Try This Full-Body Exercise At Home, No Equipment Needed

The move is incredibly taxing on the upper body, especially the shoulders, chest, and triceps, but also engages the quads, hamstrings, and calves. Meanwhile, the exercises forces you to maintain a rigid core throughout, similar to when performing a plank, which is why some refer to the bear crawl as a traveling plank. (And there are even more reasons why the bear crawl deserves a place in your workouts.)

Of course, every good exercise can be upgraded to great, and that’s exactly what Nike master trainer and Project By Equinox’s Kirsty Godso did on a recent visit to the MH Rec Room.

Watch the video above to see Godso demonstrate what she calls the bear square, in which she adds lateral (side to side) movement to the standard bear crawl, which is typically only performed moving forwards or backwards.

By adding another dimension to this already beneficial movement, you’ll challenge your muscles and entire body in a novel way. It also makes for a great portable workout you can break out anytime, anywhere—no equipment needed.

Godso suggests taking four steps in each direction, but you can make your squares as big or small as you’d like, depending on the size of the space you’re in.

Got your own spin on the bear crawl? Show us (@menshealthmag) and Godso (@kirstygodso) on social media, and be sure to the include the #MHRecRoom hashtag.