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Lower back, hips, shoulders and wrists

Bird-Dog: Knee to Elbow

The most challenging bird-dog variation, moving through full spinal flexion and extension: an advanced exercise for building dynamic motor control and deep core strength.

Stability / Core30 to 60 seconds
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How to do it

  1. 1

    Start on hands and knees with a neutral back

    Hands under shoulders, knees under hips. Get settled here before you move.

  2. 2

    Extend one arm forward, opposite leg back

    Take a moment in the long position with the hips level. This is the starting point of the movement, not the whole of it.

  3. 3

    Draw the knee and opposite elbow together underneath you

    Let your back round as they meet under your body and your head drop towards the knee. This version travels through a full range in both directions, which is what makes it the hardest of the family.

  4. 4

    Extend back out and lengthen again

    Send the arm and leg long, back to neutral, without letting your lower back drop into an arch at the end.

  5. 5

    Move slowly for 30 to 60 seconds, then swap sides

    Take your time through the turnaround at each end. If you cannot control it, hold the classic still position instead, or use a much smaller range.

What to watch for

Rushing the middle of the movement so it swings rather than travels. The value is in the slow pass between rounded and long, so if either end arrives with a jolt, shorten the range.

Ways to adjust it

  • Classic
  • Small range
  • Classic version
  • Forearms

If this one is too much today

Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.

Other ways to do this movement

Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits. See all Bird Dog versions in one place, ordered from gentlest to strongest.

Before you try it

Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.

One movement is a start. A session is the thing.

A few questions about your body and how it is today, and Vinys builds a session around it, including which movements to leave out.

Start your first session

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.