How to Do the Bird Dog: Form, Benefits, and Guide
Master the Bird Dog exercise with our step-by-step guide. Improve core stability, protect your lower back, and enhance coordination with this bodyweight move.
How to Perform
- Begin on the floor in a quadruped position with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
- Engage your core to maintain a neutral spine, ensuring your back is flat and your neck is aligned with your hips.
- Slowly extend your right arm forward and your left leg backward simultaneously until both are parallel to the floor.
- Pause at the top of the movement for two seconds while focusing on keeping your hips level and square to the ground.
- Lower your limbs back to the starting position with control and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
- Continue alternating sides for the desired number of repetitions while maintaining a steady breathing pattern.
Common Mistakes
- Arching the lower back by lifting the leg too high above hip level.
- Tilting the hips or shifting body weight excessively to the supporting side.
- Rushing the tempo which sacrifices balance and core tension.
- Dropping the head or looking upward instead of maintaining a neutral neck.
Muscles Worked
Primary movers
- Core
Stabilizers
- Glutes
- Erector Spinae
- Shoulders
- Hamstrings
Related Guides
- 3008 Abdominal Crunch — Core
- Ab Roller — Core
- Ab wheel — Core
Core · Core