Beginner exercise

Bird Dog

  • Stability
  • Functional

Technique

How to perform Bird Dog

  1. Begin on all fours with your wrists aligned under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
  2. Brace your core to keep a neutral spine and gaze down at the floor.
  3. Exhale as you simultaneously extend your right arm straight forward and your left leg straight back, forming a long line from fingertips to heel while keeping your hips level.
  4. Pause briefly at full extension, squeezing your left glute and maintaining a flat back without allowing your torso to rotate or arch.
  5. Inhale as you return your right hand and left knee to the floor under control, maintaining core tension.
  6. Repeat the movement with your left arm and right leg, alternating sides for the prescribed repetitions.

Programming relevance

Muscles involved

Primary targets: Erector Spinae, Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Medius.

MuscleScoreRole
Erector Spinae1.0Target, Stabilizer
Gluteus Maximus0.9Target, Stabilizer
Gluteus Medius0.9Target, Stabilizer
External Oblique0.3Stabilizer
Internal Oblique0.3Stabilizer
Latissimus Dorsi0.3Stabilizer
Posterior Deltoid0.3Stabilizer
Rectus Abdominis0.3Stabilizer
Serratus Anterior0.3Stabilizer