How to Do a Bird Dog: The Core Exercise Runners Should Know

Here is how to do a bird dog: start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips, brace your stomach, then slowly reach one arm forward and the opposite leg back until both are level with your body. Pause for a few seconds without letting your back or hips move, bring them back under you with control, and switch sides. The detail is what makes it work. The bird dog is about staying still while your limbs move, and most people rush it, swing the leg too high or let their hips twist. This guide, part of our series on doing the big movements properly, covers the muscles, the cues, a progression ladder, common mistakes and a 4-week plan that fits around your running.

What muscles does a bird dog work?

The bird dog is a core exercise, but not in the crunch sense. Its main job is to teach your trunk to stay steady while your limbs move, so the muscles that hold your spine still do most of the work. These include the muscles running either side of your spine (the erector spinae and the deeper multifidus), the deep abdominal muscle that wraps around your waist like a belt (the transverse abdominis) and the obliques down your sides, which stop you twisting when one arm and the opposite leg leave the floor.

Your limbs are working too. The glutes on the side of the lifted leg drive it back, with help from the hamstrings. The shoulder muscles lift and hold the reaching arm. The shoulder and hip you balance on work hard too, which is why such a slow move can feel tiring. Professor Stuart McGill, a well-known spine researcher, includes the bird dog in his Big Three core exercises, alongside a modified curl-up and the side plank, because it trains the trunk without bending the spine over and over.

How do you do a bird dog with good form?

Put a mat or folded towel under your knees, then run through these cues.

• Set up on all fours. Hands directly under your shoulders, knees directly under your hips, about hip-width apart.
• Find a flat back. Your back should look like a table top, neither rounded up nor dipped down. Keep your neck long and look at the floor just in front of your hands.
• Brace. Tighten your stomach gently, as if someone were about to poke you in the belly. You should still be able to breathe.
• Reach. Slowly slide your right arm forward and your left leg back at the same time. Think about reaching your fingertips to the wall in front and pushing your heel to the wall behind, rather than lifting up.
• Stop at level. Your arm and leg should end up roughly in line with your back, thumb pointing up, toes pointing down. Higher is not better.
• Hold. Pause for 3 to 5 seconds. Your hips should stay square to the floor, as if you had a cup of water balanced on your lower back.
• Return with control. Bring your hand and knee back under you without slumping, then repeat on the other side.
• Breathe. Keep breathing slowly through every rep.

A useful test: balance a small water bottle or a foam roller flat on your lower back. If it rolls off when you reach, your hips are tipping or your back is arching. Film yourself from the side if you have nothing to balance.

What is the best bird dog progression for beginners?

Moving one limb at a time is far easier than moving two, so you can start lower down and climb. Move up a rung when you can do 2 sets of 8 slow reps per side at your current level without your hips or back shifting.

• Rung 1: Arm reaches. From all fours, reach one arm forward to shoulder height and hold, then switch. With three points down, focus on keeping your chest from turning.
• Rung 2: Leg slides. Slide one leg straight back along the floor, then lift it only to hip height and hold. This is where wobbly hips show up.
• Rung 3: Full bird dog. Opposite arm and leg together, as in the cues above, with a 3 to 5 second pause at full reach.
• Rung 4: Bird dog with elbow to knee. After the pause, draw your elbow and the opposite knee in to meet under your body, then reach out long again without touching down. The extra movement makes it harder to stay balanced.
• Rung 5: Plank bird dog. Set up in a high plank on your hands and toes, feet a little wider than usual, and lift the opposite arm and leg a few centimetres. This one is tough, so only try it once rung 4 feels smooth.

A slow, quiet full bird dog does more for you than a wobbly plank version.

What are the most common bird dog mistakes, and how do you fix them?

• Lifting the leg too high. Your lower back arches and you may feel it there rather than in your core and glutes. Stop the leg when it is level with your hips and think long, not up.
• Hips twisting open. The hip of the lifted leg rises towards the ceiling. Keep both hip bones pointing at the floor and use the water bottle test.
• Rushing. Swinging your arm and leg out and back uses momentum instead of control. Count a slow two seconds out, a pause, and two seconds back.
• Sinking into the shoulder. Your chest drops towards the floor on the supporting side. Push the floor away with your hand the whole time.
• Holding your breath. Stay braced but keep breathing. Shorten the pause if you need to.

How many sets and reps of bird dogs should you do?

The bird dog is a control exercise, so think in slow, good-quality reps rather than big numbers. McGill favours short holds of around 10 seconds over long, tiring sets, and the principle suits beginners too: stop each set while your form is still tidy.

• Starting out. 2 sets of 5 to 6 reps per side, with a 3 second pause at full reach.
• Building up. 3 sets of 8 reps per side, with a 5 second pause.
• Rest. About 30 seconds between sets.
• How often. 2 to 3 times a week is plenty. It takes about five minutes.

Once 3 sets of 8 with a 5 second pause feels easy, make it harder rather than longer by moving up a rung or slowing the reach right down. For more moves to pair it with, see our guide to the best core exercises for beginners.

What does a 4-week beginner bird dog plan look like?

Follow this plan two or three times a week, with at least a day between sessions. If a week feels too hard, repeat it before moving on.

By the end of week 4 you should have a steady full bird dog and the start of the elbow-to-knee version. If not, stay on rung 3 a little longer, which is completely normal.

Why should runners do bird dogs?

Running is a long series of single-leg landings, with your opposite arm swinging forward each time. The bird dog trains a similar cross-body pattern in slow motion: one arm and the opposite leg move while your trunk stays steady. A steadier trunk may help you hold your posture when you get tired late in a run, though it is one small piece of the picture rather than a fix. Our article on core training for runners explains why resisting movement matters more than sit-ups.

It also pairs well with the plank. The plank teaches you to hold one straight line, and the bird dog teaches you to keep that line while your limbs move. If you have not nailed the plank yet, our guide on how to do a plank properly is a good place to start.

How do bird dogs fit into a hybrid week with running?

Easily. Bird dogs leave your legs fresh, so they work as part of a warm-up before a run or a strength session, or as a short finisher after an easy run. Avoid the harder rungs right before a long run or a fast session.

• Monday. Strength session, with bird dogs in the warm-up.
• Tuesday. Easy run, then five minutes of bird dogs and planks.
• Wednesday. Rest or a walk.
• Thursday. HIIT or interval session, with one warm-up set of bird dogs.
• Friday. Strength session, finishing with bird dogs and side planks.
• Saturday. Rest.
• Sunday. Long run.

At Edge we treat running, strength and HIIT as one plan rather than three separate ones, so core work like bird dogs sits alongside your runs instead of competing with them. Edge is free to use and has 20,000+ members. Edge Pro, from £19.99 a month with a free 7-day trial (you add a card to start it), gives you a fully personalised plan across running, strength, HIIT and mobility, ready within 24 hours, with a real coach to message anytime if you are not sure when to move up a rung.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.