Pushing up into a bridge

Hey all, I'm 5 weeks into the fundamentals and there stretch courses. I don't have the strength to push up into a thoracic bridge. None of the progressions in the program seem to be helping me build in this direction. Should I supplement the programming to get past this hurdle or continue to just keep trying to push? I'm 6'5" and 255lbs with good, but not great, upper body strength. 

Thanks for a great program and community,
Dave

Hi David, in this case, the best suggestion is kicking into the handstand, hold the bridge and then when the hold is finished performing a slowly eccentric through the shoulder pushup.

Thanks Alessandro. I have not begun handstand work and don't have a clear picture of how kicking up to a handstand can get me into a bridge. Is there a video showing this motion that you can reference, or is this explained in one of the courses?

Stay closer to the wall (one meter is okay) put the hands on the floor and simply kick up until your feet reaches the wall. OR you can begin closer and then move away,

You can see @Jennifer Marie do the action that Alessandro is talking about in her form check here:

Tanx for the tip!

On March 20, 2018 at 2:58 PM, David Erwin said:

Hey all, I'm 5 weeks into the fundamentals and there stretch courses. I don't have the strength to push up into a thoracic bridge. None of the progressions in the program seem to be helping me build in this direction. Should I supplement the programming to get past this hurdle or continue to just keep trying to push? I'm 6'5" and 255lbs with good, but not great, upper body strength. 

Thanks for a great program and community,
Dave

@David Erwin something that you might want to try to push into an elevated bridge (i.e., feet are 3-4 ft above the ground), assuming that you have sufficient strength in your shoulders.

*** The most important thing is to make sure that your feet are on a stable support, because the feet will do more pushing than the hands.

** Before you push, make sure that your glutes are touching your heels, and your toes are on the same vertical plane as the support (stall bar, box, etc.) that your feet shall rest on.

* To push in the bridge. Push simultaneously with your feet and your hands in one steady motion. Do not stop until you have gotten into the bridge. 

When you push this way, using your feet and hands, simultaneously, I can pretty much guarantee that you'll get into a bridge (as long as your feet are not elevated, say, more than 5 ft above the ground).