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Dead bug

3 sets of 8 slow reps per side, lower back pressed down, 1 min rest.

Slot
Strength
Focus
Stability
Time
5 min
Intensity
Low
Injury risk
Low
Intervals
3 rounds, 1:00 rest
Equipment
Floor space

How to do it

Lie on your back with your arms straight up and your knees bent 90 degrees above your hips. Press your lower back into the floor. Slowly lower your right arm overhead and your left leg toward the floor at the same time, stopping before your back lifts, then bring them back. Switch sides. Do 8 reps per side, 3 sets, with 1 minute rest. Teaches you to keep your body tight while your arms and legs move, like on steep climbs.

Who it’s for

Learning to keep your midsection still while your arms and legs move, which is exactly what steep climbing asks for. Deceptively hard when done properly.

Common mistakes

  • The lower back lifting. That’s the whole exercise. Stop the rep before your back comes off the floor, even if that means barely moving.
  • Going fast. Slow. Eight reps a side should take a while.
  • Holding your breath. Breathe throughout. If you can’t, reduce the range.
  • Extending both limbs further than you can control. Range comes later.

How to progress

More range first, then slow the tempo, then add a light weight in the moving hand. If the back keeps lifting after a few weeks, do fewer, slower reps rather than more.

When it fits

The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.

  • Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
  • Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
  • Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
  • Power Endurance Keep your power through one hard move after another.
  • Endurance Climb longer before you pump out, by moving efficiently.
  • Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.
  • Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.

Start with a ready-made block

A six-week strength plan with a deload, as a file for the app, and seven short emails on how to run it.