Dead bugs strengthen your core and prevent lower back pain—I learned from a physical therapist how to do them properly

Fit&Well fitness writer performing a dead bug .

The dead bug is an excellent exercise for improving your core stability and protecting you from back pain. But there's a chance you've been doing it wrong. 

People attempting the dead bug are often told to pull their belly button in and flatten their lower back against the ground during the movement, but physical therapist Aaron Horschig (of Squat University fame) says this advice doesn't apply to the vast majority of exercisers.