Bridges questions

I have some questions for TB series :

- In the Elevated Thoracic Bridge, is there an ideal way to raise into position?  I currently put myself on my head and from there I push up.

Then, after some time into this one following the push-ups and hip tap, my wrists start to become sore a little bit.  Do I have to scale down the exercises?

-For the wall walk into bridge, I know that we have to start by pulling the hands to the wall and keep walking down while stretching the upper torso...  But in the, with a perfect technique and flexibility, do we have to perform a full bridge without even feeling the lower back?

Thank you!

Hey Etienne, here follows the answer:

-if in the push-up and in the hip taps you are feeling too much the wrists probably you are not opening the shoulders too much and you need to revisit the basic bridge. for correct evaluation a video it is highly recommended.

-yes exactly, the bending comes from the thoracic spine.

Hi Alessandro,

Thanks for the answers, I will send a video for elevated bridge.

Hi @Alessandro Mainente,

Here are my bridges, can you look at them? (Side + facing) I feel my wrists when I stay too long in position, is it due to a wrong form? Thank you!

Thank you for the videos, some corrections are necessary:

-from the front view I can say that the hands are too wide, hands under the shoulder it is imperative.

-during the bridge of tap, or push up do not overextend or over flex the neck, it must be held in the neutral position.

Also, @Étienne Lajeunesse, I see your hands are on a soft mat. Look how your wrist area is sinking more to the mat than the fingers? Maybe that's what creates the discomfort, because the angle in the writs/hand. Try on a harder surface under your hands, so they wouldn't sink. Maybe it will make it a little bit more comfortable. 

@Alessandro Mainente @Suzanna McGee

Here are the corrections on the bridges : 

Facing 

Side 

The mats were causing more pain on my wrists, indeed.  Do you think doing push-ups and hip taps on mats, again, are making them harder due to the imbalanced surface?

Thanks to you two

3 hours ago, Étienne Lajeunesse said:

The mats were causing more pain on my wrists, indeed.  Do you think doing push-ups and hip taps on mats, again, are making them harder due to the imbalanced surface?

I suspect so… In the taps, you will have much more bodyweight on one hand only, thus maybe sinking even more into the mat. Try it for yourself, but I think you may feel better on the firmer surface. Glad it worked for you!

Suzanna is supposing good. have you tried to change a bit the fingers direction?

4 hours ago, Alessandro Mainente said:

Suzanna is supposing good. have you tried to change a bit the fingers direction?

I haven't but sure will try.  I'll give you some news!

Hi @Alessandro Mainente @Suzanna McGee

I tried doing bridges without mat and it helps a lot to correct the forms variations.  For the handa angles, I'm still more confortable keeping them straight.

Thanks a lot for you help

Hi @Alessandro Mainente, I finally got some more questions about TB.

- In the seal stretch/rock, what are we suppose to feel and where?

-Same for cat stretch, do we have to feel the stretch in front of the shoulder to the chest?  Is it normal I feel it a little bit behind the shoulders?

-Coming back to the bridge push-ups, I feel a bit stuck because it's been more than 6 months I've been working on it and I still have hard times just to bend the elbows.  Do you have any suggestions?

-Than, for the Hip Tap, there's a little something about my wrists.  When I try to lean on one hand (espacially on the left one) I feel a little tension, like a blocking (I suppose it's a lack of strength).  Is there something I can try, because, sometimes, I can't fully do the set.

Thanks again!

her the answers to your questions:

-the seal must be felt primarily in the middle of the back and less in the lumbar spine

-behind the shoulder means that there it an additional limitation in the spine and that it is reflected into the shoulder. usually, it is the shoulder capsule.

-begin from the bridge position, wall up on the stallbar and perform ONLY the negative, super slow negative,

-can you show the HIP tap in a video please?

Hi @Alessandro Mainente,

For the seal stretch, I feel it a lot in my low back, what am I doing wrong?

In cat stretch, I feel the stretch more if I pull a little bit backward, but sometimes I still feel it on top of the shoulders, how is it?

Here's the bridge push-ups negative, something to fix?

Then here's my hip tap.

Thanks a lot for you help!

well there are some points which must be fixed:

-for the seal you are still bending also at the thoracic spine position, this means that you (as ME...DAMN) have more restriction on the lower back. for a full spine extension, all the units must be extended

-on the cat stretch try to strongly contract the upper back muscles so that the stretch it is also active plus passive

-on the bridge push up you have for sure a lack of strength, a solution can be to reduce the range of motion by bending the elbows only a bit. do not flex or extend the neck, keep it neutral

-on the hip tap the beginning position it is wrong, you should start in the elevated complete bridge position (something like the 2 second mark in the push up video).

On 2017-5-12 at 4:47 AM, Alessandro Mainente said:

well there are some points which must be fixed:

-for the seal you are still bending also at the thoracic spine position, this means that you (as ME...DAMN) have more restriction on the lower back. for a full spine extension, all the units must be extended

-on the cat stretch try to strongly contract the upper back muscles so that the stretch it is also active plus passive

-on the bridge push up you have for sure a lack of strength, a solution can be to reduce the range of motion by bending the elbows only a bit. do not flex or extend the neck, keep it neutral

-on the hip tap the beginning position it is wrong, you should start in the elevated complete bridge position (something like the 2 second mark in the push up video).

Thanks for all that, I will practice and send back form checks later.

I just have a question, does raising the feet in bridges make the exercises harder? 

I will give you my opinion on whether or not raising your feet makes the exercise harder. I think that depends on your level of flexibility. For me above average strength and very bad flexibility it is much easier with my feet higher. In fact it is easiest in a handstand. For a very flexible person I think it is easier with their feet lower or even on the floor.

3 hours ago, Frank Santasiero said:

I will give you my opinion on whether or not raising your feet makes the exercise harder. I think that depends on your level of flexibility. For me above average strength and very bad flexibility it is much easier with my feet higher. In fact it is easiest in a handstand. For a very flexible person I think it is easier with their feet lower or even on the floor.

I will have to play with that.

Hi @Alessandro Mainente,

Working back on my bridges this morning, I found out that lowering my feet make the push-ups and hip taps easier.  However, I still feel my lower back, should I keep my feet higher even if it's  harder.

And little question about shoulder flexion, when I elevate them, I feel more stretch at the right place instead of on the back where it hurts, is it how we are suppose to stretch in flexion?

Thanks!

You feel stretch in the point where you are tight, quite simple.

4 hours ago, Alessandro Mainente said:

You feel stretch in the point where you are tight, quite simple.

I understand, but, like you told me, there's a limitation on the spine that reflects in the shoulder.  Is it a way to help it and is there something else I can do more to develop spine mobility?

And, for the bridge, since you didn't answer it, I suppose that I should keep my feet high?

2 minutes ago, Étienne Lajeunesse said:

And, for the bridge, since you didn't answer it, I suppose that I should keep my feet high?

They (coaches) always say that if you feel it in your lower back, move your feet higher. Focus on the thoracic. 

1 minute ago, Suzanna McGee said:

They (coaches) always say that if you feel it in your lower back, move your feet higher. Focus on the thoracic. 

Yeah, my mistake, I should've thought about it.

Usually, I tend to suggest to go slow with the spine, do not worry about it, it took me 7 years to see a decent bridge, 7 long years.

4 hours ago, Alessandro Mainente said:

Usually, I tend to suggest to go slow with the spine, do not worry about it, it took me 7 years to see a decent bridge, 7 long years.

That's a long way trip!

It's good I'm enjoying GST.  We all have to if we want to reach high... 7 years! Thanks putting it in perspective, weirdly, it motivates me