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Yoga poses

Bird Dog Exercise: Train Your Trunk to Hold Still

On hands and knees, reach one arm forward and the opposite leg back until both are level with your back, hips facing the floor. Your trunk holds still.

Balance · Shoulders · Core · Glutes · 2 min read

Why it works: Chapter 15, Your core is a barrel, not a six-pack

How to do it

  1. 1

    Hands under shoulders, knees under hips

    On hands and knees, back flat, neck long, eyes on the floor just ahead of your hands. A folded towel under your knees if the floor is hard. Press the floor away so your shoulders do not sink between your arms.

  2. 2

    Reach one arm forward

    Thumb up, arm level with your ear. Reach it away from you rather than lifting it.

  3. 3

    Opposite leg straight back

    At the same time, reach the other leg long behind you until it is level with your back, toes pointing down at the floor. Push away through the heel.

  4. 4

    Square the hips and ribs

    The lifted-leg hip wants to roll open. Turn it back down. Both hip points, the bony points at the front of your hips, face the floor, both shoulders stay level, and you keep breathing steadily while the trunk holds still.

  5. 5

    Change diagonals slowly

    Bring the hand and knee back under you, then reach the other pair out. The moment of the change is the part that counts.

  6. 6

    The easier version

    Reach the arm only, then the leg only. Add the diagonal once neither one tips you.

  7. 7

    The test

    The trunk should feel braced all the way round and completely still, and the glute of the reaching leg should be working. If your low back is what you feel, you have lifted the leg higher than level.

Watch for

  • Lifting the leg above your back. Your lower back arches and takes the work your glute and trunk should do.
  • The lifted hip rolling open. Your pelvis twists, the glute switches off and your back turns with it.
  • Sagging through the middle. Your belly drops, your lower back sinks into an arch and the trunk stops holding it.
  • Looking up. Your neck bends back and the long line from head to heel breaks.

Questions

What muscles does the Bird Dog work?

Mainly the muscles that hold your trunk still: the long back muscles beside your spine, your abdominals, and the obliques along the sides of your waist, which stop the twist. The glute of the reaching leg and the shoulder of the standing arm work too.

Is the Bird Dog good for your back?

Back specialists use it a lot because it trains the trunk to hold still while the load on the spine stays low. Done with the leg level and the hips square, it should not hurt. If your lower back aches, lower the leg or reach one limb at a time.

How long should you hold a Bird Dog?

A minute on each diagonal, right arm with left leg and then the other pair, in the Balance · 01 routine; most guides count reps, but keeping the hips square for a whole minute is the hard part. If they start to roll open, bring the hand and knee down, reset and reach out again. There is no daily target: do it when your training day has that routine. Those are the times in the normal-length session: a long day holds a little longer, and a short day trims only the holds longer than a minute.