Abs & core
Dead Bugs
A slow core move on your back where you reach one arm and the opposite leg away while your lower back stays flat. It teaches your abs to keep your trunk still while your arms and legs move.
- Works
- Core, obliques, hip flexors
- Equipment
- A mat, plus a pair of light dumbbells if you want more
- Load
- Bodyweight or light
How to do it
- 1Lie on your back with your arms reaching straight up over your shoulders. Lift your legs into a tabletop: knees over your hips, bent to 90 degrees.
- 2Press your lower back into the mat and pull your ribs down.
- 3Slowly reach one arm back overhead and straighten the opposite leg until both hover just above the floor.
- 4Bring them back to the start and switch sides. Keep alternating.
Cues
- Keep your lower back pressed into the mat.
- Opposite arm, opposite leg, slow and steady.
- Breathe out as you reach.
Common mistakes
- Lower back arching off the mat. Don't reach as far. Lower your leg only as low as your back stays flat, or keep the knee bent and tap your heel down.
- Rushing the reps. Speed lets momentum do the work. Take 2 or 3 seconds to reach out and 2 or 3 to come back.
- Moving the same arm and leg. Pair them opposite: right arm with left leg, left arm with right leg.
Easier
Tiff's version is without weights. You can also keep your knee bent and just tap your heel to the floor.
Harder
Hold a light dumbbell in each hand with your arms straight up, or pause for 2 seconds at full reach.
Try it: 3 rounds of 30 seconds on and 15 seconds off.
What do dead bugs work?
Mainly your deep core, the muscles that keep your trunk steady while your arms and legs move. Your obliques and hip flexors help too. That's why dead bugs fit well in a warm up or an ab workout.
