Deadbugs help build core strength and increase stability.
Deadbugs exercise also helps in building a solid and stable foundation to protect the spine. It also facilitates doing many daily sports movements such as moving heavy objects, walking over hills, and throwing.
It also helps you get rid of the pain in the lower back area by protecting the lower back area.
This exercise is a supine abdominal exercise, which you do while lying on your back.
What Is the Deadbugs Exercise?
The name Deadbugs exercise may not mean that it is one of the basic exercises, but in fact, it is considered a wonderful exercise, and it was named by this name because of its shape where it is practiced while you are lying on your back with your limbs moving while making the core stable.
If you want to build up your strength and increase stability and coordination at once, I recommend that you do the Deadbugs exercise, as this exercise may suit your abilities and fitness level. You can also add equipment to target new and different muscle groups while conditioning your core.
The Benefits
Deadbugs exercise works at an angle of 360 degrees from the side of the core, as it targets the abdominal muscles that are in the front and which are on the sides, as it is targeted next to the muscles that are located in the lower back area and the thigh belt area.
This exercise is considered a complete body exercise by incorporating arm and leg movements or some equipment such as weights and standing belts. Ross says: “In this exercise, the patient can deal with problems that exist in the lower extremities, whether those problems were present in the knee, hip, or back or the absence of any stability in the pelvis.
This exercise is a full range of basic exercises and also helps in increasing the stability of the spine and also engages the muscles along the back, arms, and muscles.
Colath says: “This exercise greatly helps to increase body awareness and coordination.” Coordinating the movements of the arms and legs greatly helps in performing proprioception. This exercise is suitable for the elderly because it is considered an exercise suitable for people who move less.
Anyone can get the benefits of exercise, as Ross says: “This exercise is considered low-impact and is therefore considered a suitable exercise for people who have difficulty performing a standing activity. These types of exercises are also easily accessible by a group of people. large population and range of ability levels.”
Among the most important benefits of the Deadbugs exercise, which you will get if you practice it correctly, are:
- It increases your core strength.
- It works to build basic stability and the spine.
- It increases the strength of the back, arm, and leg muscles.
- This exercise is light and easy on your joints.
- It reduces and prevents back pain.
- It increases body awareness and coordination.
- It can be practiced by all people and all levels of ability and fitness.
- Makes your body ready to do other exercises.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Deadbugs exercise is practiced while you are lying on the ground and therefore you need a yoga mat with a suitable area for the mat. You can use a yoga mat or any other type of carpet to perform the exercise comfortably.
You must know how to do the exercise Deadbugs correctly to get the maximum benefit from the exercise and to target the required muscles. We will also explain the steps of practicing the exercise in detail and I advise that you read these steps.
How to do the exercise:
- Get a yoga mat and then lie on it with your arms straight out towards your chest so that they are at a perpendicular angle with your torso and then make your hips and knees bent so that they are at a 90-degree angle and then raise your feet off the ground so that both your torso and thighs are at a right angle as well Thighs and legs and this is the beginning of the exercise.
- Keep the core busy and then make a connection between the lower back area and the rug, and you must maintain the stability and neutrality of the spine throughout the exercise.
- Put your right arm and left leg in place, then slowly move your left arm back, over your head, toward the floor, and at the same time extend your right knee and hip until you reach your right heel toward the ground, and then move slowly and steadily and inhale while you are doing the extensions. You should also stay away from any twisting or any movement in the hips and abdomen, and then stop the movement before you touch your arm and leg on the ground.
- Reverse the movement of the exercise and return your left arm and right foot to the starting position of the exercise, and then move slowly and steadily as you exhale.
- Negating the movements on the opposite sides, and you must maintain the stability of your left arm and right leg while extending your right arm and left leg.
- Do the repetitions required of you on each side and when you have finished the set completely, return your feet to the ground and then sit down.
Common Mistakes
While you are practicing Deadbugs exercise, you may fall into many common mistakes that will make you lose many of the benefits of exercise, and you must know these mistakes to avoid them.
