If you find yourself navigating home workouts and exercises on your own, remember there are always variations and modifications that will help YOU get the most out of the movements.

Here are some different ways to perform the dead bug compiled into one video, sped up.

Scroll down to see the individual variations at regular speed and read on to see reasons WHY you should modify!

#1 Regular Style, Opposite Arm/Opposite Leg

#2 Short Lever, keeping the knees bent

#3 Reach with weights

#4 Reach with band

#5 Wall Push

#6 Wall Pull

Why should you vary this movement?

  • Loss of position (back arching, pelvis moving)

  • Pain during motion

  • Abdominal strain (especially during pregnancy, postpartum or with diastasis recti)

  • Coning/doming (bulging of your abdominals)

Which version is best?

  • The one you feel the most control during

  • The one you feel the abdominals engage the most during

  • The one you are most successful during

  • The one that challenges you the most without any negative events

 

Summit Bernardsville Bridgewater Physical Therapy

Dimitry is hands down amazing. My back went out in 2012 while I was teaching one of my cardio classes at the gym. I could barely move. An MRI showed a bulged disc. The Dr just gave me a bunch of muscle relaxers that did not fix the problem. I had foot drop on my left side and lost a lot of strength in that leg.

Dimitry was recommended by friends and in one session after an evaluation, some muscle palpation, and prescribed exercises my body was more in balance and I was feeling much better. In one week I had 90% of the strength back in my left leg.

To this day if my back feels a little funny I do Dimitry’s homework and I’m right back to normal.
I recently sent my father to him for lower back pain as well and he is thrilled, feeling much better, and calling Dimitry a miracle worker.

Remember this guy? After his 3rd session we now have this: 😮
**no neck pain & no head tilt ✅
**full cervical aROM ✅
**level scapula (B) ✅
**relaxed lower back ✅
**relaxed arm position ✅
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What do you look like after YOUR 3rd session?☝️
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What do you FEEL like after your 3rd session?
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Best part of all of this is that he now KNOWS what to do to NOT have this happen again. Why? Because we’ve put in the TIME to learn & practice the exercises that he needs to maintain his posture!k

Borrowed from the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI,) this drill is fantastic in getting someone out of an anterior pelvic tilt – which can lead to back pain, hamstring strains and many other pathologies that look for an anteriorly tilted pelvis as a compensation strategy. Look for more posts to follow which show integration of this […]