Dead Bugs for Abs

The Core Training for Smart Folks article found in the Good Reads section lists one of my few staple abdominal exercises: the dead bug. It's great for getting the pelvis tilted backwards [posterior pelvic tilt] for those with poor posture [anterior pelvic tilt] and creates stronger abs.

The article lists a set of progressions from beginner to advanced strength levels but I've found it to be a rather large difficulty jump in certain variations or outright awkward. I've played around with reps, sets, tempo, and ankle weights which has proven to help. However after extended use it can become a stale exercise.

Fortunately Sarah Rippel has created a video demonstrating other variations and progressions of the dead bug exercise. (More details and images can be found here.)

Single-leg lowering is much easier than double-leg

whether it's bent legs, marching, or straight legs.

One last piece of advice I'd like to offer is use a preceding exercise earlier in your session to groove the body for hard posterior tilting of the pelvis. The lockout in deadlifts is a perfect example. There's a big shift in the entire pelvic girdle when the hip flexors are extended and the glutes are contracted at the end of a repetition (think about "humping" the bar).

Related articles,

• Ab Exercises