Cox NewspapersThis is an advanced version of the Bird Dog, an exercise that can be performed at various intensity levels. To do an advanced Bird Dog, slowly lift your same-side arm and leg, point and maintain balance.

DAYTON, Ohio — The Bird Dog is a great exercise for developing core strength and improving balance.

Requiring no equipment and working multiple muscles at the same time, it’s a convenient way to stay on track whether at home or traveling. When performing this exercise, it is important to keep the torso rigid to help prevent the back from sagging or arching excessively.

Muscles worked include the glutes, hips, back, abdominals, shoulders and legs.

Technique

Beginner: Begin on the hands and knees with the fingers pointing forward. Place hands directly underneath the shoulders, and the knees underneath the hips.

Slowly raise the left arm until it is parallel to the floor. Keep the arm straight. Next, slowly raise the right leg until it is parallel, or nearly parallel, to the floor. Tighten the glutes and abs as you lift the leg and do your best to keep the hips from rotating outward. Try to keep both shoulders parallel to the floor throughout the movement.

This position would be held for several seconds or longer, depending on your ability to maintain balance. Slowly return to starting position and repeat with the right arm and left leg.

Intermediate: Instead of lifting the arm and leg separately, move them simultaneously in a slow controlled manner.

Advanced (shown above): Perform the exercise by lifting the same side arm and leg, one at a time. This is much more challenging and is not recommended for those who haven’t mastered the beginner version or who don’t already have good balance and a strong core.

You can also try using a small- to medium-size stability ball when doing the Bird Dog. Here you would position your hips on top of the ball before moving the arm/leg. If using the ball, then the leg that remains in contact with the floor will not be bent.

Tips

The Bird Dog is designed to test the strength of stabilizing muscles, and as such it is normal that you may initially find yourself unable to complete the exercise without losing balance. For this reason, it is important to move slowly and practice the exercise regularly.

This exercise can be especially helpful for those looking to improve posture, as well as for conditioning the lower back. Because it does not place as much stress on the spinal column as some other low back exercises, it is a considered a safe form of strengthening; however, it is still not appropriate for everyone, so check with your doctor if in doubt.

You can perform this exercise every day, or every other day, depending on goals and ability. Start with one to two repetitions to familiarize yourself with the technique, and then gradually increase number of reps or length of time each rep is held.