How To - Bird Dogs

Bird dogs are a classic exercise to help strengthen the core, the spine, the multifidi, the glutes, the shoulder, the hamstring, all the things. So start lightweight. As usual, you can use a weight in the hand as well, or not. You're going to press through with those shoulder blades. Find a neutral spine, not too rounded, not too arched right in the middle.

Keep it there. Don't let it move. We want to isolate all the movement to the shoulder. Good. and to the hip. So there's nothing else moving through here. Start. You're going to press the leg back and the arm overhead. Now we want to think about reaching away with the hand and the foot. It's not so much about reaching up toward the ceiling, it's reaching away with the heel.

So I'm pulling that toe up toward the knee. I'm straightening that leg out. I'm reaching my heel to the wall back there, squeezing the glute, and I'm not letting my lower back get involved. Same thing is happening with the arm. I'm reaching up, sorry, reaching forward over my head to the wall. Reach, reach, reach.

And if I can go up, great. Otherwise, keep it there. Just focus on reaching forward. We don't want to get the upper back so involved in the extension. So repetitions of this nice and slow.

Making sure that I'm active in both the other arm and the other leg. So I'm pressing through with both of them.

Or you can just hold. You don't have to do reps. That's up to you. Make sure you're doing both sides as well.