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Exercise Library / Bird Dog

Bird Dog

The bird dog trains your core and back to stay steady while your arms and legs move.

Strength Training

What this exercise does

The bird dog trains your core and back to stay steady while your arms and legs move. Reaching one arm and the opposite leg out while balanced on all fours teaches your body to stay stable when something moves.

At a glance

Muscles worked
Core, Lower Back, Glutes
Experience
Beginner
Equipment
No Equipment

How to do it

  1. Start on your hands and knees, hands under shoulders, knees under hips. Keep your back flat.
  2. Tighten your belly gently.
  3. Slowly reach your right arm forward and your left leg back at the same time, until both are in line with your body.
  4. Hold for 2 to 3 seconds without letting your hips tilt.
  5. Return and switch sides. Do 5 to 8 on each side.

Common mistakes

  • Lifting the leg so high that the lower back arches.
  • Twisting the hips open.
  • Rushing the movement.

Make it easier or harder

Make it easier

Lift just the arm or just the leg, and keep the other three points on the floor.

Make it harder

Hold each lift for 5 seconds, or draw your elbow and knee together under your belly before reaching out again.

Keep it safe

Pad your knees with a folded towel or mat. If your wrists hurt, make fists or rest on your forearms.

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