Lying on your back with your knees over your hips, you straighten one leg out low while the opposite arm reaches overhead. This dead bug counter follows the leg and calls each rep out loud.
Pick alternating mode, where both legs add to your total, or one-leg mode, where the coach calls the switch. Settle onto your back during the five-second countdown.
Phone setup
Lay the phone sideways (landscape) on the floor, roughly 2 meters (6 feet) away, a little toward your feet and turned slightly toward you instead of square to your side. This keeps both legs in view. Your whole body, from head to feet, should fit in the frame.
Lie on your back with your arms up and your knees bent over your hips.
- The arms aren't tracked, so the leg you straighten is what gets counted.
Form cues
- Knees over your hips. Start with your knees bent above your hips and your arms up toward the ceiling.
- Straighten one leg low. Sending it out over the floor is the far position of the rep.
- Reach the opposite arm overhead. Moving arm and leg as a pair is part of the exercise, even though the arms aren't tracked.
- Bring it back with control. Returning the leg over your hip completes the rep.
Common mistakes
- Straightening high instead of low. Send your leg out low over the floor, because that is the far position.
- Counting on your arms. The arms aren't tracked, so reaching them doesn't add reps. The leg you straighten is what counts.
- Rushing the return. Snapping the leg back skips the slow control the dead bug is built on. Take your time coming back.
How FitnessBruh counts it
Your working leg's hip angle, shoulder to hip to knee, is the measurement. Knees bent over your hips is the start, a leg straightened out low over the floor is the far position, and bringing it back completes the rep.
In alternating mode each leg has its own count, and either leg finishing a rep adds one to the total. One-leg mode follows the leg you pick; the coach calls the switch with a short count-in, and the set ends after both legs.
Counting starts after you've been lying in position for a moment, so settling onto your back adds no rep. If you get up mid-set, counting waits until you lie back down. Counting also needs a steady look at your shoulders and hips.
FAQ
Do the arms count in a dead bug?
No. The arms aren't tracked, so only the leg you straighten is counted. Reach your arms overhead for form.
How does alternating mode count dead bugs?
Each leg has its own count, and a rep is counted whenever either leg completes one. Left and right both add to the total.
Where does the phone go for dead bugs?
Sideways (landscape) on the floor, roughly 2 meters (6 feet) away, a little toward your feet and turned slightly toward you so both legs stay in view.
