22/08/2025
1️⃣Basic Bird Dogs 🦢🐶
* Starting Position: Begin on your hands and knees, with your hands directly under your shoulders and knees under your hips, in a tabletop position.
* Core Engagement: Tighten your abdominal muscles to stabilize your core and maintain a neutral spine.
* The Movement: Slowly extend one arm forward, parallel to the floor, and extend the opposite leg backward, keeping it parallel to the floor as well. Avoid rotating your hips or arching your back. Imagine you have a plate balanced on your back.
* Hold and Return: Hold the extended position for a few seconds, then slowly return your arm and leg to the starting position.
* Switch Sides: Repeat the movement with the opposite arm and leg.
* Reps/Sets: 10 reps each side, 2-3 sets
Note: if you don’t feel ready for this, you can simply do single arm and single leg extensions on their own.
2️⃣Bird Dog Crunches
* Starting position and core engagement is the same
* The Movement: initially the same as basic bird dogs. Then when in the extended position, bring the extended arm and leg under so that the elbow and knee meet underneath the body (they don’t need to touch but great if you can).
* Hold and return: Hold the crunch position for a few seconds, then slowly return to the extended position.
* Do not switch sides until all reps have been completed.
* Reps/Sets: 10 reps each side, 2-3 sets
3️⃣Bird Dog with Lateral Abduction
* Starting position and core engagement is the same
* The Movement: initially the same as basic bird dogs. Then when in the extended position, slowly abduct the extended arm and leg away from the body.
* Return: slowly return to the extended midline position.
* Do not switch sides until all reps have been completed.
* Reps/Sets: 10 reps each side, 2-3 sets
As always, speak with your health care practitioner before starting any new exercises.
