5 Dead Bug Variations You Might Not Have Tried Before

Dead bugs strengthen the muscles of the anterior core, train the body to resist the extension of the spine, and develop lumbo-pelvic stability. Dead bugs teach you how to generate tension, something that is vital if you hope to be able to perform proper pull-ups. With dead bugs, there are many different variations you can perform. This week I shared 5 dead bug variations you might not have tried before.

Before I dive into some of the more advanced variations, here is how you perform the basic dead bug.

Key Points:

Lie on the floor. Lift up your legs so they are in a vertical position, straighten your knees, and point your feet towards you (dorsiflex). If you lack the flexibility in your hamstrings or if you are unable to maintain proper form, you can keep your knees bent at a 90 degree angle. Make sure they remain at a 90 degree angle for the duration of the exercise.
Pick up your head and shoulders so they are a few inches above the ground, keep your chin tucked and neck in a neutral position, extend your arms so they are above your chest, and tuck your ribs towards your hips (close the space in your midsection).
If elevating your head doesn’t feel comfortable, you may rest your head on the floor or on a yoga block. Pay attention that you are not “cheating” by using the muscles in your neck and/or upper body in place of the muscles of the anterior core.
Before you go, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine). Now steadily exhale through your mouth, contract your anterior core muscles as hard as you can, slowly lower your arm and opposite leg towards the floor, and to a range where you are able to maintain proper form. Return to the starting position. Reset and repeat using the opposite arm and leg.
For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your lower back to hyperextend, ribcage to flare, or pelvis to move.
Keep your legs relaxed so they do not dominate. If you start to notice your legs or muscles in your back, try re-bracing your core and tucking your ribs towards your hips. If this fails, try shortening the range of your leg lowering, or bending your knees to 90 degrees.
Make sure that your knee remains in a fixed position and that the movement occurs from your hip.
I tend to notice that if your shirt remains wrinkled, it likely means you are in the right position. If your shirt suddenly becomes smooth, it likely means you have lost the correct position and have flared your ribcage and hyperextended your lower back.

Regression:

Make this exercise easier by decreasing the range of the leg lowering, or by bending your knees.

Progression:

Make this exercise more challenging by increasing the range of the leg lowering, or by adding in band or kettlebell(s) resistance.

If the dead bug variation above is still too advanced, you can modify the exercise by keeping your knees bent at 90 degrees, and tapping your heels to the floor.

Without further ado, here are 5 dead bug variations you might not have tried before:

#1) Dead Bug + Band Resisted Scapular Retraction

In this dead bug variation, you will place a resistance band around your wrists. For the duration of the exercise, you will keep your scapulae in a retracted position. While all dead bug variations will benefit your ability to perform pull-ups, the bonus scapular retraction here is a nice touch. Make sure that you maintain tension in the band for 100% of the set, and that you do not allow your scapulae to leave the retracted position. To be clear, if you are doing this part of the exercise properly, the muscles around your shoulder blades, not your arms, should be doing the majority of the work.

#2) Dead Bug Complex

This dead bug variation has so much going on that I couldn’t come up with a name for the exercise. In short, you will position your body so you are in a single leg isometric glute bridge, you will fasten cable resistance around your ankle, hold onto a kettlebell with both hands, and simultaneously lower your one leg and kettlebell to a range where you are able to maintain proper form. For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your hips to drop, or your torso, hips, or spine to rotate. This exercise is exceptionally advanced, so you do not need to use much resistance to make this challenging.

To note, I originally saw Elsbeth Vaino share a video of the regular dead bug and cable resistance.

#3) Dead Bug With Wall Press

In this dead bug variation, for the duration of the exercise, you will press your hands backwards and into a wall. With this technique, you should notice a significant amount of tension in your anterior core.

#4) Dead Bug With Single Arm Landmine Fly + Kettlebell Lowering

This extremely advanced dead bug variation does it all! The landmine fly component makes the exercise tremendously anti-rotational in nature as your core muscles must work to prevent your torso, spine, and hips from rotating. The kettlebell lowering component requires a lot of shoulder stability, and is extremely anti-extension in nature as your core muscles must work to prevent your spine from overextending, and your ribs from flaring. You do not need to use much resistance to make this exercise challenging, so be very conservative when you are first starting out.

#5) Dead Bug With Single Arm Landmine Press

This exercise combines dead bugs with single arm landmine presses. With the landmine presses, I was using a negative speed so I could maintain the slow tempo of the leg lowering. The landmine press component increases the anti-extension demands of this exercise.