Bird Dog

What you'll gain

• Trains the trunk to stay stable while the arms and legs move independently.

• Requires no equipment and no floor space beyond a mat, so it suits home programming.

• Loads the spine lightly, which makes it usable early in low back conditioning.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Kneel on the floor and set each hand below its shoulder and each knee below its hip.

2. 2

   Brace your abdominals and set your spine flat with your neck in line with your back.

3. 3

   Reach one leg back with the knee bent until the thigh is roughly parallel to the floor.

4. 4

   At the same time reach the opposite arm forward to shoulder height, keeping the hips level.

5. 5

   Hold briefly while resisting any rotation through the pelvis.

6. 6

   Draw the working elbow and opposite knee together beneath your torso without touching down, then reach out again and repeat on the other side.

Common Mistakes

• Letting the hips rotate toward the lifted leg, which removes the anti-rotation demand entirely.

• Lifting the leg above hip height, which arches the lower back instead of loading the core.

• Letting the chest sag between the shoulder blades, which shifts support onto the shoulder joints.

• Rushing the reps, which replaces core control with momentum and balance corrections.

About This Exercise

The bird dog is performed on hands and knees, reaching one arm forward and the opposite leg back with the knee bent, then curling the elbow and knee together beneath the torso. During the reach, the rectus abdominis and transverse abdominis resist extension while the obliques resist rotation; the trunk then rounds during the inward curl. The erector spinae work alongside them to support the spine during the reach, and the glute of the extended leg produces the hip extension. Range is dictated by control, so reach without excessive low-back arching before curling inward. In a product catalog the bird dog is one of the most requested core clips because it appears in warm-ups, low back programs and beginner onboarding alike. The three-quarter angle shows the hip and shoulder alignment that written cues fail to communicate.

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