Bird-dog crunch combines anti-rotation stability with dynamic trunk flexion, lighting up your abs, glutes and lower back while sharpening balance and coordination—no equipment required.
How to Do a Bird-Dog Crunch?
- Set-up: Begin in tabletop—hands under shoulders, knees under hips, spine neutral.
- Extend: Reach your right arm forward and left leg back, forming a straight line fingertip-to-heel.
- Crunch: Draw elbow and knee together beneath your torso, rounding through abs without collapsing shoulders.
- Repeat: Extend again for one rep. Perform 10–15 reps, then switch sides (left arm / right leg).
- Pro tips: Keep hips square to floor, exhale on the crunch, inhale on the reach. Slow tempo > sloppy speed.
What Muscles Does It Work?
- Rectus Abdominis & Obliques – crunch & anti-rotation
- Erector Spinae – spinal extension control
- Gluteus Maximus & Medius – hip extension & stability
- Shoulder Stabilizers – serratus anterior, delts
Add bird-dog crunches to warm-ups, core circuits or low-impact rehab plans to bulletproof your spine and improve athletic movement patterns.
