Two movements, back to back, teach the middle of the body to do its actual job. The dead bug trains control, keeping the back steady while the limbs move. The glute bridge trains the opposite end of the same system, lifting the hips with the back staying quiet. Together they cover the pattern most of daily life runs on: a stable trunk, working hips, and effort that comes from the right place.
How to do it
- Dead bug set-up. Lie on your back, arms reaching up toward the ceiling, knees bent above the hips with the shins roughly parallel to the floor.
- Breathe out and feel the ribs settle down and the lower back grow heavy against the floor. That heaviness is your reference point.
- On a slow out-breath, reach the right arm back and extend the left leg out low, only as far as the back stays heavy and still.
- Breathe in to return to the start. Repeat on the other side, left arm and right leg.
- Alternate for six to ten slow repetitions in total. If the back starts to arch away from the floor, make the reach smaller.
- Rest the feet down for two breaths.
- Glute bridge set-up. Feet flat, hip-width apart, close enough that your fingertips can brush your heels. Arms rest by your sides.
- On an out-breath, press through the whole foot and lift the hips until the body makes a line from shoulders to knees. Keep the ribs down rather than flaring them at the top.
- Pause for one breath at the top, then lower slowly, one piece of the back at a time.
- Repeat for eight to twelve repetitions, then rest lying flat.
Cues that help
- In the dead bug, move on the out-breath. The breath is part of the brace.
- Slower is harder here, and harder in the right way.
- In the bridge, push the floor away rather than pulling yourself up with your back.
- Finish the bridge when the line from shoulders to knees is straight. Higher is not better.
- Keep the chin tucked slightly in both movements. A long neck helps the ribs stay down.
Common mistakes
- Extending the leg so far in the dead bug that the back arches off the floor.
- Turning the bridge into a back bend by chasing height at the top.
- Rushing the lowering phase, which is where much of the control is built.
Neither movement looks like much, and that is the point. Done at a controlled tempo, a few minutes of these will leave the trunk and hips feeling worked in a way that carries into lifting children, carrying shopping up stairs, and getting through a long day without the usual ache building by evening.