Bridging is one of my Top 3 Favourite Exercises after a long day of sitting. Bridging is a wonderfully simply yet beneficial exercise for people of all exercise capacities. Like squatting, it can be modified in so many ways to change the effects of the exercise to suit your body’s needs. For everyone who is stuck sitting at home all day with hips flexed and backs slumped, this exercise works to reverse the tightness generated from poor sitting habits. Bridging promotes hip and back extension and is a great exercise to activate hamstrings, glutes and lumbar musculature whilst simultaneously working the core muscles.

Begin by lying on your back with arms across your chest and hips and knees bent. Press through your feet in order to lift your hips up off the ground to a position in which your back is straight and your hips are extended (see Image 2). Move slowly back to your start position maintain control through both directions of movement.

*Trick Movement - Weight Over Your Feet

In order to get the best strength gains out of this exercise, avoid pushing your weight back into your shoulders and instead try to pull your body weight over your feet.

Bridge Challenge 1 - STRENGTH & PELVIC STABILITY

Want to challenge yourself further? Try performing a single leg bridge. The same rules apply here as with your single leg squat: ensure your pelvis is horizontal as you lift and lower your body. Listen to your body and return to basic bridging if single leg bridging causes any pain or discomfort.

Bridge Challenge 2 - BALANCE with EQUIPMENT

For those of you who have a full or half fitball at home, why not try a bridge with your feet on one of these challenging pieces of equipment? This one is tough! Warning: I only recommend this exercise if you have either

Participated in balance training before, or
You have played high level sport and are confident in your abilities to perform challenging strength based exercises with balance components

If you are unsure, stick with basic bridging as you will still feel great benefits even from the basics.

*Safety Warning
When performing the exercises outlines above it is normal to feel stretching and a gentle warmth / burning sensation in desired muscles. If these exercises are causing sharp joint pain it is likely that the movement pattern is wrong and this exercise will not be good for your body. Please do not push through any sharp joint pain. If you are feeling sharp joint pain with any of the exercises listed above please consult with your Physiotherapist or exercise coach before continuing to work on this exercise.