...

oh really?

For inflexible adults and children aged 4 or 5, I frequently have them bridge on a yoga ball of appropriate size or a gymnastics octagon/barrel.

You can also lay across something higher than the ground, say a bench and then scoot off the edge until your hands can reach the ground thus simulating the bridge. This is like an elevated bridge off a height except more bodyweight is taken off because more body contact is on the surface.

Personally, I like to teach a head bridge with hand support, but that comes from my judo and wrestling background ( which has saved both my dad and I both from some severe neck injuries countless times ).

You'll see in my bridge progression video on another thread, I start off from a hand supported head bridge. This is how I frequently warm up for the hand bridge besides a few other drills.

Doing the wall walk into bridge to about a 1/3 or 1/2 way down could be another method. Though if you do not have a bridge and fall on the way down there isn't going to be even a momentary fall through the bridge to stop your fall.

I guess I didn't have the head bridge hand support to bridge progression in there. Basically there is 2 parts in that video from where I start from the hand supported head bridge and go to a bridge. This would be the bottom of the bridge pushup I employ. Every once in awhile I will or have my gymnasts go from back to bridge.

Hah, I didn't realize I had LP in the background. I didn't have the sound on when I was editing the video.

The following essay should prove helpful:

http://gymnasticbodies.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=350

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer