Dead Bug Exercise For Beginners
The Dead Bug is a great exercise for beginners to build core strength and stability and treat lower back pain. The goal of the Dead Bug exercise is to activate our core musculature and build enough core strength to maintain good spinal position through certain movements. In this article I teach you how to perform the movement, common mistakes, and provide different variations to help you master the Dead Bug exercise.
Dead Bug Exercises For Beginners
Ready to get started with the Dead Bug? Master the move by following the steps below from Dr. Carl Baird. Then keep reading to learn how to fix common mistakes and learn new variations. To perform the Dead Bug:
Laying on your back, bring your legs into the 90/90 position.
Put arms straight out in front of you. Brace your abs.
The goal of the exercise is to lower your limbs without losing spinal position.
First Progression: Arms only.
Second Progression: Legs only.
Third Progression: Opposite arm. Opposite leg.
Don't progress to the next level until you can maintain good spinal position throughout each movement.
Watch the video below to learn more about the Dead Bug Exercise w/ Dr. Baird
Common Mistakes And How To Fix Them
Losing 90/90 Position
If you're not paying close attention, it's easy to let your legs hang and lose the 90/90 position. To fix, reset your 90/90 position and flex your ankles. This creates more tension in your legs and is a good reminder to keep the 90/90 position.
Too Much Hip Flexion
Another common mistake is to allow your top leg to flex toward your body while the other leg is down. To fix, simply reset to the 90/90 position and focus on maintaing the 90/90 position throughout the movement.
Loss of Spinal Position
A loss of spinal position is what happens when your back arches off the ground and the pelvis rounds forward. To fix, return to the previous progression and continue at the level until you have enough strength to move on.
Dead Bug Variations
Once you’ve mastered the dead bug exercise, you can further challenge yourself with different variations. Here are just a few more fun ways to use the deadbug to build core strength and stability.
The Banded Deadbug
Being able to create and maintain tension is the best way to limit the impact that goes through your back. The Banded Dead Bug creates tension in the entire body to help take pressure off your joints.
The Anti Rotation Dead Bug
To limit lower back pain it's important to be able to control the movement that goes through your spine. The Anti-Rotation Dead Bug improves you body's ability to limit spinal movement toprotect your lower back.
Cross Body Dead Bug
The Cross Body Dead Bug adds an isometric contractions to the traditional exercise and is a great variation to build more core strength and stability.
The dead bug is just one of many ways and build core strength and stability to solve chronic pain. For a more complete understanding of how to move without pain and build strength without stressing your joints, be sure to download our free program ‘Solving Pain With Strength
