6 Effective Dead Bug Variation Exercises for Men

The dead bug is an effective exercise for core muscles, and of course, the dead bug variations too. If you’ve never tried dead bugs for your core muscles, it’s time to make this exercise a part of your workout routine.

There are several benefits to this exercise, such as core stabilization and core strengthening. On top of that, it helps the abdominal muscles to pop and become visible as you become stronger.

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Dead Bug Variation Exercises

Before you begin adding variations to your core workout routine, you should learn how to do conventional dead bugs. You can find a guide for doing the dead bug here.

The following are six dead bug variation exercises men should look to incorporate in their workout:

1) Headlift Dead Bug

The headlift dead bugs are the first variation you should focus on. The reason being, it doesn't require you to make massive adjustments. All you have to do is lift your head and use your core muscles to keep your upper body stable while doing it.

It’s important that your core muscles engage the neck, and you’re not straining your spine to hold your head.

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2) Leg Horizontal Dead Bug

The leg horizontal dead bug is another pick from dead bug variation exercises. To do this exercise, keep your hands by your side, and only extend your legs for the dead bug part.

This variation helps you stay more focused on your core muscles. In fact, you can use this variation to develop a strong muscle-mind connection. This connection can help you to engage the core muscles when you move to advanced dead bug variations.

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3) Weighted Dead Bug

Once you have strengthened your core using the dead bug variations, you can add resistance to your exercise.

To do a weighted dead bug, hold the kettlebell directly above your chest. When you extend your right leg, move the weight back, and bring it back over your chest when the right leg comes back to the starting position. Repeat the same with your left leg.

When working on your core muscles, it’s important to constantly keep the core engaged, and use the abdominal muscles to pull your legs and the weight.

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4) Anti-rotation Dead Bug

The anti-rotation dead bug is another variation that adds external resistance to the exercise. You need to attach a grip to the cable pulley system, and adjust the anchor to the bottom to do this exercise.

Pull the cable across your torso using your hands, and hold it stable over your left shoulder. Your hands must be extended upwards. Once you’ve attained this position, proceed to take the dead bug position.

Once you’re done, steadily lower the weight, and rest your core muscles.

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5) Stability Ball Dead Bug

While adding resistance to dead bug variation exercises can help with core strengthening, you must do variations that focus on stabilization as well.

To do that, take the dead bug position, and hold a stability ball against your right thigh with your left arm while the right arm and left leg move backwards. When you bring your right arm to the starting position, use it to hold the stability ball against your left thigh while you move the left arm and right leg back.

Repeat this entire movement multiple times to work on core stabilization.

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6) Full Body Dead Bug

This dead bug variation works on both sides of the core muscles at the same time as opposed to the previous ones that work one side at a time.

To do this variation, take the dead bug position. Instead of extending a pair of leg and hand, you need to extend both legs and hands at the same time. At the top of the motion, your legs, core muscles, and arms should make an almost straight line.

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Bottom Line

Dead bug variation exercises enable the core muscles to become a stable muscle group. That's extremely important, as the core muscles engage during several heavyweight and compound movements.

It’s crucial to have a strong set of core muscles during such exercises because of the balance and stability these muscles provide.