Exercise
Bird Dog
The Bird Dog is a core stability exercise that improves balance, spinal control, and coordination using slow, controlled movements.
Bird Dog
The Bird Dog is a foundational bodyweight exercise focused on core stability, balance, and controlled movement. Performed from a quadruped position, it challenges you to extend opposite arm and leg while keeping the spine neutral and the hips stable.
By resisting rotation and maintaining tension through the core, the Bird Dog strengthens the deep stabilizing muscles of the trunk, including the abs, lower back, and glutes. This makes it highly effective for improving posture, movement control, and coordination.
The exercise is widely used in warm-ups, rehabilitation, and strength programs because it reinforces proper spinal alignment without loading the spine. The Bird Dog is suitable for all fitness levels and plays a key role in building a strong, resilient core that transfers well to compound lifts and everyday movement.
How to Perform the Bird Dog
- Begin on all fours with your hands directly beneath your shoulders and knees directly beneath your hips, keeping your back flat.
- Engage your core by drawing your navel toward your spine, ensuring your lower back maintains a neutral position.
- Extend your right arm forward while simultaneously extending your left leg backward, keeping both limbs at torso height. Exhale as you extend.
- Maintain a stable torso by avoiding rotation or tilting of your hips and shoulders as you extend your limbs.
- Hold the extended position for 1-2 seconds while maintaining steady breathing and core engagement.
- Return to the starting position with control, bringing your hand and knee back to the floor as you inhale.
- Repeat the movement with the opposite arm and leg, extending your left arm forward and right leg backward.
- Continue alternating sides for the prescribed number of repetitions, focusing on smooth transitions and maintaining stability throughout.
Important information
- Keep your neck in a neutral position by gazing at the floor about 6-12 inches in front of your hands, avoiding dropping or lifting your head.
- If you experience wrist discomfort, try performing the exercise with your hands on dumbbells or pushing through your knuckles rather than your palms.
- Make sure your extended limbs remain parallel to the floor—avoid lifting them higher than your torso as this can strain your lower back.
- Focus on stability over range of motion; it's better to extend your limbs less if it means maintaining a neutral spine position.
FAQ - Bird Dog
The Bird Dog primarily engages your core stabilizers (including the transverse abdominis), erector spinae along your spine, gluteal muscles, and shoulder stabilizers. This comprehensive activation creates a full posterior chain strengthening effect while teaching anti-rotation stability.
Start on all fours with a neutral spine, then extend opposite arm and leg while maintaining a stable torso without rotating or sagging. Keep your neck aligned with your spine (not looking up), and focus on extending limbs horizontally rather than lifting them high, which can compromise form.
The Bird Dog is generally considered safe and is often prescribed by physical therapists for those with back issues because it strengthens core muscles without compressing the spine. Start with smaller movements if you have existing back pain, and always maintain a neutral spine position throughout the exercise.
Increase difficulty by adding hold time (30+ seconds per side), incorporating pulses at the extended position, using resistance bands, placing a weight on your lower back, or performing the movement on an unstable surface like a foam pad. You can also try the "bird dog row" variation by holding a light dumbbell in your extended hand.
Bird Dogs can safely be performed 3-5 times weekly, either as part of your warm-up routine (2-3 sets of 8-10 reps per side) or during core-focused training days. Their low-impact nature makes them suitable for daily practice if you're working on posture correction or rehabilitation.
Bird Dog
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