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Bridging Exercises to Develop Core Strength

Ball Bridging exercises are designed to develop muscle patterns and increase strength and endurance of core muscles. They will require the back, glutead, abdominal, oblique, and rectus muscles to work together. The exercises increase in difficulty moving down the page. Master one exercise before moving on to the next. The goat is to complete 3 sets of 10 of each exercise in a slow and controlled fashion. NO CHEATING! Skipping steps will catch up with you later on the ball exercises.

Concentrate on slow and controlled up and down movements. The waist should be level and without ratcheting.

Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent. The feet should be shoulder with apart. Your head and neck should be resting comfortably on the ground. You can use your hands for stability or help at the beginning. With improvement you will not need your hands for additional support.

Slowly and smoothly raise your hips until your body is straight. The angle between your thighs and calves should be roughly 90 degrees when in the up position. Pause in the up position then slowly lower your hips.

Slowly and smoothly raise your hips until your body is straight. The angle between your thighs and calves should be roughly 90° when in the up position. Pause in the up position then slowly lower your hips.

If you start to feel and back pain stop. Fatigue maybe felt, but if your form suffers stop and rest. Throwing the waist up or cheating will not help you in the long run. We do not care how many repetitions you start with, we care where you end up at the end of treatment. Do what you can and be safe.

Bridging Single Leg Modified Position

Position yourself on the ground as in the previous exercises. Raise your left foot 6 inches off the ground and then place it ontop of your right foot. In this position you will use approximately 70% strength from right foot and 30% from left. This will help build strength for the single leg bridge exercises. Perform the bridging movements as described above. Perform 8-10 repetitions on each leg, and alternate feet for each set.

Position yourself as above. Raise your left foot 6 inches off the ground and perform the bridging movements as described above. Perform 8-10 repetitions and alternate feet for each set.

Position yourself on the stability ball as outlined above. Raise your left foot off the ground and extend your knee completely. From this position perform the bridging movements as described above. Perform 8-10 repetitions and alternate feet for each set.

All exercises should be conducted through a comfortable range of motion. If pain is felt, conduct the motion through the pain free range of motion, stopping just before the pain is felt. As progress is made with therapy and exercise, the pain free range of motion will be increased.