BENEFITS: Hip Flexors, Obliques, Core, Stability, Abs, Erector Spinae
START POSITION: Lie on your back and hold your arms straight arm above your Shoulders. Bend your knees so that the thighs are vertical above your hips and parallel with your arms. Raise your head and Shoulders off the floor so you can look at your feet.
NOTES: Begin the exercise by simultaneously bringing one arm backwards while keeping it straight, and extend the opposite Leg down to a straight position. It is better (but harder) if the extended leg does not make contact with the floor, but the heel should be just a few centimetres off the ground.
Now start to bend the extended knee and raise the leg back up to the start position while also bringing your rear arm back up to the start position to be parllel to the vertical arm again. Now you are fully back in the start position and can begin the opposite motion. Keep repeating with slow and smooth movements, alternating your arms and legs.
The Dead bug is another great exercise to target those body areas which are often under-exercised by everyday mainstream exercises and activities. Doing Dead bugs along with other carefully selected exercises in the Pilates sections of my MOJOH METHOD will give all athletes a big athletic advantage over the competition.
The Dead bug is great for Footballers who need maximum Strength and Flexibility.
A common mistake with the form of the Dead bug exercise is not bending the knee enough as you raise the straightened leg back up. This places excessive strain on the Lower Back and Hip Flexors.