Started by dynamo, November 6, 2013 · 11 Replies · 6,237 Views
How's my back bridge mobility?
Any advice on improving the dynamic part of the movement where I go from the floor to the top of the bridge?
I find if I keep my feet against the wall I don't need to worry about my feet slipping; although eventually I want to move away from using the wall as a foot stop.
Video is private.
Cody said:Video is private.
Should be viewable now. Thanks.
Using the wall at this stage is fine IMO. Until you can press up with shoulders directly over hands or slightly in front there can be the feeling you are going to slip.
Looking at the video, you are a little to close to the wall for your current flexibility. Try to squeeze your arms, and use the legs to push between your shoulder blades.
https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/13466-front-and-back-walkoverslimbers/?p=131935
- Coach's details might be a bit above your current flexibility, but the principles stand as you develop a good bridge. Work towards straight arms, straight legs. Should be more about shoulder flexion than back arch. So, push more over your shoulders until you can straighten your legs. Bridge wall walks will benefit you a lot and get the shoulders/upper back open. There are a lot of muscles involved that can be restricting this, including but definitely not limited to chest and biceps.
At the moment I would rather you practise more reps of pushing up to get that stretch than spending time holding it. Looks to me like you're working too hard to hold the top position at the moment.
Foundation prioritises bridge mobility; highly recommended.
EDIT;
Cole knows more about training than I do ^ 
Cole Dano said:Using the wall at this stage is fine IMO. Until you can press up with shoulders directly over hands or slightly in front there can be the feeling you are going to slip.
Looking at the video, you are a little to close to the wall for your current flexibility. Try to squeeze your arms, and use the legs to push between your shoulder blades.
Thanks for the tips. I'll work on it. When I'm bridging like in the video I feel like I'm opening up the hips more than the shoulders at this point.
Jon Douglas said:https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/13466-front-and-back-walkoverslimbers/?p=131935
- Coach's details might be a bit above your current flexibility, but the principles stand as you develop a good bridge. Work towards straight arms, straight legs. Should be more about shoulder flexion than back arch. So, push more over your shoulders until you can straighten your legs. Bridge wall walks will benefit you a lot and get the shoulders/upper back open. There are a lot of muscles involved that can be restricting this, including but definitely not limited to chest and biceps.
At the moment I would rather you practise more reps of pushing up to get that stretch than spending time holding it. Looks to me like you're working too hard to hold the top position at the moment.
Foundation prioritises bridge mobility; highly recommended.
EDIT;
Cole knows more about training than I do ^
Thanks for the suggestions. I've been working F1 for about 7 months now; however back bridging is something I started working on prior to F1 and I feel like I've received some benefit from it. I certainly don't want to hinder my progress in F1, but if I am capable of working the two together that would be my preference.
As suggested I started pushing back into my hands from the start of the bridge. I also started doing Wall Walks to see if that could assist w/ Thoracic / Shoulder Mobility over time. I stand about two foot lengths away from the wall, but I didn't want to push too hard at these since I just started:
Also, I understand the back bridge is very useful as a shoulder mobility exercise for gymnasts however I have a question. I've seen many gymnasts, I guess primarily females, really arch their back in various exercises. Assuming someone has a healthy back is it generally considered OK to arch the back the way I did in my first video (the one at the beginning of this topic)?
Yes it's very healthy. However it's important to work from where you are and not try to emulate the gymnasts you refer to ahead of time.
Generally with backbends you won't know you are overdoing it when you are doing the backbend, rather later in the day you'll feel something wrong in your lower back. So that's the sign you are over-reaching in backbends.
The foundation series progression is very good in this regard as it starts from step one and moves in a cearly defined progression. In fact it's going to be better than going to a yoga class for many, by virtue of the fact most classes don't have the luxury of working a progression through from beginning to end over a period of months.
Great info. Thank you.
Thanks for the informative link. Looking forward to the day when I can master "Front and back walkovers/limbers".