Hanging Deadbug

The Hanging Deadbug is an effective core exercise that targets your abdominal muscles while improving grip strength and shoulder stability.

  1. Hang from a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, arms fully extended.
  2. Lift your knees towards your chest while keeping your feet together.
  3. Extend your legs out in front of you while lowering your arms overhead, maintaining tension in your core.
  4. Return to the starting position by bringing your knees back to your chest and arms to the starting position.

How to perform the Hanging Deadbug

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Hanging Deadbug using your body weight.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your quadriceps.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your quadriceps rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

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