Is your dead bug or dying bug exercise “killing” your back?

Patients often tell me “oh yes, I do the dead bug / dying bug exercise”.

And what they're doing during this exercise is arching their back to get stability, compressing their spine,  and then flailing their arms and legs around. And true, that does look like a dead or dying bug.  But it defeats the purpose of the exercise!

In our fitness classes and in the clinic, what we focus on is your ability to keep your rib cage engaged with the ground and lined up with your pelvis. And, are you breathing all the way down to your pelvic floor?

When this happens you are activating your internal core. The goal of the dead bug is to keep your internal core engaged while you're moving your extremities (your arms and legs).

As soon as someone starts arching their back, we know they've passed their functional threshold and we will bring them back, help them line things up, help them find their breath again.

So it's not just flailing around, it's finding a nice stable center and then exploring the ranges of motion within that stable environment.

If you want to work with trainers that understand the nuances of common exercises and really know how to make movement as effective as possible to protect your spine, come to Square One Fitness.

Our trainers love helping you find your best movement!

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