Bridging on the Floor
Starting
Position
- This exercise ball
exercise requires you to lie on the floor with your back and palms
flat.
- Bend your knees.
- Keep your feet flat on
the floor
Action
- Contract your
abdominal muscles and set your transversus abdominus through Abdominal Hollowing.
- Slowly lift your
buttocks off the floor until your trunk is
straight from your knees to your shoulders without losing the neutral
position.
Prime
Movers
Physio
Tips
- Practice Abdominal Hollowing
in supine.
- Only lift so high that
you form a straight line from your knees
through your trunk. Do not lift so high as to put weight on your neck.
Progression
- Bridging on Ball
- If you are not yet
confident about introducing an unstable surface
you can a) put your feet on a pillow or piece of foam and try the above
exercise, or b) prop your ball in a corner and try bridging on the ball
- Another way of making
this more challenging is by introducing some
asymmetry. In the starting position, cross one ankle over the other
knee and then lift up onto the one leg for a bridge on one leg.
We use this exercise frequently in the
clinical
setting for the rehabilitation
of
back
injuries.
The glutes work with the lumbar paraspinal muscles during functional
activites to extend the hips and spine. It is when you lose
coordination or strength in these groups of muscles that you are
particularly vulnerable to injury.
This
exercise can also be used as
a starting point for other exercises. If you are finding the above
exercise getting easy try the one below:
Leg Raise while Bridging
- Lie on your back with
knees bent, arms at your sides as above.
- Lift your pelvis by
pushing through your feet and engaging your
abdominal muscles. Hold yourself up in that position, and then
straighten your right knee. You are bridging on one foot, thighs and
knees remain next to one another, but with the one leg straight.
- Hold this for a few
seconds, return your foot to the floor, and then lower yourself.
You
can see there are many variations that employ bridging. I've mentioned
just a few.
Hold
this position for
5 seconds and repeat 10 times.
Hold
this position for
10 seconds and repeat 10 times.
Hold
this position for
45 seconds and repeat 5 times.
