Why You Should Add the Bird Dog Exercise to Your Workout Routine, According to Trainers

When it comes to exercises that challenge the core muscles, the bird dog exercise provides a host of benefits thanks to the stabilisation required for the move, which causes the muscles in your trunk to fire up.

"This is a very simple but effective core stability exercise", said Bill Kelley, DPT, CSCS and physiotherapist. "The bird dog movement works many muscles, including the hamstrings and glutes, abs and obliques, spinal extensors, lats and posterior shoulder musculature. Together, this builds functional core strength, which plays a major role in many situations, including sports and everyday life".

"In essence, the body should resemble a hunting dog pointing to a bird in the brush", said Rocky Snyder, CSCS and author of the strength-training guide "Return to Center".

Bird dogs can be done in a flow with a specific number of reps on each side or can be held for a length of time on each side, similar to holding plank pose, as a way to challenge your core muscles.

1. Start on your hands and knees, with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
2. Reach one leg up and out so it's in line with your back.
3. Reach the opposite arm straight out in front.
4. The arm and leg travel out together, then back to the starting position.
5. Switch sides.

To get the most out of the bird dog exercise, there are some important form aspects to target the right muscles instead of compensating with unintended muscles, like your lower back.

"The biggest mistakes I see involve not keeping the midsection stable", Kelley said. "People will either let the core rotate to the side when lifting the leg and the hips drop, or they are so worried about lifting the arm and leg high that they will let the back sag down". "Another common misstep is going too fast", he added. When the motion is hurried, not as many muscles get activated compared to when the movement is slow and controlled.

Craning the neck upwards rather than looking down is also typical", Snyder said. When that happens, it places more strain on the muscles surrounding the neck, and it can lead to the back sagging rather than staying in a flat, neutral position.

From crunches to planks, why does the bird dog exercise deserve to be in your go-to workout routine?

"If you're already familiar with the bird dog exercise but want some variety, there are a few ways to make the movement more challenging", Kelley said.

Those include: increasing the hold time on each side, holding a weight in the outstretched hand or around the ankles, and increasing the number of reps. To really challenge stability, he suggested using an unstable surface that makes it harder to balance, or lifting the knees off the ground into a bear crawl position, and keeping one arm and the opposite leg lifted.

Words by Elizabeth Millard, ACE CPT