Bridge Lift (light resistance)

Bridge Lifts light video

3-POINT SET-UP:

1. Head, neck, upper back, and palms down on carriage

2. Feet slightly wider than hip width distance apart on front platform

3. Pull low ribs in towards belly button and brace your core

Body Part • Direction • Action Verb:

• PUSH your palms into the carriage engaging your triceps/posterior delts and press your feet firmly into the front platform. Knit your ribs in towards your belly button, brace your core, posteriorly rotating your pelvis into a neutral position. Then DRIVE your hips up towards the ceiling.

Range of Motion:

• Your range of motion is dictated by maintaining neutral spine/pelvis. At the top, refrain from over posteriorly rotating the pelvis and “squeezing the glutes.” At the bottom of your bridge, avoid the pelvis from tipping forward or flattening back into the carriage. Keep your core braced in a neutral position.

 Kinetic Checkpoints:

HEAD:

✅ SAME AS PLANK

SHOULDERS:

❌ Shoulders rounded forward

✅ Engage rear delts, pushing the back of your shoulders towards the carriage (think chest opener)

HIPS:

❌ Hips tucked at top or bottom of bridge

❌ Pelvis tips forward at bottom (APT- look for arch in low back)

✅ Hips stay frozen in a neutral position throughout range of motion

KNEES:

✅ Knees stay tracked over feet, focusing on driving them apart as you press up into bridge

HANDS/FEET:

✅ Palms remain pressed into carriage engaging triceps and rear delts

✅ Push feet into front platform maintaining all three point of contact of the foot (tripod) for optimal posterior chain engagement

Talking Points:

• The Bridge Lift is the ultimate posterior chain exercise (including your upper body-back). Be sure to have clients engage their upper body by pressing their palms into the carriage.

• Remember that neutral spine has a natural curvature, not a flat back. For a bridge lift, I like to use the analogy that “I should be able to slide a quarter underneath your lower back” when in neutral. If a client is “overtucked”, their glutes/lower back will be hovered about the carriage. If pelvis is tipped forward, there will be noticeable “sway” in their lower back.