Many bear crawl variations diversify a workout routine. The basic bear crawl works the entire body, but specific muscle groups are targeted with a few tweaks.  Sideways Bear Crawl: The sideways bear crawl is great for lateral stability for the abdominals. The lateral bear crawl uses different muscle groups than the basic bear crawl, which moves forward and back. The lateral bear crawl works the frontal plane, often neglected in popular bilateral exercises like running and walking.  Sideways bear crawls use hip abduction, and horizontal shoulder abduction challenges your coordination and balance more than a bear crawl moving forward and back.  Backward Bear Crawl: The backward bear crawl increases shoulder tension as you push your body backward. The reverse bear crawl challenges your coordination and engages the glutes, hips, and legs while challenging the upper body. Weighted Bear Crawl: The weighted bear crawl is ideal for experienced athletes already adept at the standard bear crawl exercise. This bear crawl variation can be performed using a weighted vest or balancing a plate on the back. You need excellent balance, strength, and coordination for this variation, so perfect the bodyweight version before attempting a weighted variation.