Dead Bug

How to do it

1. Lie on your back on a mat with your arms reaching straight toward the ceiling.
2. Lift your feet so your hips and knees are both bent to ninety degrees.
3. Press your lower back gently into the floor and brace your abdominals.
4. Exhale and lower one arm overhead while extending the opposite leg toward the floor.
5. Stop just short of the floor while the lower back stays flat, then inhale and return.
6. Repeat with the opposite arm and leg, alternating for the prescribed reps.

Common mistakes

• Letting the lower back arch off the floor, which means the core has stopped resisting extension.
• Moving faster than you can breathe, which turns a control drill into a flailing exercise.
• Reaching further than you can hold position, which trades range for the stability being trained.
• Holding the breath throughout, which reduces the bracing the movement is meant to teach.