Dead Bug (Weighted)
What you'll gain
Adds anti-extension load without taking the drill off the floor.
The contralateral pattern still trains coordination while the weights raise the demand.
Scales from a bodyweight dead bug with the same camera and the same lumbar cue.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Lie on your back holding a light dumbbell in each hand, arms straight toward the ceiling.
- 2
Lift both feet so the hips and knees are bent to 90 degrees and the shins are level.
- 3
Press the lower back into the floor and brace the abdominals.
- 4
Exhale and lower one dumbbell overhead while extending the opposite leg toward the floor.
- 5
Stop just short of the floor while the lumbar spine stays flat, then return both limbs.
- 6
Repeat on the other diagonal, keeping both feet off the ground between reps.
Common Mistakes
Letting the lower back arch off the floor, which means the core has stopped resisting extension.
Planting the feet, which turns a tabletop dead bug into a crook-lying sit-up setup.
Reaching farther than you can hold position, which trades range for the stability being trained.
Choosing dumbbells so heavy that the ribs flare before the first rep finishes.
About This Exercise
The weighted dead bug keeps the same anti-extension job as the bodyweight version and adds load in the hands. You lie supine with both dumbbells stacked over the shoulders and both hips and knees at 90 degrees, feet in the air. One arm and the opposite leg travel away from center; the trunk's only job is to stop the lumbar spine peeling off the floor. The extra mass on the reaching arm raises the anti-extension demand without needing a cable. For a catalog this is the loaded progression of the floor dead bug. It fits intermediate core blocks, dumbbell-only filters, and warm-up sequences that have already mastered the unloaded pattern.
Looking for an exercise animation collection for your app, coaching platform, or content workflow? MoveKit gives you consistent quality across every movement so your product feels cohesive from first launch through scale.
Build faster with related MoveKit resources
A loaded dead bug that holds two dumbbells overhead while opposite limbs extend with the low back pinned.
Need more than one animation?
Compare our packs to find the right fit, all with commercial licensing included.
Specifications
Built for
- Loaded core progressions in training apps after the bodyweight dead bug.
- Dumbbell-only program collections that still need an anti-extension clip.
- Warm-up blocks for lifters who have outgrown unloaded limb reaches.
- Low-back friendly core modules that must keep the spine supported on the floor.
Muscles Worked
Details
License Includes
Explore these exercise collections
Dumbbell Decline Crunch (Behind Head)
$4.99A short abdominal curl on a decline bench while both hands hold a dumbbell behind the head and the legs remain secured.
Dumbbell Russian Twist
$4.99A seated rotational core exercise with a dumbbell — trains the obliques and abs through controlled twisting under load.
Dumbbell Side Bend
$4.99A standing side bend with one dumbbell that trains the obliques against gravity — a simple, focused side-trunk lift.
Dumbbell Side Plank
$4.99A forearm side plank with one dumbbell in the top hand, training the obliques to resist side bending under load.
Dumbbell Situp
$4.99The classic situp loaded with a dumbbell on the chest — a simple way to add resistance to bodyweight ab work.
Dumbbell Spinal Jefferson Curl
$4.99A standing rolldown holding a dumbbell — a slow, segmental spinal flexion drill used to build hamstring and lower-back mobility.