Reduce Back Pain & Improve Core Stability - Learn to Perform The Bird Dog

Happy Friday!

Welcome back to the Tactile Training Newsletter. It is nearly turkey time, but that doesn’t mean you want to trot like a turkey. Today, we are going to learn how to properly perform the the Bird Dog movement using tactile verbal descriptions. In addition, we will continue adding to the Tactile Training Workout, where we put the exercises we learn here together into a functional workout program you can use at home and in the classroom.

Strength Through Core Stability: Back Mechanics

• Poor posture, back pain, and balance issues are all common symptoms of a weak or unstable core. If you have ever felt off-balance from taking a weird step or your back twinge after lifting a box in a funky position, you should seriously consider adding the bird dog exercise into your fitness routine.

• Doctor Stuart McGill, a leading professor of Spine Biomechanics and author of Back Mechanics, includes the Bird Dog as one of the “Big Three” core exercises that are essential in creating a pain-proof back. If you are interested in learning more about Stuart McGill and Biomechanics of the spine, below is a link to a recent episode of the Andrew Huberman Podcast where he was featured as a guest. I found this to be a great conversation and personally include the exercises in my fitness routine. They have decreased my lingering back pain from years of playing football and rugby.

  •  https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/dr-stuart-mcgill-build-a-strong-pain-proof-back 

Tactile Training: Learn to Perform The Bird Dog

• My mission is to make exercise accessible. Today, we are going to use tactile cues to build a stronger, more stable core with the Bird Dog.

  1. Step One: Tabletop Position

     • To start, you will need space to safely be on the floor in a tabletop position. Tabletop position means that you should have both knees and hands in contact with the floor.

     • Specifically, your palms should be touching the ground with your fingers splayed wide apart. Your hands should be stacked directly underneath your chest, shoulder-width apart or roughly two hand widths from one another.

     • Your knees should be resting on the ground, hips-width distance from one another. Your hands and knees should be in a straight line with each other and about the same width apart. You can bring a right hand down to touch your right knee to feel that they are in proper alignment. You can repeat on the left side. These four points on the ground create your “tabletop position.”

  2. Step Two: Evenly Distribute Your Weight

     • Shift your bodyweight forward over your hands until you feel an even distribution of weight between all four points of contact. Your hands and knees will remain in contact with the floor. Your butt should not be making contact with the heels of your feet.

     • Your back should be flat when you are properly distributing your weight across hands and knees. For additional tactile feedback and to make sure your form is correct, I recommend placing a book, yoga block, or similar object on the small of your back. It should not move, slide, or fall off. Keep the object on your back throughout the exercise for additional tactile feedback and to improve your form.

  3. Step Three: Extend Opposite Arm and Leg

     • Once our weight is evenly distributed and our back is flat, we are ready to perform the bird dog. The bird dog movement involves lifting and extending opposite arm and leg simultaneously and then returning to our start position before repeating on the other side.

     • I will explain how to extend the arm and leg individually with tactile cues and then we will put them together.

     • Begin by lifting and extending your right arm and hand from the ground by reaching out in front of you as if you are attempting to shake someone’s hand. Lift and extend your arm in front of you until you feel your right bicep come alongside your right ear at the end range of motion. Hold this position for two seconds before returning your right hand back down to your starting position. Repeat this movement until you feel comfortable with it. We will combine this movement with our left leg extension momentarily.

     • Once you’ve returned to your tabletop position, we will extend the left leg as if you are trying to kick someone directly behind you. Your left knee should come off of the ground and your leg should straighten. Extend your leg as straight as you can and lift your leg as far away from the floor as possible. You should feel your glutes working to lift your leg upwards and your core muscles working to support your balance. Hold this position for two seconds before returning your left leg and knee back down to your starting position. Repeat this movement until you feel comfortable with it.

  4. Step Four: Perform the Bird Dog

     • You are now ready to put together the two movements and extend opposite arm and leg simultaneously. Begin with your right arm and left leg.

     • Brace your core as if someone were about to punch you in the stomach and lift opposite arm and leg from the ground. Reach and hold for two seconds before returning to the starting position.

     • Repeat with the left arm and right leg and continue to alternate. Perform ten repetitions before resting. You should feel your core muscles and balance being challenged.

     • This movement requires practice to perfect. You may find yourself getting mixed up between arms and legs or falling over. This is normal as the brain struggles when it is introduced to novel contralateral movements patterns such as this.

     • Be sure to add a book, yoga block, or similar object to the small of your lower back to challenge yourself and improve your form. Proprioceptive feedback like this is a tremendous help in learning proper technique quickly. It should not fall off.

  5. Step Five: (Optional Progression) Knee to Elbow

     • For an added challenge and progression, bring opposite knee to touch elbow between each repetition following the extension.

     • This progression requires significantly more balance and mobility.

Tactile cues and descriptive movements such as this can be used to help make fitness more accessible. If you are interested in learning other exercises and ways to describe movements, let me know!

Weekly Challenge: Tactile Training Workout

Now its time to include today’s exercise into the Tactile Training Functional Workout Plan. In previous newsletters we learned how to perform the squat, plank, and glute bridge. With every newsletter, we will continue building a progressive and functional workout challenge you can use at home or in the classroom. If you are an educator or parent of an individual who is blind or visually impaired, try this routine out for yourself!

If you’d like to revisit tactile cueing instructions covered in previous newsletters, you can find them at the following link: https://tactiletraining.beehiiv.com/

As always, please consult a physician’s approval before beginning any new exercise program.

• The workout is the following:

  • Perform 10 bodyweight squats

  • Perform a fifteen to thirty second plank hold based on your ability. (Option to perform a kneeling plank regression if needed).

  • Perform 10 Glute Bridges (Option to perform single-leg progression if desired).

  • Perform 10 Bird Dogs (Option to perform knee to elbow progression if desired).

  • Rest 30 seconds and repeat for three rounds total.  

I hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter and workout program! If you have questions or suggestions for future newsletters; contact me at [email protected]. Until next time! Gobble Gobble!

- Coach Brandon