{"id":7113,"date":"2023-03-16T11:21:15","date_gmt":"2023-03-16T16:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/?p=7113"},"modified":"2025-11-11T10:45:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T15:45:58","slug":"the-bird-dog-a-super-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/en\/the-bird-dog-a-super-exercise\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bird Dog: A Super Exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The famous bird dog exercise, commonly prescribed in the world of rehab, is a great tool to strengthen the back and core. It is also used to improve motor control, stability and coordination. This exercise requires no equipment and can be done from home!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Due to the variability in anatomical differences, mobility restrictions, and muscle flexibility, this exercise may look different from person to person.<\/span> For that reason,\u00a0 you may use this resource as a general guide and show your form to your favourite physiotherapist to receive feedback on your technique!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bird dog is great for individuals with non acute lumbar dysfunction, with decreased coordination and core instability. This exercise should be avoided or modified if you have acute lumbar, hip or shoulder injury as well as difficulty weight bearing on wrist or knee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 640px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-7113-1\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/BIRDDOG-VIDEO-GIF.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/BIRDDOG-VIDEO-GIF.mp4\">https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/BIRDDOG-VIDEO-GIF.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<h5><\/h5>\n<h5><b>How to do the exercise\u00a0<\/b><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting position:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Position yourself on all fours. Ensure that your back and neck are aligned in a straight line. Contract slowly your abdominals, pelvic floor and glute muscles to ensure there is no torsion<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beginner\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Level 1: While maintaining your back aligned, lift one hand off the ground by 1 inch\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Level 2: Lift one arm off the ground so it aligns with your back\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Intermediate\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Level 3: While maintaining your back aligned, lift one knee 1 inch off the ground<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Level 4: Lift leg behind so it aligns with your back<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Advanced level<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Level 5: Lift opposite hand and leg, still aligning them with your back<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Give it a try ! If ever you are unsure of the technique, please refer to your physiotherapist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The famous bird dog exercise, commonly prescribed in the world of rehab, is a great tool to strengthen the back and core. It is also [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/en\/the-bird-dog-a-super-exercise\/\">Read More&#8230;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> from The Bird Dog: A Super Exercise<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,19,80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-low-back-lumbar-spine","category-lets-demystify","category-super-exercises"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/physiodynamik.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}