Dead Bug Hold

Muscles worked by the Dead Bug Hold

Primary

AbsRectus AbdominisDeep CoreTransversus Abdominis

Secondary

Hip FlexorsHip Flexor Muscles

Also called: abs, six-pack, rectus abdominis, abdominals, stomach muscles, transverse abdominis.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Dead Bug Hold

1. Lie on your back with the arms pointing at the ceiling and the hips and knees bent to 90 degrees.
2. Press the lower back into the floor and keep it there for the whole set.
3. Extend one arm overhead and straighten the opposite leg until both hover just above the floor.
4. Hold that extended position for the prescribed time without letting the ribs flare or the back arch.
5. Return to the start and repeat with the other arm and leg.

Form tips

• If the lower back lifts off the floor, keep the leg higher rather than reaching for the ground.
• Breathe out slowly during the hold; holding your breath is what usually breaks the brace.
• Keep the extended arm beside the ear, not out to the side.

At a glance

Dead Bug Hold in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Bicycle Crunch
• Cable Crunch
• Crunches
• Dead Bug
• Decline Crunch
• Dragon Flag
• Kettlebell Russian Twist
• Machine Seated Crunch

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "dead-bug-hold",
  "name_en": "Dead Bug Hold",
  "name_de": "Dead-Bug-Halt",
  "name_es": "Dead Bug Isométrico",
  "description_en": "The extended position of the dead bug held for time: lying on the back with one arm overhead and the opposite leg straightened just above the floor, keeping the lower back flat against the ground.",
  "description_de": "Die gestreckte Position des Dead Bug, statisch gehalten: in Rückenlage zeigt ein Arm über den Kopf, das gegenüberliegende Bein ist knapp über dem Boden gestreckt, und der untere Rücken bleibt flach am Boden.",
  "description_es": "La posición extendida del dead bug mantenida en el tiempo: tumbado boca arriba con un brazo por encima de la cabeza y la pierna contraria estirada justo por encima del suelo, con la zona lumbar pegada al suelo.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "core",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "rectus_abdominis",
    "transverse_abdominis"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "hip_flexors"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "endurance",
    "rehabilitation"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "core",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "knee_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "no_axial_load"
  ],
  "variation_group": "crunch",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie on your back with the arms pointing at the ceiling and the hips and knees bent to 90 degrees.",
    "Press the lower back into the floor and keep it there for the whole set.",
    "Extend one arm overhead and straighten the opposite leg until both hover just above the floor.",
    "Hold that extended position for the prescribed time without letting the ribs flare or the back arch.",
    "Return to the start and repeat with the other arm and leg."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Leg dich auf den Rücken, die Arme zeigen zur Decke, Hüften und Knie sind 90 Grad gebeugt.",
    "Druck den unteren Rücken in den Boden und halte ihn den ganzen Satz über dort.",
    "Streck einen Arm über den Kopf und das gegenüberliegende Bein aus, bis beide knapp über dem Boden schweben.",
    "Halte diese gestreckte Position für die vorgegebene Zeit, ohne dass die Rippen aufklappen oder der Rücken ins Hohlkreuz geht.",
    "Komm zurück in die Ausgangsposition und wiederhole das Ganze mit dem anderen Arm und Bein."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Túmbate boca arriba con los brazos apuntando al techo y las caderas y rodillas flexionadas a 90 grados.",
    "Presiona la zona lumbar contra el suelo y mantenla ahí durante toda la serie.",
    "Extiende un brazo por encima de la cabeza y estira la pierna contraria hasta que ambos queden suspendidos justo sobre el suelo.",
    "Mantén esa posición extendida durante el tiempo indicado, sin que las costillas se abran ni la espalda se arquee.",
    "Vuelve al inicio y repite con el otro brazo y la otra pierna."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "If the lower back lifts off the floor, keep the leg higher rather than reaching for the ground.",
    "Breathe out slowly during the hold; holding your breath is what usually breaks the brace.",
    "Keep the extended arm beside the ear, not out to the side."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Hebt sich der untere Rücken vom Boden, halte das Bein höher, statt zum Boden zu greifen.",
    "Atme während des Haltens langsam aus - die Luft anzuhalten bricht meistens die Rumpfspannung.",
    "Lass den gestreckten Arm neben dem Ohr und nicht zur Seite auswandern."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Si la zona lumbar se despega del suelo, mantén la pierna más alta en lugar de buscar el suelo.",
    "Exhala despacio durante el mantenimiento; aguantar la respiración es lo que suele romper la tensión del tronco.",
    "Mantén el brazo extendido junto a la oreja, no abierto hacia el lado."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/dead-bug-hold-main.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "dead-bug-hold");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.