Alexander Training

Personal training and strength programs in Austin, Texas.

How To

How to do Bear Crawls

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About the Bear Crawl

If you have done bear crawls, you might be having flashbacks of sweat and tears and punishment from a high school coach. The bear crawl is a full body, energy intensive exercise that lends itself well to group application.

But have no fear! The bear crawl is a great exercise that is beneficial to almost everybody, not just high schoolers! It is equipment free and has many modifications to suit your goals and space.

What is the Bear Crawl?

The bear crawl is a traveling movement on all fours. It can be done quickly, like a run, for conditioning goals. It can be done as I’ll show you here, with smaller movements for a focus on the trunk. There are many ways to do a bear crawl well. In this case, you’ll take smaller steps and more precise movements. This will also allow you to do the bear crawl inside, where you might not have as much room as on a large turf.

To Do the Bear Crawl

  • Set up on all fours (4 point position)
  • Keep an active, neutral, flat back
  • Pick your knees up off the ground about an inch
  • Travel forward, taking very small (2 inch) steps
  • Deliberately keep your trunk engaged, as opposed to loose and flopping around
  • Reverse and travel backwards

Try It and Let Me Know!

Try out the bear crawl and let me know how it goes! It’s tougher than it looks so be prepared to work!

Happy training!

How to do Band Pullaparts

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Band pullaparts are a fantastic exercise for nearly everybody to do. Band pullaparts work your posterior upper body, something we need to be cognizant of in a very forward facing society. We look at our phones, we type on the computer, leaning in and stretching our neck. 

The truth is, we need to do this anyway. It’s not just modern times. It’s because our eyes face forward. If not for a smart phone, it would be a book, a newspaper, a magazine.

It’s also very important to make sure your back is strong if your front is strong. Do you bench press? Do you do pushups? You need pullaparts then, to maintain shoulder health. 

It’s simply a good habit to get in to work the muscles behind you, no matter your profession or physical demands during the day. 

Band pullaparts are one way to do that. They work your rear delts, traps, and rhomboids, among other supporting musculature. 

How to do Band Pullaparts

  • stand tall

  • extend your arms in front of you, gripping a light band

  • keep elbows straight but not locked as you press your arms straight around your side

  • I prefer palms down but you can experiment with different hand positions

  • squeeze your shoulders behind you as you make a big wide sweep with your arms

  • press until the band touches your chest

  • control the return to your start position and repeat

Execution and Incorporation of Pullaparts

Pullaparts are great as a warm up, finisher, or even between exercises. I sometimes do pull-ups between sets of bench press as a reminder to scapular control. You can do sets of 10-15, or do a larger set. Use a fairly light band, as this isn’t an exercise you’ll aggressively progress. It’s a reminder and reinforcement of shoulder health. Let me know if you have questions about your pullaparts!

How to do Lunges and Lunge Variations

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Lunges are a fantastic exercise because they are effective, versatile, and can benefit nearly everyone. You can do lunges without equipment, with equipment. You can make them harder or easier by adjusting the distance and load. They can work on strength, endurance and even balance. 

If lunges aren’t in your program, what you doin?? 🙂

How to Do a Lunge

  • From a tall standing position, step one leg forward in front of you

  • Step as if you are on railroad tracks, not a tight rope

  • Aim to land with a 90 degree angle in both knees

  • Knee should be close to the floor but not touching

  • Press into the ground through your heel and big toe and squeeze your glute to stand back up

  • Repeat with your other leg, alternating as you go

When to Use Lunge Variations

You can do lunges many different ways, depending on what you are looking to gain from them. 

To work balance, do walking lunges. 

If balance is too prohibitive, stationary lunges or reverse lunges will allow you to get good work in.

To improve work capacity, do walking lunges a greater distance to get more volume.

To improve strength, hold dumbbells in any variation.

For all around increased challenge, try the Bulgarian split squat. These are challenging! Let me know how you like them!

And as always, feel free to email me if you have specific questions!

How to do the “Y”

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The “Y” as I call it, is an exercise primarily for your rear delts, or the posterior muscle of your shoulder. This is a small, nuanced movement, so you can even do it effectively without weight. In fact, I want you to master it without weight first, so read below how to do it well.

Holding the position also reinforces a healthy hinge, which is a crucial movement to master to prevent back pain.

How to do the “Y” for rear delts

Follow the instructions below, and start with no weight at first. Remember, if you can do this and recruit the muscles you are trying to feel, you’ll do better at it when you do introduce weight. Start with a set of 10 reps, then stand and assess where you feel it.

  • hinge at the hips with back neutral and straight

  • extend arms with palms facing behind you

  • bend at the elbows as if you are elbowing the ceiling

  • rotate your arms up into a “touchdown” position

  • extend your arms into a “Y shape

  • bend at the elbows, rotate arms, and straight elbows to return to the start position

How to do the “Y” with a Bench at the Gym

If you have a bench or would like to do this at the gym, you can follow the same directions. Watch the video below for a demo.

How to Do the Goblet Squat

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The goblet squat is a great squat variation that is effective as a training tool and teaching tool. It naturally predisposes one toward optimal form, making it easy to feel a good squat. It is accessible too, as it can be done with any implement that you can hold at your chest.

The placement of the implement (high, at your chest) recruits your anterior musculature more than a back squat does, meaning you’ll use your torso a good bit.


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You can use the goblet squat as a warm up, learning tool, or main lift. Check out the directions and video below for more thorough directions.

Goblet Squat

  • hold the weight in your upward facing palms

  • press elbows toward each other so your elbows are under the weight, not pointing toward the sides of the room

  • keep trunk tight and neutral

  • break at the hips to initiate squat

  • sit deep into heels

  • squeeze big toe into the ground and squeeze your glutes as you stand

How to do the Dead Bug

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The dead bug is a trunk and core stability exercise that can be done at beginner to more advanced levels. As long as you can safely lay flat on your back on the floor, you can do the dead bug.

Begin with the easiest version, described below. Once you have mastered that, you can progress to the tougher versions by using a foam roller, or performing the 4-way dead bug. Videos are below.

The Dead Bug

  • lay on your back with arms and legs extended into the air

  • squeeze your abs to press your back into the ground

  • maintain this abdominal squeeze

  • extend your right arm and left leg toward the floor in a controlled manner

  • shorten your range of motion if your low back pops off the ground

  • return to your start position, and repeat with your opposite arm and leg

Practice, practice. You’ll get it- this one’s a thinker! 

Performing the dead bug on a foam roller provides an extra stability challenge.

The 4 way dead bug is the toughest. Keep your abs very engaged and low back pressed into the ground. This is a tough variation. I’d ideally like your reps to be better than my first rep in the video. Watch the reps to see if you can spot the difference.

Happy training! Let me know how you incorporate the dead bug into your program!