So well keep preaching until bear crawls are as commonplace as pushups, because they have just as many benefits as the staple exercise, if not more.
Here are four reasons to start doing bear crawls, according to Mens Health Fitness Director BJ Gaddour, C.S.C.S.:
- Bear crawls strengthen your core.
- Bear crawls tax both your thighs and upper body, making them an excellent fat-burning exercise .
- Bear crawls improve your rib and pelvic positioning and your breathing mechanics.
- Bear crawls boost your shoulder stability.
And if you try the variation in the video above, in which Gaddour wraps a miniband around his legs just below his knees, bear crawls will challenge your glutes and hip flexors, too. Are there any major body parts we havent covered yet?
Crawl forward and backward while pushing out against the band to activate your glutes, or crawl side to side to really light them up, Gaddour says.
Do this as a warmup movement, plug it into a circuit, or try doing as many crawls as you can in 10 minutes, resting only as needed, Gaddour says.