The Bear frontman — and spiritual successor to Mark Wahlberg’s iconic Calvin Klein campaign — Jeremy Allen White says co-star Matty Matheson looks, “really good.”
And he’s not talking about Matheson’s red carpet attire for the season three premiere of FX’s flagship restaurant dramedy; White is singing the praises of Matheson’s home workout routine. On Jun. 25, 2024, Matheson, White, and the rest of Bear’s star-studded buffet gathered in Los Angeles to celebrate the debut of season three.
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That’s where Matheson joked that he performs bear crawls on the daily. If you caught it, you might be wondering what the bear crawl exercise is. We’re going to break it down for you. Spoiler: The exercise wasn’t named for the show, but after a few rounds of them you’ll be laughing (and crying, potentially) your way to a rock-solid set of abs.
Matty Matheson Does “a Quarter Mile” of Bear Crawls a Day
“I wake up every morning and bear crawl about a quarter mile,” Matheson chirped on the red carpet. “I just leave the house on all fours and walk around.”
We’re pretty sure he’s being cheeky, but just in case, know that it takes about six minutes to walk a quarter mile. Unless you’re James McAvoy in Split, crawling on all fours likely takes a lot longer than that. Not to mention the ab workout.
What Is a Bear Crawl?
Bear crawls are a ground-based bodyweight ab exercise — more National Geographic than P90X. The movement mixes isometric, or non-moving abdominal tension with dynamic limb movements for a full-body workout.
How To Do Bear Crawls
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- Get into a tabletop position on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips, but don’t let them touch the ground.
- Ensure that you have four points of ground contact (palms and toes) only, then brace your core by exhaling and flexing as though you were preparing for a gut punch.
- Lift your right hand and left foot and place them forward, then do the same with the opposite set of limbs. Crawl without allowing your knees to touch the ground.
Coach’s Tip: To maintain a neutral spine and keep your core in the game, imagine that you’re balancing a bowl of water on your back.
Benefits of Bear Crawls
Will bear crawls land you a role in The Bear’s fourth season? Yeah, naturally. But beyond that, this bodyweight core exercise has a lot to offer, no matter your fitness level:
- Bear crawls teach you how to brace and stabilize your abdominal muscles while moving your limbs, which is integral for real-world tasks and most sports as well.
- Crawling exercises are great for both young children and their parents to perform together without risk of injury. (1)
- Contracting your abs while you move builds endurance and stability in your core, which can mitigate injury risk and build muscle as well. (2)
- Exercises like the bear crawl can be performed anywhere without having to rely on specialty equipment or a gym membership.
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Matheson may have been cheeky about his fitness regime, but don’t get it twisted. Bear crawls are a legitimate bodyweight core workout. If you’re bored of crunches and sit-ups, give them a go between episodes of The Bear while you’re binging the third season.
FX’s The Bear is available to stream in full on Hulu as of Jun. 26, 2024.
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References
- Zhou Z. Effects of crawling exercises at home on improving young children’s behavioral performance during the COVID-19 outbreak. J Pediatr Nurs. 2023 Nov-Dec;73:e311-e318. doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2023.09.027. Epub 2023 Oct 6. PMID: 37805378.
- Huxel Bliven KC, Anderson BE. Core stability training for injury prevention. Sports Health. 2013 Nov;5(6):514-22. doi: 10.1177/1941738113481200. PMID: 24427426; PMCID: PMC3806175.
Featured Image: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock
