Today we bridge the gap and we show you how to perform the floor bridge. This lower back stability exercise has a number of useful progressions and variations that will improve your strength.
WHAT
The floor bridge is a hip and lower back stability (and hip mobility) exercise that has several useful progressions and variations.
It can be used within a warm-up, cool down or the main workout.
HOW
Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your arms on the floor by your sides.
Engage the core and set the shoulders. Press the feet into the floor as you raise the hips up. Keep raising the hips until there is a straight line between the shoulders, hips and knees. Pause for a moment before returning under control.
Repeat for reps or time.
WHY
Strong and
powerful hip extension is an essential requirement for many daily and sporting
activities. These activities include lifting, squatting and jumping. If this
movement becomes limited or inhibited, the result is often a loss of
strength/power and compensatory movement – which may lead to pain and injury.
Prolonged
seated postures can regularly contribute to shortening and tightening of the
hip flexor muscles. Over time, this can reduce the ability to extend the hips
and weaken the glutes, hamstrings and lower back muscles. Use the floor bridge as part of an
overall strategy to restore hip joint mobility and stability by strengthening
the critical hip extensor muscles.
It’s worth
noting that the floor bridge
is most effective when combined with stretching/releasing of the quads and hip
flexors. Exercises such as the quad foam roll and hip flexor stretch will help
to open up the front of the hip. This new range of motion will give the floor
bridge more range of motion in hip extension.
There are several useful progressions for the floor bridge that can support further development of the hip extension.
The floor bridge hold is a progression that requires holding the top position of the bridge for up to 60sec – developing static postural control.
The single-leg floor bridge increases the demands on the core muscles and can be useful for those with asymmetrical hip extension caused by an injury.
Liked our floor bridge tutorial? Here are some others you should have a look at: