watch this video to unlock full body flexibility and mobility find out the best stretches to fix
tight muscles and stiff joints learn the best exercise to get stronger and increase range of
motion from head to toe here's how to become a backbridge pro how much time do you spend
stretching or doing mobility comment i want to see what the calisthenics community is really doing
this video will demystify the back bridge making the complex simple we're going to break everything
down joint by joint head to toe the back bridge demonstrates full body flexibility and mobility
all of the muscles on the front of the legs torso and shoulder need sufficient flexibility a handful
of joints play a key role in the back bridge the main areas include the wrists elbows shoulders
spine and hips as you can clearly see the bridge is a full body exercise this means even our neck
knees and feet are also involved demonstrating proficiency in the bridge isn't only about having
flexible muscles we need strength too the posterior chain needs to be strong in order
to create a global back bend our hip extensors back extensors shoulder flexors and rotator cuff
are all responsible for the posture let's take a look in further detail at the constituent aspects
of the back bridge first we're going to talk about the wrist joints sufficient wrist extension
movement in a bridge is a prerequisite around 90 degrees of wrist extension during weight
bearing is plenty for most people our wrists are most challenged when pushing up from the floor
as we extend to an open bridge the wrist burden decreases because the joint angle opens prior
to a backbridge pro session spend a few minutes mobilizing the wrist joint those of you who are
having issues pain or discomfort do this elevate the hands on blocks to artificially increase
extension range this allows you to continue improving other aspects of the bridge
while your wrist joints adapt continuing on let's talk elbow position and technique we need
to be training our bridge with straight elbows full lockout elbow extension is non-negotiable
during bridge training straight elbows direct overall movement and also posture if struggling to
lock out limited by tightness or lacking strength regress with higher elevation to allow proper form
beginners who are restricted overhead generally feel comfortable looking down during your back
bridge journey expect the neck position to evolve it's normal for the neck to progressively flex
and the head to poke through as our shoulders and spine open in the bridge the neck shifts forwards
to support our back bending mechanics when we look at elite olympic lifting this head
posture reflects the open demands we're dealing with in backbridge a word of caution the neck is
an area which should move naturally and not be forced there's no need to exaggerate the neck
instead direct your full effort to the rest of the body the shoulders are seriously important for the
back bridge this joint has the most complexity of movement and muscles involved we're going to need
a combination of muscle length muscle strength and muscle stability the back bridge requires what we
call open shoulders flexing the shoulders overhead open shoulders in the bridge is when the shoulder
joints move past the wrists we want to cue the scapula in three ways for opening the shoulders
firstly scapular elevation shrugging the shoulders up towards the ears this technique contributes to
increased shoulder flexion for our bridge second scapular retraction pinching the shoulder blades
together this technique integrates the spine and shoulders for a more open shoulder and increased
back bend third and last twisting the elbows inwards shoulder internal rotation creates
space within the scapula for the arms to move freely overhead by shrugging up pinching together
and twisting inwards that's your 3q checklist for shoulder opening with the shoulders we're
training using two general objectives stretching or strengthening the lats are the main muscle
which limits overhead mobility this muscle spans from our arm to scapula to spine and also pelvis
in order to effectively stretch the lats we need to get our arms overhead flexing and externally
rotating the shoulder plus lateral flexion of the spine is optimal this posture fully stretches the
lat by moving the muscles origin and insertion further away another key player is the triceps
specifically the long head tightness can limit our shoulders moving overhead a stretch which both
flexes the shoulder and elbow is effective for lengthening this area and also reducing tightness
the exercise in backbridge pro move our shoulders through a full range of motion
in a variety of ways because we're stretching in multiple directions have confidence you're
being comprehensive expect the surrounding soft tissues and joint capsule to acclimate stretching
and increasing muscle length is only one piece of the puzzle bridge ready shoulders require strength
gaining strength and stability overhead is crucial for unlocking a robust back bridge we're
addressing this by training shoulder flexion and the rotator cuff a key exercise is bridge push-ups
or bridge holds you're going to spend considerable time training with an elevated setup we're
reducing the mobility and flexibility demands of the lower body when raised elevation makes
it possible to build brute strength overhead this step improves our active shoulder flexion and also
backbridge at large a regression allows intensity to be modified and also permits a high specificity
of practice we're targeting all aspects of the scapula on the shortening side improving shoulder
flexion functionally for the back bridge to comprehensively open the shoulders we also train
