Dead bug
Supported trunk control while opposite limbs move away from the body.
Trunk control family
Dead bug
DemandEasy
Equipment requiredBodyweight + Floor space
Muscle focusAbs · Hip flexors
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Source-researched guide. Clinical review is pending.
How to move
- Lie on your back with the hips and knees bent to right angles, the knees over the hips, and the arms pointing straight up over the shoulders.
- Let the low back rest on the floor, then slowly lower one arm overhead as the opposite leg straightens, only as far as the low back stays still.
- Return to the start and change sides, breathing throughout.
Form cues
- Shorten the reach when trunk control changes.
- Move slowly rather than forcing the limbs to the floor.
Practice and cautions
No universal dose is assigned. Choose a manageable amount for your current capacity, leave room for controlled repetitions, and allow recovery. A clinician’s individual plan takes priority.
In pregnancy, after the first trimester, keep time flat on your back to a few minutes: prop your upper body up, or use a side-lying or all-fours version. Roll onto your side if you feel dizzy, sick or unwell. This is movement education, not an assessment or treatment prescription. Stop for sharp or increasing pain, dizziness, numbness or tingling; seek individual guidance for symptoms, injury or restrictions.
Sources and review status
Sources support the educational description; they do not establish that this exercise is suitable for you.
- ACE · Supine dead bug (beginner; the heel lowers toward the floor from knees over hips) ↗
- Souza 2001 · Trunk muscle activity in the dead bug in 12 healthy adults (the six-pack and obliques worked together, none above 41% of maximum; EMG, Arch Phys Med Rehabil) ↗
- Chan 2020 · The Sahrmann core test, its levels progressively harder (one heel lowered to the floor from 90/90 is level 2) ↗
- Saragiotto 2016 · Motor control exercise for chronic low back pain: better than minimal treatment, no better than other exercise (Cochrane review, 29 trials, 2,431 people) ↗
- Free Exercise DB · alias and muscle metadata ↗
Unlicense · Free Exercise DB contributors; derived from wrkout/exercises.json. Text import; no photographs or media. · Revision f00c92c7dcf1216a928a52c3706c7ce8e2f71ed5
No variation is labeled clinically validated.
What it works
Equipment
None: body weight and floor space.
Level
Beginner. See the easier and harder options above.
Workouts that use it
- Beginner core workout · 15 min
- Full-body gym workout A · 45 min
- Beginner home workout · 20 min
- Anterior pelvic tilt routine: hips and core · 20 min
- Squat technique workout · 25 min
- Dryland workout for swimmers · 45 min
- Ski fitness workout · 40 min
- Overhead press technique workout · 30 min
Show all 77 workoutsShow fewer workouts
- Plank challenge workout · 12 min
- Circuit training workout: 8 stations, dumbbells or bodyweight · 35 min
- Boxing fitness workout: shadow boxing and bag rounds · 35 min
- Strength workout for Down syndrome: a gym routine with a training buddy · 40 min
- CrossFit-style workout for beginners: learn the lifts, then a short scaled workout · 45 min
- Strength workout for dancers: feet, hips, hamstrings, trunk and landings · 55 min
- Strength workout for triathletes: heavy legs, calves, pulling and trunk · 50 min
- Cystic fibrosis workout: get moving, then huff · 35 min
- Strength and landing workout for skateboarders: legs, ankles, wrists and core · 45 min
- Strength workout for horse riders: core endurance, hips, legs and back · 40 min
- Powerlifting workout for beginners: squat, bench press and deadlift to the competition standard · 75 min
- Front squat technique workout: the rack, the grip and the depth · 30 min
- Core exercises with a stoma: levels 3 and 4 · 25 min
- Off-ice workout for figure skaters: landings, jumps, legs, hips, ankles and trunk · 45 min
- Strength workout for roller skaters: legs, hips, ankles, wrists and how to fall · 40 min
- Strongman workout for beginners: deadlifts, carries, sled pushes and presses · 60 min
- Dryland workout for water polo: jumps, heavy lifts, shoulder care and hips for the eggbeater · 55 min
