All the benefits of the core-strengthening exercise dead bugs

Welcome to our weekly Move of the Week series. Every Monday, we’ll be sharing with you one of our favourite exercises – how to do them, what muscles they work and why they should be a regular part of your workout regime. This week: lying deadbugs. 

Improving your core strength has so many benefits, from better posture to less pain. But as well as making it solid, you need to work on its stability so that you can support your spine, hips and surrounding bones and joints. 

A dead bug is a great way to do that. The lying move requires full control over your abdominals so you build better core stability. 

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What is a dead bug?      

A dead bug involves lying on the back with your legs in a tabletop position and arms pointed towards the ceiling. You’ll use the core to lower one arm and leg towards the floor. 

This exercise is great because:

It strengthens the core: you’ll be challenging the muscles in the abdominals as you perform the exercise.

It reduces pain: a strong and stable core can reduce back pain by improving posture.  

It’s a great warm-up: activating the core muscles before you work out helps you engage them properly during exercise. 

What muscles are worked in a dead bug? 

This move mainly targets the core, including: 

  • Rectus abdominals (at the top of core) 
  • Transverse abdominals (the deep ab muscles) 
  • Hip flexors 
  • Shoulders 
  • Spinal erectors (running along the spine) 

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    How to do a dead bug 

    1. Lie on your mat with your legs in a table top position, bent at 90 degrees and arms lifted to the sky.
    2. Squeeze your abs by pulling your belly button to your spine and imprinting your spine onto the mat, ensuring there’s no space between your lower back and the ground. 
    3. Slowly begin lowering your leg arm and right leg towards the ground, extending the leg out straight. 
    4. When they are an inch above the ground, squeeze through your core to bring them back to the starting position. 
    5. Repeat on the other side. 

      For more exercise tips, sign up to the Strong Women Training Club. 

      Images: Stylist

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