Bear Walk Exercise is a one of the prime exercises that wrestlers use to develop whole body strength. By walking like a bear you place emphasis on your back muscles to keep you upright. It helps to improve the overall strength of your whole body. Plus it’s super fun to perform animal-like exercises!
How to do a Bear Walk:
In order to properly perform a Bear Walk, place your hands on the ground about 3 feet in front of you. Keep your buttocks high in the air. Step forward with one of your hands. Then step forward with the opposite foot. Step forward with the other arm and then the other foot. Continue forward in the manner. When you get to the end of the room you can either go backward or turn around and go the other direction.
Muscle group worked:
Whole body especially the shoulders
Target Repetitions for Muscle Tone/Endurance: Try to go about 40-50 yards of these. If you are inside, do 10-15 lengths of your room (depending on the size of your room).
Why a Bear Walk works:
Bear Walk Exercises work so well for increasing whole body strength because they use the principle of whole body movement. Instead of isolating one body part, you are using all the muscles as a single unite.
Tips: Keep your buttocks as high as you can in the air. Also, to decrease the amount of strain on your wrists, try to relax them when they are in the air (stepping). Pretend you are a relaxed bear walking through the woods.
Important!: Breath slow and steady throughout this exercise.
Disclaimer: Talk to your primary care physician before beginning any exercise regimen.
What To Do After Bear Walk Exercise?
Learn how to perform the bear squat. It’s a whole-body exercise just like the bear walk but focuses more on your leg muscles.
If you are especially advance, you can try the Wall Walks exercise which builds a ton of strength in your core.
The Bear Walk Exercise Workout Routine!
Do a cycle of the three exercises mentioned above.
Here’s how it looks.
Exercise 1: Do 30 seconds of Bear Walks (you don’t need to travel far. If you are working out in your apartment or room, just go a few feet forward, then a few feet back. Repeat)
Rest for 15 seconds
Exercise 2: Do 30 seconds of Bear Squats
Rest for 15 seconds
Exercise 3: Do 1-2 repetitions of Wall Walks
Rest for 15 seconds
*Repeat for 5-7 total cycles. This workout should take about 10-15 minutes depending on how many cycles or rest periods.
This is literally a full-body workout and will have your entire body shaking…. all inspired by the bear walk exercise!
Give it a try and let me know how your muscles feel afterward.
For many years, after doing highly repetitive exercises in a stationary position, I found my body to be so tight and increasingly getting tighter day by day. It was very difficult to discontinue my daily routine as it was a strong habit and easy and quick to do before I left the house every morning and to get my shot of oxygen and cardio. But it had to be ended after 20 years. To do nothing was not really a practical option. So, I remember long, long, long ago, the bear walk and crab walk as a conditioning exercise in high school football and baseball. I remember how invigorating and exhausting it was and in my mind the fluidity of movements and potential strengthening of muscles groups and cardio looked like it might be a good alternative. So I started recently to bear walk and crab walk around the inside of my house. WOW, what a winner. SUPER cardio and upper body strengthening and as for legs, I am getting flexibility back slowly but surely. Also, after each set, the rush of oxygen and prana is so great, my body and emotions are easy to surrender to the universal flow of energy. I like about a 2 to 3 minute continuous walk which I call a set and then do as many sets as I desire with rest in between to enjoy the rush of prana and oxygen. Thank you, most sincerely, Angelo