- Barre strength workout: heavier lifts, pliés, pulses and holds, seat, arms and core · 45 min
- Dance fitness strength and landing workout: calves, ankles, hips, knees, trunk and quiet landings · 40 min
- Tight hip flexors routine: stretch, then strengthen · 15 min
- Strength workout for teenagers: technique first, with jumps and landings · 40 min
- Crunch and sit-up workout: from the crunch to the full sit-up · 15 min
- Gym ab workout: cable crunches, hanging knee raises, rollouts and carries · 25 min
- First gym workout: five machines and easy cardio · 45 min
- Squat strength workout: heavy sets, pause squats and single-leg work · 60 min
- Posterior pelvic tilt and flat back routine: back, hips and core · 20 min
- Dragon flag progression workout · 25 min
- Core session A: dead bugs, curls and front planks · 12 min
- Smith machine workout: squats, presses, rows and split squats on one machine · 50 min
- Hip and core control routine: even strength around the pelvis · 25 min
- Hanging leg raise progression workout: five steps to strict toes to bar · 25 min
- Ab wheel progression workout: from planks to full rollouts · 20 min
- Flutter kick progression workout: from heel taps to low flutter kicks · 15 min
- Box squat workout: barbell box squats, Romanian deadlifts, step-ups and core · 45 min
- Lower back strengthening workout: bird dogs to supermans, no equipment · 20 min
- V-up progression: from dead bugs and the hollow hold to the V-up · 20 min
- Rotation-focused Pilates for golfers: a 25-minute mat and standing class · 25 min
- Battle rope workout for beginners: 30-second waves, building to 10 rounds · 25 min
- Mid-range Pilates for dancers: a 25-minute mat class for feet, turnout control and trunk · 25 min
- Off-the-bike Pilates for cyclists: a 25-minute class for back extension, trunk and hips · 25 min
- Shoulder-safe Pilates for swimmers: a 25-minute dryland class for shoulder blades, trunk and hips · 25 min
- Seat-and-symmetry Pilates for horse riders: a 25-minute mat and standing class · 25 min
- Medicine ball workout: throws, slams and an interval finisher · 30 min
- Both-sides Pilates for tennis players: a 25-minute class for rotation, shoulder blades and hips · 25 min
- Off-the-wall Pilates for climbers: a 25-minute class for trunk tension, hips and shoulder blades · 25 min
- Pre-season Pilates for skiers: a 25-minute class for trunk, hips and single-leg balance · 25 min
- Recovery-day Pilates for footballers: a 25-minute class for trunk, groin, hips and hamstrings · 25 min
- Strong-and-steady Pilates for teenagers: a 25-minute class for trunk, hips, posture and a calm finish · 25 min
- Off-the-erg Pilates for rowers: a 25-minute class for trunk endurance, hips, upper back and shoulder blades · 25 min
- Off-court Pilates for basketball players: a 25-minute class for trunk control, hips, ankles and one-leg balance · 25 min
- Both-sides Pilates for athletes: a 30-minute class for trunk endurance, hips, the back of the body and one-leg balance · 30 min
- Short-block Pilates for ADHD: a 20-minute class with active bursts, coordination, balance and a calm finish · 20 min
- Recovery-day Pilates for rugby players: a 25-minute class for the neck, shoulder blades, trunk, hips and hamstrings · 25 min
- Core strength workout: one move for each job your trunk does · 25 min
- Hip flexor strengthening workout: marches, band knee drives, leg raises and step-ups · 25 min
- Yoga for hip flexors: a 25-minute stretch-and-strengthen class for the front of the hip · 25 min
- Hands-free Pilates for boxers: a 25-minute class for rotation, shoulder blades, trunk and stance, with no weight on your knuckles · 25 min
- Dryland Pilates for surfers: a 25-minute class for the back of the shoulder, upper-back rotation, trunk, hips and ankles, with short back bends and no breath holds · 25 min
- Rest-day Pilates for lifters: a 25-minute class for trunk endurance, the hinge, hips, ankles and the upper back, breathing out on every effort · 25 min
- Swim, bike and run Pilates for triathletes: a 25-minute class for the upper back and shoulder blades, the back and the front of the hips, trunk endurance, hips, calves and one-leg balance · 25 min
