Bridge

Two-leg bridge

Two-leg bridge

 

Bridge. The bridge belongs in the basic, multiple-joint exercise category because the hip, knee, and ankle joints are mobilized. As a result, the bridge recruits muscles in addition to the glutes: the lumbar muscles and thighs.

How to Do It

Lie on your back with your knees bent at 90 degrees. place your arms by your sides. Using your shoulders as a pivot point, raise your torso by contracting your glutes as tightly as possible while pushing on your heels. Hold the contracted position for one second before returning to the starting position. Make sure you use constant tension by stopping each repetition short of touching the floor with your glutes.

Bridge start position

Start position

Pros

• It is a very easy exercise to perform to tone your whole legs, especially the glute muscles.

• It can be performed at home without much equipment.

Con

• You will progress very quickly, which will force you to find ways to render this exercise more challenging.

! Keep your lower back really straight. If you overextend it, you may damage your discs.

Tips

• Place your hands on the sides of your glutes to better feel them working.

• To increase your range of motion, don’t arch your lower back too much.

• Unlike the woman modeling this exercise in the illustrations, you should not turn your head to the side. Rather, look at the ceiling so that you do not damage your cervical spine.

Free weights or machine?

No machine can duplicate this body weight exercise. Fortunately, there are several ways to increase the resistance placed on your muscles to make this movement even more effective.

Variations

When this exercise becomes too easy, you may render it more effective by doing any of the following:

• Add an extra load on your body by placing a weight on the lower part of your abdomen.

• Lift one leg.

• Place your calves or feet on a bench or chair to achieve a greater range of motion requiring a more powerful muscle contraction.

Start position

Start position

One-leg bridge

One-leg bridge

Variations

Bridge with calves on a bench

Bridge with calves on a bench

Bridge with feet on a bench

Bridge with feet on a bench

24hrFitness.org

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