Exercises You Should Be Doing: Stationary Bear Crawl
Hope everyone enjoyed the game last night.
Congrats to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos on the win.
But screw the game. Did everyone see that new Jason Bourne teaser trailer?????
It took all the will power I could muster not to start dry humping the television screen. I knew a Bourne movie has been in the works for a while now – because I’m a nerd and read Entertainment Weekly and hang out on IMDB – and had been anticipating something epic in the coming months now that both (Matt) Damon and (Paul) Greengrass are back on board with the franchise.
But I was NOT expecting to see a sneak peak teaser last night. I caught me completely off-guard.
The only thing more manly would have been if it showed Bourne bare knuckle fighting a grizzly bear.
On an aside – and serving as the worst segue in history – I recently recorded a video “chat” with Ryan Ketchum for the Elite Training Mentorship titled Behind the Scenes: Tony Gentilcore on Program Design Made Simple.
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For a very fair price ($29.95/month, $299.95/year) you gain access – past and current content – to the entire library.
HOWEVER, because this is my first solo addition to the service, you go HERE you can take advantage of a special trail rate of $4.95 for the first 30 days.
That’s pretty sick if you ask me.
Exercises You Should Be Doing: Stationary Bear Crawl
Who Did I Steal It From: I got this bad boy from Dr. Mark Cheng when I watched his excellent DVD, Prehab=Rehab 101. In particular the exercise stems from when he covered the topic of ground based training, transitioning from primitive patterns – rolling, sphinx pose, etc – to crawling patterns.
What Does It Do: crawling (and bear crawls especially) have grown in popularity in recent years…mostly in group training environments such as boot camps and/or CrossFit classes.
However I don’t think most people understand what advantages or uses the exercise provides other than “making people tired” and provoking a cacophony of groans whenever they’re placed into a WOD.
The “making people tired” approach makes me cringe because, well, that’s when bad shit starts to happen.
The real reason(s) bear crawls carry weight in a program are as follows:
1) When performed correctly – hips level with shoulders (no excessive arching or rounding of the spine) – they’re an excellent way to train lumbo-pelvic stability/control. More importantly, they help the trainee dissociate hip movement from lumbar movement.
I like to tell people to pretend as if a glass of water or wine is lying their back upright and the objective is to not allow one drop to spill.
2) There’s extensive motor learning (or motor remembering) involved here. I’ll purposely go out of my way to not coach someone on these at the start.
I’ll demonstrate and then point to the floor and say, “your turn.” I feel like a big a-hole in saying it, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a smidgeon of entertainment and comedic relief when watching some people try to perform a bear crawl.
It’s as if some are cemented to the floor. They don’t move.
But after awhile it’s just a matter of them figuring things out and reacquainting themselves with some simple motor patterning.
If you really want to be mean have people reverse the action, or go sideways.
2) Bear crawls are also an excellent anterior core exercise (due to the aforementioned focus on lumbo-pelvic control). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a client contact me the day after saying something to the effect of “WTF, Tony, my abs are on fire today.”
Weird how when you perform something right it becomes more challenging and “stuff” is engaged to a higher degree or turned on.
3) There’s also a fair amount of serratus activity involved, which is a great fit for those with excessively adducted and/or downwardly rotated scapulae. Another BIG mistake many people make with their bear crawls is “hanging” on their shoulder blades and allowing them to touch the entire time. This causes a lot of ramifications with glenohumeral issues. The scaps should more or less move around the rib cage.
4) And, too, I can’t deny the conditioning component to the exercise. There are innumerable ways to make people hate life here. Performing them for time, for distance, dragging a bulldozer behind, it’s endless.
All that being said, oftentimes people don’t have the luxury of having turf or open space to perform traditional bear crawls.
So why not do them in place?
Key Coaching Cues: Hands under shoulders, knees under hips. Depending on one’s ability and comfort level, how wide someone has to go – base of support – will vary.
Brace abs, chin tucked. From there I’ll say “lift opposite limbs a few inches off the ground, but prevent any teeter-tottering of the torso/hips.”
Of Note: the water/wine analogy from above works well here.
Another crucial cue is to make sure the trainee pushes him or herself AWAY from the floor. Basically, make sure those bad boys are moving AROUND the rib cage.
I’ll have someone perform these for “x” number of repetitions (usually 5-8/side) or for time (15-30s).
This is a great exercise for many populations. I’ve used it with clients/athletes with chronic low back issues, as well as with clients/athletes who need to be humbled….;O)
You can always regress the exercise and have someone focus on ONE limb at a time too. Also, I’ve had people perform this in clockwise/counter-clockwise fashion, lifting/lowering each limb in both directions.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Comments for This Entry
John J Brooks
When I was teaching jiu jitsu and judo classes we'd bear crawl into a tumbling element. crawl to the line, forward roll crawl to the next line, then come back doing he same backwards. What are your feelings on that? Also with that sort of static crawl don't you lose some of the dynamic hip mobility benefits of crawling?February 8, 2016 at 1:50 pm |
TonyGentilcore
I LOVE IT John. All of it. Crawling and tumbling is something I feel has a ton of merit (and, sadly, something I don't do enough off....the tumbling part). The Stationary crawl definitely lacks more of a "dynamic" component, but it just served as an alternative for those who have limited space. By all means, there are TONS of variations of the bear crawl. Part of the rationale of the post, though, was to showcase that there ARE other benefits besides "getting tired."February 9, 2016 at 4:30 pm |
John J Brooks
Good. I agree (so we're either both right, or both wrong.. lol). I think tumbling is one of the major keys to "your grandpa was fitter than you." I get that.. it was a bit of a tangent. Probably a case of "this key doesn't fit that lock."February 9, 2016 at 4:54 pm |
Bear Crawl as an exercise? - elsbethvaino.com
[…] just read this great post from Tony Gentilcore about bear crawls. It piqued my interest because it’s an exercise I love to use with my clients (so busted for […]February 8, 2016 at 2:17 pm |
Joe Huskey
Great explanation about the bear crawl, Tony. I've been using the stationary variation as a regression for those who struggle with the actually crawling. Works really well.February 8, 2016 at 5:06 pm |
TonyGentilcore
Yep, agreed.February 9, 2016 at 4:30 pm |
Kate C
I used to do bear crawls a lot in a HIIT class called Zuu. However, I used to find it easier to go backwards rather than forwards. Any wisdom as to why? My shoulder is not strong enough to do them at present but at some point, I'd like to think I was back to how I was before I broke my arm. And I'd love to crack bear crawls because the whole time I did the class, I was the slowest person.February 8, 2016 at 5:51 pm |
Kate C
PS So glad I got to see the Bourne trailer in the end!February 8, 2016 at 5:52 pm |
TonyGentilcore
I can't wait!February 9, 2016 at 4:31 pm |
Kate C
Me either! I am going to be front of the queue when it opens. My husband knows he has no choice. I was even watching Bourne Identity when I typed my first comments - the first 3 are on TV here what feels like every week.February 9, 2016 at 8:16 pm |
TonyGentilcore
I can't think of a scientific explanation why backwards would be easier. Maybe there is one and someone smarter than myself will chime in.February 9, 2016 at 4:31 pm |
Kate C
Maybe I'm just odd.February 9, 2016 at 8:14 pm |
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