- Both-ways Pilates for cricketers: a 25-minute class for rotation, trunk and side endurance, the hips and hamstrings, both shoulders and front-leg balance, with no back bends · 25 min
- Out-of-the-crouch Pilates for hockey players: a 25-minute class for the front of the hips, the upper back, groin and side hips, rotation both ways and one-leg balance · 25 min
- Court-ready Pilates for pickleball players: a 25-minute class for balance and stepping, calves, hips, the trunk, and the paddle shoulder and forearm · 25 min
- Off-ice Pilates for figure skaters: a 25-minute class for both-ways rotation, the trunk, the landing leg, hips and ankles, with back bends kept small · 25 min
- Kick-and-guard Pilates for martial arts: a 25-minute class for the kicking leg, hips you control, rotation, the trunk, the neck and shoulder blades, with nothing on the head · 25 min
- Control Pilates for gymnasts: a 25-minute class for trunk endurance, shoulder blades without weight on your hands, hips you control and the landing leg, with no extra stretching · 25 min
- Trail-ready Pilates for hikers: a 25-minute class for ankles, a trunk that carries a pack, hips, the lowering leg and one-leg balance · 25 min
- Off-court Pilates for badminton players: a 25-minute class for the calves and Achilles, one-leg balance and the side lunge, the hips, the trunk both ways and the hitting shoulder · 25 min
- Off-track Pilates for sprinters: a 25-minute class for trunk control while the legs move, the front and back of the hip, and one-leg balance · 25 min
Pain guides that use it
Part of a staged plan, with when to get help first.
- Lower back pain: exercises that help, and when to get it checked
- Herniated, bulging or slipped disc: what the scan means and how to exercise
- Chronic low back pain: the exercise that works is the one you keep doing
- Hip flexor pain: strengthen first, and the truth about tight hip flexors
- Stress fractures of the foot, shin, thigh and hip: recovery and getting back to running
- Degenerative disc disease: what the label means, what scans show, and what helps
- Costochondritis: chest wall pain, why the heart comes first, and what helps
- Broken, bruised or pulled rib: breathing, exercises and how long it takes
Show all 66 pain guidesShow fewer pain guides
- Snapping hip: why your hip clicks or pops, and exercises that help
- Sports hernia (inguinal-related groin pain): rehab, surgery and how it differs from a hernia
- Lisfranc injury (midfoot sprain or fracture): diagnosis, treatment and recovery
- Little League elbow: inner elbow pain in young throwers, how long to rest, and the way back to throwing
- Elbow OCD (osteochondritis dissecans): outer elbow pain in young throwers and gymnasts, and Panner's disease
- High ankle sprain: how to spot it, why it takes longer, and when it needs a specialist
- Knee OCD (osteochondritis dissecans): a damaged patch of bone and cartilage in children, teenagers and young adults
- Scheuermann's disease (Scheuermann's kyphosis): a stiff, rounded upper back in teenagers, and what helps
- Elbow bursitis: signs of infection, what helps, and protecting your elbow
- Kienböck's disease: when a wrist bone loses its blood supply, and what helps
- Freiberg's disease: pain under the second toe joint, offloading, and getting back to sport and dance
- Köhler's disease (Kohler's disease): a young child's limp from the navicular, and how it settles
- Toe walking in children: when it's normal, the signs to get checked, and what helps
- Tarsal coalition: a stiff, painful flat foot and ankles that keep spraining, and what helps
- Osteochondral lesion of the talus (talar dome lesion, ankle OCD): deep ankle pain after a sprain
- UCL injury of the elbow: rest and rehab or Tommy John surgery, and the way back to throwing
- Lower back pain when running: why it happens, whether running harms your back, and the way back
- Lower back pain when cycling: reach, saddle and bars, back and hip strength, and how to build back
- Numb hands when cycling: which nerve, what to change on the bike today, and when to get it checked
- Lower back pain when swimming: which strokes, kicks and turns to change, and a plan back
- Lower back pain from sitting: why sitting hurts, what to change and how to build back
- Lower back pain in the morning: waking up stiff, mattresses, inflammatory back pain and what helps
