Bird dogs are excellent for strengthening your spine, improving your balance, and building your mobility.
This article teaches you how to do them correctly, what mistakes you should avoid, and excellent alternatives if you have different fitness goals.
Keep reading!
Table of Contents
How to do bird-dogs correctly
The bird-dog exercise is a simple yet highly effective core strengthening exercise that improves balance and stability.
Here’s how you do it correctly:
- Get down on all fours with your hands and knees shoulder-width apart.
- Now, extend one leg straight behind you while simultaneously raising the opposite arm out in front of you.
- Hold this position for a few seconds, then return to the starting position and repeat on the opposite side.
Pro tip: Keep your core engaged and your back straight throughout the exercise to get the most out of it.
That brings me to the next point:
Bird-dog mistakes
Bird dogs are a popular exercise for strengthening the core and back muscles, but like any exercise, they can be done incorrectly.
One mistake you can often make is lifting your legs and arms too high or too quickly. This movement can strain your lower back.
Remember: It’s important to keep the movement slow and controlled, focusing on your stability and balance rather than speed.
Another mistake is allowing your hips to twist or drop, which can shift the focus away from the intended muscles. To avoid this, engage your core to maintain a straight, stable spine throughout the exercise.
That brings us to the next mistake:
Lack of core and glute engagement.
If you don’t engage your core, the bird-dog exercise will be less effective in strengthening your spine.
And it’s also important to keep your neck straight and your eyes looking down. Otherwise, you may strain your neck and risk injury.
But what if your neck isn’t strong enough? Or what if you want to work out different muscles? Jump into the next section.
Bird-dog alternatives
The bird-dog exercise has various alternatives, but each is better for a different purpose. I’ll review them below:
1. Deadlifts: Best for strength
A deadlift is a compound exercise, making it one of the most effective and popular ways to strengthen your entire body. Unlike a bird-dog, it’s better for leg and back strength.
Here’s how you do it:
Start by standing behind the bar with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing forward. Hinge at your hips, lowering the bar down towards your toes.
Pro tip: You can also slightly bend your knees, but don’t initiate this movement from your knees, but from your hips.
Keep the bar close to your shins and maintain good form throughout the lift. Once you reach the bottom position, slowly raise the bar back up with control.
Remember to breathe and focus on using your muscles to move the weight.
2. Plank leg lift: Best for Advanced Levels
If you want to take your bird-dog game to the next level, the plank leg lift is an excellent move for advanced levels.
This move challenges your core stability, engaging your glutes and hips for a full-body workout.
Start from a plank position with your forearms and toes on the ground. Engage your core and slowly lift one leg off the ground, keeping it straight and lifting it as high as possible without arching your back. Hold at the top for a second before lowering it back down and switching sides. Repeat for the desired number of reps, keeping your hips level and your core engaged throughout the entire movement.
Get ready for a serious burn and some major gains with this plank variation.
3. Dead Bug: Best for abs and back
The dead bug exercise is a great way to strengthen your core muscles and improve your overall stability. Unlike the bird-dog, it focuses on your abs just as much as your back, legs, and arms.
Besides, it can be easier for your neck and lumbar area.
To perform this exercise, lay on your back with your arms extended upwards and your knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Keeping your lower back pressed into the ground, slowly lower your right arm and left leg until they hover just above the floor. Hold for a few seconds before returning to the starting position. Repeat on the other side, alternating back and forth until you’ve completed your desired number of reps.
Remember to keep your core engaged throughout the exercise and avoid arching your back.
4. Swimmers: Best for back strength
Swimmers are a highly effective exercise that can improve your posture, tone your back muscles, and boost your overall fitness level.
Unlike bird-dogs, they’re easier on the neck but harder on the back.
You’ll also feel a more intense burn in your glutes and shoulders.
To perform swimmers, lie face down on a mat with your arms and legs extended. Alternate lifting your right arm and left leg, then your left and right leg, while engaging your core muscles. As you do this exercise, keep your movements slow and controlled, and avoid jerking or using momentum.
Remember to breathe deeply and regularly throughout the movement, and stop if you feel any pain or discomfort.
5. Cat-to-cow: Best for beginners
Cat-to-cow is a simple yet effective yoga pose that helps to alleviate tension and improve flexibility in the spine. This exercise is easier than bird-dogs, with less impact on your arms and legs.
On the downside, bird-dogs are better for balance and stability.
But once you build up enough strength, you’ll also be able to perform bird-dogs.
To do the pose, begin on your hands and knees with your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. As you inhale, arch your back and lift your tailbone towards the ceiling, allowing your head to drop towards the floor. This is the cow pose. As you exhale, slowly lower your spine towards the floor, lifting your head and tailbone as you go. This is the cat pose.
Repeat this movement, inhaling into Cat and exhaling into Cow, for several breaths.
Not only will you release tension in your back, but you will also find yourself feeling more grounded and centered.
6. Downward Dog to Upward Dog: Best for flexibility and arm strength
Downward dog to upward dog is a sequence of yoga postures involving movements that help build strength and flexibility.
Unlike bird dogs, you will feel a more intense workout in your arms and back. You’ll also gain more hamstring flexibility, though bird-dogs challenge your balance more.
Here’s how you do it:
Start in the downward-facing dog position, which requires you to come to your hands and knees.
Press your hands into your mat and lift your hips up and back, building a triangle off the floor.
From there, you transition to the plank pose, similar to the top of a push-up. Once you’re in plank, shift your weight forward so that you’re coming onto the tops of your feet and bending your back. That’s the upward dog.
And that’s the last alternative.
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