Bridge Press (heavy)

Heavy Bridge Press Video

3-POINT SET-UP:

1. Rotate high bars in at front platform

2. Lay down on carriage (head near back platform) and place feet on top of high bars

3. Lift hips up in a bridge position.

Body Part • Direction • Action Verb:

• Brace your core and maintain a bridge position with your hips as you PUSH the carriage away by extending your legs. Resist carriage back in as your flex from your knees.

Range of Motion:

• Stop before legs fully lock out or hips begin to drop towards carriage. Resist back in stopping right before knees align over ankles at 90 degrees.

 Kinetic Checkpoints:

HEAD:

SAME AS PLANK (grapefruit lodged between chin and sternum)

SHOULDERS:

❌ Scapular elevation (shoulders shrugging towards ears)

❌ Rounded shoulders forward, lack of engagement

✅ Shoulders stay packed and anchored into lats in a neutral position

✅ Engage rear delts by pressing scapula into carriage and engaging posterior chain

HIPS:

❌ Hips dropping toward carriage throughout range of motion

❌ Anterior Pelvic tilt (arch in low back)

❌ Hips tucked (flat back)

✅ Keep the hips horizontally hovered over the carriage throughout the entire range of motion

✅ Maintain a neutral pelvis/spine throughout range of motion

KNEES:

❌ Knees caving inwards

❌ Knees bowing outwards

✅ Keep knees tracking in alignment with ankles throughout range of motion

HANDS/FEET:

❌ Hands lifted

❌ Feet closer than hip width distance or wider than shoulder width distance

❌ Push balls of feet into high bar

✅ Press palms into carriage (think chest opener)

✅ Feet are to be between hip and shoulder width distance apart

✅ Aim to place the mid-foot / arch of the foot into the high bars

Talking Points:

• Although a bridge press is normally associated primarily with the posterior chain (hamstrings and glutes), due to the heavy spring load, a good amount of quad engagement will be used to resist carriage back in.