Lateral Bear Crawl
What Is the Lateral Bear Crawl?
Lateral Bear Crawl is a compound exercise that primarily targets the core and shoulders and also engages the quads, hips, chest and triceps. It is a beginner-level movement in which you travel sideways on your hands and feet, with your knees hovering just above the floor and your back flat, stepping one hand and the opposite foot at a time.
The lateral bear crawl trains your trunk to stay still while your arms and legs move underneath it, and it builds shoulder stability under your own body weight along with coordination between the hands and feet. It is the sideways version of the Bear Crawl: instead of resisting twisting as you travel forward, your trunk has to stop the hips from rocking and dipping side to side as each hand and foot steps out and in. Coaches use it in warm-ups, in core and conditioning circuits, and in field-sport preparation, where crawling forward, backward and sideways trains trunk control and a neutral neck in a low, scrum-like position.
Your shoulders and serratus anterior hold your upper body over your hands, and each sideways reach briefly puts more of your weight on one arm. Your abdominals and obliques keep your hips level and your back flat, your quads and hip flexors hold your knees bent just off the floor, and the muscles on the outside of your hips move your legs out to the side. Moving more slowly, keeping your knees lower and covering more time or distance all make it harder, while short sets with your knees a little higher make it easier.
The movement suits beginners, general fitness clients and athletes who want trunk and shoulder work without equipment. Before you crawl sideways, hold a Bear Plank for about 30 seconds with your back flat, then get comfortable with the forward Bear Crawl. If holding your knees off the floor is still too hard, the Bird Dog teaches the same opposite arm and leg control from your hands and knees.
Muscles Worked
- Deltoid
- Primary
- Rectus Abdominis
- Primary
- External Oblique
- High
- Rectus Femoris
- High
- Gluteus Medius
- Medium
- Pectoralis Major
- Medium
- Vastus Lateralis
- Medium
Instructions
- Start on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders, fingers spread, and your knees under your hips, hip-width apart, with your toes tucked under.
- Press the floor away so your upper back stays wide, keep your back flat and look at the floor just ahead of your hands.
- Brace your abdominals and lift your knees about an inch or two off the floor, keeping your hips about level with your shoulders.
- To travel right, step your right hand a short distance to the right and step your left foot in toward your right foot at the same time.
- Then bring your left hand in toward your right hand as your right foot steps out to the right.
- Keep the steps short and the hand contacts soft, with your hips level and square to the floor and your knees hovering the whole time.
- Keep crawling at a slow, steady pace for the set time, breathing steadily.
- Reverse the pattern to crawl back to the left, leading with your left hand and right foot.
- To finish, lower your knees to the floor and sit back onto your heels.
Common Mistakes
Letting the hips rise
Piking the hips up as you tire makes the crawl easier by taking the work away from your trunk, so keep your hips about level with your shoulders.
Rocking the hips side to side
Letting the hips dip toward the lifted hand or foot on every step means your abdominals and obliques have stopped holding them square to the floor.
Sagging the lower back
Letting the belly drop toward the floor arches the lower back and puts the load on the spine instead of the abdominals.
Sinking between the shoulders
Letting the chest drop between your arms rounds the upper back and loads the shoulders and wrists passively, so keep pushing the floor away.
Taking big, fast steps
Long reaches and a rushed rhythm rotate the hips and shoulders and break your brace, while short, slow steps keep the body square.
Looking up
Lifting your head to look where you are going strains the neck, so keep your gaze on the floor just ahead of your hands.
Injuries
Lateral Bear Crawl is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The load is your own body weight, but your wrists take it bent back toward the end of their range, the shoulder of the reaching arm has to catch your weight each time the hand lands, and a sagging lower back loads the spine instead of the abdominals. People with existing wrist, elbow or shoulder problems should check that holding their weight on their hands is comfortable before starting.
Warm up your wrists with Wrist Circles and some easy rocking on your hands first, spread your fingers wide and press through the whole hand, and set the hands down softly instead of slapping them into the floor. Short steps keep the hips level and the shoulders over the hands. If your wrists still ache, crawl on your fists with the knuckles on a padded surface so the wrists stay straight.
To regress, hold a Bear Plank, starting with 10-second holds and building to 30 seconds, practice the forward Bear Crawl, or take shorter sets with rests in between. To progress, crawl more slowly, add time, or change direction several times within one set.
Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the wrist, elbow or shoulder, numbness or tingling in the hands, or pain in the lower back. End it as soon as your hips start to sag, rise or rock from side to side, since that is where the movement stops training the trunk.
- Primary Focus
- Full body
- Equipment
- Body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How is the lateral bear crawl different from a regular bear crawl?
The position is the same, but you travel sideways instead of forward. Each hand and foot steps out and back in, so your trunk works to stop your hips rocking side to side and your outer hips move your legs, while the forward Bear Crawl mostly asks your trunk to resist twisting.
- Q: How high should my knees be off the floor?
Keep them hovering about an inch or two above the floor for the whole set, with your hips about level with your shoulders. If they keep touching down or your hips shoot up, shorten the set or go back to holding a Bear Plank.
- Q: Which hand and foot move together?
Most coaches move the opposite hand and foot together, so one diagonal pair stays on the floor while the other steps. Moving the same-side hand and foot together is also used, so pick one pattern and keep it for the whole set.
- Q: How long should a set of lateral bear crawls last?
Sets of 20 to 30 seconds are a common starting point, crawling one way and then back so both sides lead equally, for 3 to 4 rounds. Add time only while your hips stay level and your knees stay off the floor.
- Q: Is the lateral bear crawl a cardio exercise?
It raises your heart rate when you do longer sets or put it in a circuit, but its main job is trunk and shoulder stability under your own body weight. For more conditioning, pair it with exercises such as Mountain Climber or Lateral Shuffle in intervals.