▶ watch dead bug on the dedicated video page
how it’s done, step by step
- Begin by lying flat on your back with your arms extended straight up towards the ceiling and your legs lifted with your knees bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Engage your core and slowly lower your right arm and left leg towards the floor, keeping your back flat on the floor and not allowing it to arch.
- Return your right arm and left leg to the starting position.
- Repeat the movement with your left arm and right leg. Continue alternating sides for the desired number of repetitions.
how much: Start with 3 sets of 6–8 reps, and slow each reach to a three-second lowering before adding more reps.
form tips from the wandelbar coaches
- Press your lower back into the floor as if flattening a coin under it.
- Exhale slowly through pursed lips as the arm and leg reach away.
- Keep the resting knee stacked directly over your hip, not drifting toward your chest.
common mistakes
- Lower back peeling off the floor as the leg lowers — shorten the reach and stop the heel higher.
- Rushing side to side like pedaling — pause for a full breath at the bottom of each reach.
- Same-side arm and leg moving together — lead with the opposite hand and foot, right arm with left leg.
make it easier or harder
- easier
- Keep both arms still and lower only one heel at a time to tap the floor, knees bent.
- harder
- Straighten the moving leg fully and hover it just above the floor for a two-second pause.
similar bodyweight exercises
never wonder what to train next
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