Dead bug: how to do it

Main muscles: Lower abs. Helpers: Upper abs, Obliques. Below: step-by-step form, common mistakes, a muscle map, reps and rest, and what to swap it for.

Equipment

Bodyweight

Reps

10–16

Rest

60 s

Muscle group

Core

How to do it

Lie on your back, arms up, knees bent at 90°, lower back pressed into the floor.
Lower the opposite arm and leg while keeping the lower back down.
Come back and switch sides; one repetition is both sides.

Common mistakes

Lower back lifting, rushing, holding the breath.

▶ Form video on YouTube

Muscles worked

Front

Back

primary·secondary

Primary: Lower abs
Secondary: Upper abs, Obliques

A secondary muscle gets roughly half the stimulus of a set — that is also how the log’s stats count it.

Alternatives: similar exercises

Plank Bodyweight · Upper abs, Lower abs Ab wheel rollout Bodyweight · Upper abs, Lower abs Bicycle crunch Bodyweight · Obliques, Lower abs Crunches Bodyweight · Upper abs Hanging leg raise Bodyweight · Lower abs Reverse crunch Bodyweight · Lower abs

Log your sets — the app suggests the next weight

GymAssist tracks the load on each of 40 muscles, paints it on a body map and uses double progression to tell you when to add weight.

Start for free Open in Telegram

Free forever for the first 500