When it comes to abdominal exercises, one of my favorites is the dead bug. The dead bug is one of the best abdominal exercises, it's relatively easy, and besides, I've found that 100 dead bugs a day for a week really strengthens my core. But what if we added weights to this movement?

Despite its somewhat unusual name, Dead Bugs is an elevated abdominal exercise that targets the deep abdominal muscles and lower back without putting too much strain on the spine. It also works on the interlocking of the contralateral limbs of the body, stabilizing the trunk and back while simultaneously moving the opposite limb. This is useful for sports such as running, tennis, baseball, and any activity that involves lateral or twisting movements. Finally, practicing the dead bug and strengthening these deep stabilizing muscles can strengthen parts of the body that help protect the body from injury. For more information on how to do deadbugs and modifications, see.

A word of caution, what works for me may not work for you or your body. If you are a beginner or are resuming exercise after an injury, I recommend that you check your form with a personal trainer before adding weight to your exercises. Deadbugging with body weight is an effective way to strengthen your core, but adding weight with incorrect form can put you at risk of injury.

To perform deadbugs, first lie on your back and press your lower back against the mat. Raise your arms straight up and place your knees on the table. Slowly lower your right arm to a few inches off the floor behind your head, and then lower your left leg away from your body to just above the floor. Pause, return to the starting position, and repeat on the other side.

To perform the weighted dead bug, dead bug with the best adjustable set of dumbbells in hand. As with the bodyweight dead bug, it is best to start with a lighter weight dumbbell set for this exercise, as you want to avoid back bending.

Is adding weight to dead bugs the secret to a stronger core? After a week of deadbugging, here's what happened:

After a few repetitions, I realized that 10-pound dumbbells in each hand were too challenging as I got to grips with this movement. As I have mentioned before, I suffer from sciatica and have to watch my lower back during abdominal exercises. I noticed that when I lowered the heavy weights behind my head, my back would lift off the mat, so I put my ego aside and switched to 4-pound dumbbells. This allowed me to continue with the correct form. On the first and second days, I did 48 reps of 4 sets of 12 reps with a short rest in between.

As a reminder, when choosing the right weight for training, it is usually best practice to choose a weight that will feel challenging until the last few reps without compromising form. However, as with the bodyweight deadbug, the goal is to move slowly and with control.

By day four, I was getting used to the repetitive nature of deadbugs and decided to mix things up. I simply held weighted plates on my outstretched arms and moved my legs. This was a real challenge to my core and it didn't take long for my abs to quiver. On the last set, I lifted my head and neck off the ground.

On day 5, I added not only lighter dumbbells but also my best ankle weights to work the legs more; on day 6, I picked up heavier dumbbells and opted for pullover deadbugs (dumbbells down behind the head with both hands, one leg extended, the other leg extended).

On day 7, I returned to the original version of this movement, but was able to use heavier dumbbells than at the beginning of the week.

Without a doubt, the added weight increased the intensity of the dead bug, and after a week I could feel it in my upper and lower body as well as my core. The weighted deadbugs felt more like a full-body workout, as I gripped the dumbbells and moved slowly and with control. [Sadly, visible abs are the result of a low body fat percentage (click here to see how body fat percentage is calculated and why it matters), not endless deadbugging. Nevertheless, I felt like my core was strengthened, and this is definitely a move I want to incorporate into my abdominal routine going forward.

I need more workout inspiration. Here's this writer doing 50 Russian twists a day for a week, and here's staff writer Sam doing ab rollouts every day for a week.