Common mistakes while practicing Deadbugs are:
Move quickly:
One of the most common mistakes in this exercise is that there are a lot of people doing the exercise quickly and with momentum to run themselves and what distinguishes this mistake is that you notice the movement of all your limbs at the same time as if you did not stop at the top of the movement before you start the movement on the side opposite.
You have to do the exercise slowly and steadily to win the race when it comes to stability. i.e. maintaining perfect stability in the core.
If you cannot do the exercise slowly in all repetitions, you can do this trick, which is to bring a stability ball or a foam roller. You cannot do it if you release it with more than two parties at a time, as if you hold it in place with one hand and one knee while extending your opposite limbs, at this moment you are forced to slow down the exercise and reset between each repetition before you continue the exercise on the other side.
Low back arch off the ground:
This happens as a result of the weakness of the core stabilizers, especially the transverse abdominal muscles and the spine, and this is the main reason for the back arching automatically and away from the ground when you practice straight abdominal exercises, and also one of the reasons for this problem is that your muscles are not very strong to maintain the stability of your lower back In its place.
If you find an arch in your back, you must first correct the error by slowing down the exercise. through its extensions.
If you notice that your lower back cannot bend from the ground, you must reduce the range of motion of your extensions, as all you must do is extend your leg and opposite arm as much as possible without any bending in your back and when you feel a bend in the Lower back area Return your arm and leg to the middle before you make repetitions on the other side.
Deadbugs Exercise Variation
One of the best things about the Deadbugs exercise is that you can do the exercise according to your skill level and strength, where you can make some slight adjustments to the sequences of this exercise by targeting specific areas such as the core and the back.
There are many different forms of Deadbugs exercise:
Dead Bug - Overhead Reach:
In this variation, you can use a medicine ball or use a weight to increase the challenge.
How to do it:
- Do the exercise while lying on your back with your knees and feet bent on the ground, and then grab the medicine ball or any heavyweight so that it is straight above your chest.
- Slowly lower the medicine ball to the ground so that it is over your head slowly and smoothly, then restore your abdomen in order to avoid any bending in the lower back.
- Use your abdominal muscles to push the weight back over your chest to return to the starting position of the exercise. Repeat the exercise from 10 to 15 repetitions.
Dead Bug - Leg Extension:
This variation targets the hip muscles and increases tension in the pelvis, so the abdominal muscles will work against the extra torque that comes from stretching and rotation.
How to do it:
- Do the exercise while lying on your back with your arms at your sides and then make your knees bent and make your feet flat.
- Make your leg extended by raising your feet a little and then slowly extending them away from your body and then recover your stomach and avoid any bending in your back.
- Return your leg towards your body in order for your knee to be at a 90-degree angle. Repeat the exercise 10 times.
Dead Bug - Arm And Leg Extension:
In this variation you are sending both your arms and legs in many different directions to increase resistance and in order to further improve coordination.
How to do it:
- Do the exercise while lying on your back with your feet on the ground and make your knees bent and then put your right hand under your back in order not to cause any bending in the lower back area.
- Raise your right leg towards your chest touch your knee with your left hand and then retrieve your stomach.
- Slowly extend your leg as you reach your arm so that it is above and outside your head.
- Return each of your knees and arm towards the core and then repeat this exercise by doing 8 repetitions on each side.
FAQ
How many dead bugs should I do in my workout?
You can do this exercise by doing two or three sets and doing 10 repetitions in each set and on each side, but you must take into account that you do the exercise with high quality and correctly because the quality of the exercise greatly outweighs the quantity that you do practicing it.
You may find your core shivering after only a few times and if you feel like it, take a break.
What muscles work during a dead bug progression?
Deadbugs exercise targets a large group of muscles, including:
- Erector spinae
- Diaphragm
- Targets the pelvic floor muscles
- Targets the abdominal muscles
- Targets the hip muscles
Can I make the dead bug more challenging or beneficial?
Yes, you can increase the Deadbugs exercise challenge, and you can read the shapes that we mentioned above, and you can also use a medicine ball in order to increase the difficulty of the exercise, as you must install it between your hands that are raised and the knee while extending the opposite hand and leg.
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