When you want to really smoke your core, you probably gravitate toward well-known exercises likeplanksor crunches.
But the bird-dog exercise is a great one to considerand its surprisingly under-rated.
Wondering what a bird-dog exercise is?
Katie Thompson
Sounds pretty simple, right?
Keep scrolling to discover what may just be your new favorite exercise!
What kind of exercise is the bird-dog?
Katie Thompson
So its a great move to include in atotal-body strength workout.
Its such a beneficial exercise for pretty much your whole body, Hodges says.
What muscles does the bird-dog exercise work?
Katie Thompson
When it comes to the bird-dog exercise, muscles worked include, um, pretty much all of them.
For starters, the bird-dog hits your entire core.
Because the bird-dog works so many different muscles throughout your body, it definitely counts as a total-body exercise.
Katie Thompson
Still, lots of people program the bird-dog exercise as a coreexercise, and thats fine too!
What are the benefits of the bird-dog exercise?
Theres some cognition that has to go into that, Hodges says.
Katie Thompson
How do you do the bird-dog exercise?
Heres how to do it correctly.
If youre totally new to bird-dogs, start with 5-10 reps per side, Hodges suggests.
Katie Thompson
What are advanced bird-dog exercises?
There are tons of different ways to tweak the bird-dog to be a more advanced exercise, Hodges says.
Another option for an advanced bird-dog exercise?
Instead of simultaneously moving opposite limbs, simultaneously move your same-side arm and leg, says Hodges.
Heres how to do four advanced bird-dog variations.
This variation delivers extra core work by incorporating a crunch with each rep.