- Lower back pain when standing: standing still, work, mats and shoes, stenosis and how to build back
- Lower back pain when lying down: positions, pillows, night pain, the warning signs and what helps
- Groin pain: a strain, a hernia, the hip joint, the testicles and the other causes to know
- Rib pain: a bruised or broken rib, costochondritis, a strain, a nerve, and the heart and lungs
- Chest muscle pain: a strained muscle, the chest wall, the heart and lungs, and how to build back
- Sternum (breastbone) pain: the chest wall, a blow, reflux, the heart and lungs, and what helps
- Upper back pain when breathing: the heart and lungs first, then the rib joints, muscles and a cough
- Groin pain in men: strains, hernias, the hip, the testicles and prostate, and the signs to act on
- Groin pain in women: the hip, inner thigh strains, hernias, the pubic bone, gynae and urinary causes
- Lower back pain when bending backwards: facet joints, stress fractures, back bends and what helps
- Lower back pain when doing leg raises: the arch, the hip flexors, the tummy muscles and what helps
- Neck pain when doing sit-ups: pulling on your head, the neck muscles, technique and swaps
- Lower back pain when doing planks: the sag, the hip flexors, holding too long and what helps
- Lower back pain when doing sit-ups: the arch, the hip flexors, the tailbone, crunches and what helps
- Wrist pain when doing planks: the wrist bent back, forearm planks, fists, handles and swaps
- Lower back pain when doing kettlebell swings: the hinge, the top of the swing, the bell and load
- Lower back pain on a rowing machine: the catch, the drive and finish, the damper and how long to row
- Back pain when doing pull-ups: upper and lower back, arching and swinging, the hang and what helps
- Lower back pain when bench pressing: the arch, leg drive, the hips lifting, the set-up and swaps
- Lower back pain when overhead pressing: arching, the ribs and bracing, standing or seated, and swaps
- Hip flexor pain when doing sit-ups: the front of the hip, anchored feet, the groin and swaps
- Shoulder pain when doing planks: the front and top of the shoulder, the shoulder blade, side planks
- Hip pain when doing mountain climbers: the hip flexors, a pinch at the front, pace and the plank
- Lower back pain when doing Russian twists: the rounded twist, your feet, the obliques and swaps
- Groin pain when doing sit-ups: hooked feet, the inner thigh, the lower tummy, hernias and swaps
- Hip flexor pain when doing leg raises: the front of the hip, clicks, a pinch, the groin and swaps
- Lower back pain when doing ab wheel rollouts: the sag, how far to roll, the hip flexors and swaps
- Hip pain when swimming: the breaststroke kick, the groin, the hip flexors, turns and what helps
- Lower back pain after yoga: backbends, forward folds and twists, what to change and a plan back
- Lower back pain after Pilates: double-leg moves, rolling, swan and the reformer, and a plan back
- Back pain when driving: the seat, long journeys, vibration, sciatica and what to change
- Back pain after flying: the seat, sleeping upright, lifting cases, blood clots and what helps
- Back pain after a massage: normal soreness, deep pressure, massage guns and the signs to act on
- Back pain after a chiropractor: soreness after an adjustment, flare-ups, rare harms and what helps
- Back pain after dancing: arching, lifts and landings, heels and pole, young dancers, what helps
- Back pain from bowling: fast bowling in cricket, young bowlers, ten-pin, and what helps
Guides that use it
- Pilates guide
- Pilates for your core guide
- Pilates for anterior pelvic tilt guide
- Pilates for golfers guide
- Pilates for dancers guide
- Pilates for cyclists guide
- Pilates for swimmers guide
- Pilates for horse riders guide
Show all 142 guidesShow fewer guides
- Pilates for tennis players guide
- Pilates for climbers guide
- Pilates for skiers guide
- Pilates for footballers guide
- Pilates for teenagers guide
- Pilates for rowers guide
- Pilates for basketball players guide
- Pilates for athletes guide
- Pilates for the hip flexors guide
- Pilates for office workers guide
- Pilates for ADHD guide
- Pilates for rugby players guide
- Pilates for sway back guide
- Pilates for degenerative disc disease guide
- Pilates for boxers guide
- Pilates for surfers guide
- Pilates for baseball players guide
- Pilates for weightlifters guide
- Pilates for triathletes guide
- Pilates for cricketers guide
- Pilates for hockey players guide
- Pilates for volleyball players guide
- Pilates for pickleball players guide
- Pilates for figure skaters guide
- Pilates for martial arts guide
- Pilates for patellar tendinopathy guide
- Pilates for gymnasts guide
- Pilates for hikers guide
- Pilates for CrossFit guide
- Pilates for bodybuilders guide
- Pilates for badminton players guide
- Pilates for netball guide
- Pilates for sprinters guide
- Pilates for breast cancer guide
- Pilates for belly fat guide
- Pilates for love handles guide
- Pilates for men over 40 guide
- Yoga for degenerative disc disease guide
- Yoga for hip flexors guide
- Yoga for sprinters guide
- Yoga for anterior pelvic tilt guide
- Yoga for sway back guide
- Spine guide
- Cupping guide
- Kinesiology tape guide
- Rolfing guide
- Psoas release guide
- Fascial manipulation guide
- Lower back guide
- Exercise for osteoporosis and osteopenia
- Strength training for women
- Exercise for children and teenagers
- Exercise for hypermobility
- Diastasis recti exercises
- Exercise for PoTS
- Exercise with Crohn's and colitis (IBD)
- Exercise for wheelchair users
- Exercise after an amputation
- Exercise for Down syndrome
- Exercise and epilepsy
- Exercise with cystic fibrosis
- Exercise with a stoma
- Exercise with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)
- Kyphosis guide
- Anterior pelvic tilt guide
- Swayback posture guide
- Scoliosis guide
- Posterior pelvic tilt guide
- Rib flare guide
- Lordosis guide
- Pelvic rotation guide
- Training guide
- Rest between sets guide
- Plank times guide
- How to squat guide
- 7-minute workout guide
- Circuit training guide
- Supersets guide
- How to front squat guide
- Mountain climbers guide
- Sit-ups guide
- How to get abs guide
- Start working out guide
- Start lifting weights guide
- How to breathe when lifting guide
- Increase your squat guide
- Dragon flags guide
- Glute kickbacks guide
- Hanging leg raises guide
- Ab wheel rollouts guide
- Dead bugs guide
- Bird dogs guide
- Hollow body hold guide
- Pallof presses guide
- Reverse crunches guide
- Flutter kicks guide
- Zercher squats guide
- Push press guide
- Box squats guide
- Pendlay rows guide
- Plank guide
- Crunches guide
- Supermans guide
- V-ups guide
- Overhead squats guide
- Battle ropes guide
- Cable crunches guide
- Renegade rows guide
- Medicine ball slams guide
- Single-leg glute bridge guide
- Oblique crunches guide
- Ab crunch machine guide
- Overhead carry guide
- Body recomposition guide
- How to get a V taper guide
- How to get a smaller waist guide
- Getting back into working out guide
- Core strength guide
- Strengthen your back guide
- Muscular endurance guide
- Strengthen your hip flexors guide
- Build muscle as a woman guide
- Squat depth guide
- Plank test guide
- Sit-up test guide
- Swimming guide
- Boxing guide
- Dance guide
- Triathlon guide
- Horse riding guide
- Powerlifting guide
- Figure skating guide
- Barre guide
- Zumba and dance fitness guide
Similar moves
3D demoAb wheel rollout from the kneesAdvanced · An ab wheel
3D demoDragon flagExpert · A bench or box
3D demoHollow body holdIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoOne-arm dead hangExpert · Pull-up bar + A step
3D demoReverse crunchIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoStanding ab wheel rolloutExpert · An ab wheelBrowse more
Questions people ask
What muscles does the Dead bug work?
Mainly the abs, with help from the hip flexors.
What equipment do I need for the Dead bug?
No equipment: your body weight and a little floor space.
Is the Dead bug good for beginners?
It is graded beginner, so it suits most people starting out. When it feels easy, try the Forearm plank.
What is an easier alternative to the Dead bug?
Try the Dead bug heel taps. It is the suggested step down from this move.
How do I make the Dead bug harder?
Progress to the Forearm plank or the Leg pull-in. Follow that guide’s technique and any stated timing.