throughout the entire movement.
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