the lengthening side of shoulder flexion we're using eccentric contractions to lower ourselves
into deeper shoulder flexion controlled negatives through full range build strength as the muscles
lengthen we're integrating the spine into our shoulder opening this is ideal for the back bridge
progression addresses areas of tightness and weakness by moving through loaded shoulder flexion
the rotator cuff is a collection of muscles which stabilize the shoulder joint we have the anterior
cuff which is responsible for shoulder internal rotation we know how important internal rotation
is for opening the shoulders overhead we need sufficient range and strength through internal
rotation during the back bridge the anterior cuff exercises serve to increase stability through
the front of the shoulder isolating internal rotation will help the shoulders move optimally
during integrated bridge training we also have the posterior cuff which externally rotates
the shoulder we're strengthening the external rotators for stability and minimizing injury risk
this way our body can withstand the demands of backbridge train let's take a look at the spine
and torso this is an important segment of the body for the back bridge here's why our spine
needs plenty of extension from lumbar to thoracic the mid to upper thoracic needs isolated attention
in order to improve we're going to dedicate time and effort mobilizing spine extension backbridge
pro includes progressively challenging mobility exercises we use a variety of loading methods for
opening the stubborn t-spine for all levels when it comes to optimally training the spine twisting
and bending the thoracic is helpful improving thoracic rotation and thoracic lateral flexion
augments our thoracic extension on the surface rotation and lateral flexion might seem unrelated
to bending backwards however restrictions in these directions will limit spine extension
we must improve in the transverse and frontal plane when it comes to training the bridge this
comprehensive mobility strategy increases sagittal plane extension to its potential
there's no skipping steps for the back bridge we need active control the spinal erectors on
the back need to be isolated and improved directly particular focus is allocated to n range strength
the posterior chain muscles need to be trained and progressed at the limit of spine extension
lastly we have the ab muscles on the anterior torso this area needs sufficient flexibility
for us to bend backwards without mid-line restriction by stretching the ab muscles the
ribcage can expand with an open thorax to bridge even further interestingly our ab muscles need
to be both flexible and also strong active back bending exercises increase our strength at length
strong abs through range help us to traction the spine the abs are responsible for evenly
distributing forces throughout the spine during extension struggling to open the hips
is a common backbridge problem feeling tight on the front of the thighs or lower abs
is a subjective symptom not being able to fully extend the hips is a visual sign this
segment needs work for a flexible bridge from the stomach down stretching the hip flexors
is our homework a notoriously tight hip flexor is the biaticular rectus femoris muscle which
crosses both the knee and the hip joints this hip flexor is best stretched by bending the knee
into flexion the optimal way to stretch rectus femoris also incorporates a posterior pelvic tilt
when flexing our knee and extending the hip the rectus femoris has no choice but to stretch and
become more flexible we also need to stretch the iliopsoas this is the other group of hip flexor
muscles these originate on the pelvis and lumbar spine extending to our thigh optimal stretching of
this muscle group requires end range hip extension we need to drive our hips forward with a strong
glute contraction to effectively stretch iliopsoas while curing a posterior pelvic tilt bending
backwards with the arm overhead really intensifies the stretch the hip flexors need a variety of
stretching exercises and protocols in order to respond a combination of reps and isometric holds
will be used lower intensity long holds and higher intensity short holds are featured in backbridge
pro if you're patient consistent and progressive you're going to be the proud owner of open hips
here's a summary of key back bridge techniques we want straight arms with the elbow pits twisting
inwards our shoulders should be elevated retracted and also twisting inwards the chest should be
climbing the hill in order to force thoracic extension we want hip extension by squeezing
our posterior chain muscles the legs should be straightening towards full knee extension
to increase our back bend we need to isolate before we integrate let me explain the back
bridge is a display of muscle flexibility muscle strength and joint mobility you will not
unlock the back bridge by only training the back bridge that's a rookie mistake if tightness or
weakness exists in the shoulders spine or hips that area is going to limit the back bridge this
is where isolation truly helps spark progress by directly targeting deficits in the connect chain
the tight or weak areas will improve and so will the bridge we use a combination of strength and
stretching exercises on both sides of the joint to do so we conclude our session with backbridge
compound exercises integration this is the best order of training to improve our back bridge
isolation followed by integration visit fitnessfaqs.com to become flexible and strong
our programs provide the best of all worlds i'm looking forward to helping you transform