How to Do the Dead Bug
Lie on your back with both arms reaching straight up over your shoulders.
Lift your knees over your hips so your shins are parallel to the floor.
Press your lower back lightly into the floor and keep it there.
Lower your right arm overhead as you straighten your left leg toward the floor.
Return to the start with control, then switch sides.
The work here is not in how far your arm and leg travel, it is in how still your spine stays while they do. Your rectus abdominis and the deeper transversus abdominis brace the trunk while your hip flexors control the leg on the way down. Go only as low as you can without your lower back lifting off the floor. That point is your range for today, and it moves as you get stronger.
Tips: Move slowly and breathe out as the arm and leg reach away. Keep a steady, light pressure between your lower back and the floor the whole time. If the full range is too much, bend the moving knee and simply tap the heel down.
Common Mistakes: Letting your lower back arch off the floor is the one that matters, and it usually happens because the leg is dropping too low. Rushing the reps and holding your breath are close behind. Keep your ribs down and your chin gently tucked instead of craning your head up.
Benefits: A stronger, better coordinated core protects your lower back during the ordinary things that aggravate it: getting out of a chair, lifting a grocery bag, twisting to reach the back seat. The dead bug builds that control lying down, with no load on your spine, which makes it one of the safest places to start.
