# Bird Dog: how to do it

- Main muscles: lower back, abs
- Also works: glutes
- Equipment: bodyweight
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/bird_dog/b48d483057/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Kneel on all fours with hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
2. Tighten your stomach to keep your back flat.
3. Reach one arm forward and the opposite leg back until both are level with your body.
4. Pause, then bring them back slowly.
5. Repeat with the other arm and leg.

## Cues

- Keep your hips level.
- Reach long, not high.
- Back stays flat like a table.

## Common mistakes

- Lifting the leg too high: stop when it is level with your hips.
- Hips twisting open: keep both hips pointing at the floor.
- Rushing: move slowly and pause at full reach.

## The version in our demo

Classic all-fours bird dog, opposite arm and leg reaching together, brief pause at full reach, then the other side. This is ACE's and NASM's version.

## Starting position

On all fours on a mat. Hands flat directly under the shoulders, about shoulder width apart, fingers forward; knees directly under the hips, hip width apart (15–20 cm); toes tucked under (tops of the feet flat on the floor is just as good). Back flat (neutral, neither sagging nor rounded), head in line with the spine, eyes on the floor between the hands. Abdomen braced.

## The movement

At the same time, slide the left leg back and straighten it, then raise it until it is at or near parallel to the floor, while the right arm reaches straight forward to the same height, thumb up. Pause briefly, then return both limbs along the same path to the start and repeat with the right leg and left arm. The trunk, pelvis and head stay still: hips stay level, no twist, no extra arch in the lower back.

## Breathing

Breathe out as the limbs reach, in as they return.

## Form in numbers

- Start: hip flexion 90°, knee flexion 90°, shoulder flexion 90° (arms vertical), elbows straight.
- End leg: hip flexion 0° (thigh in line with the trunk, horizontal), knee flexion 0°, toes pointing back; heel no higher than the hip (source: "at, or near parallel").
- End arm: shoulder flexion about 170–180° (arm horizontal beside the head), elbow straight, hand at head height.
- Path: hand travels in a forward arc, foot slides back then rises in a backward arc.

## Sources

1. [ACE, "Bird-dog"](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/14/bird-dog/)
2. [NASM, "Best Abs Exercises: Science-Based Core Training That Delivers Results"](https://www.nasm.org/resource-center/blog/training/best-abs-exercises)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/bird-dog