How to... do the Pilates Bridge

Pilates Bridge

1. Start from semi-supine position, with neutral spine:

• Check your position before you start and relax your body
• Take your feel slightly closer than you normally would have them in this position
  
• Keep your arms lengthened by your side, palms facing up (or down if you feel you need more support)

2. Breathe in to prepare, breathe out and engage your core muscles

• Lightly tighten the boxer's belt or corset around your waist and squeeze your pelvic floor (muscles that keep you from going to the loo!) to 30% of the maximum
  
• Try this a few times until you're able to keep a 30% contraction as you breathe in as well as when you breathe out
  
• Avoid over contracting
• If you find it hard to do both, focus only on one group of muscles at a time

3. The movement is a curling of the spine until you look like a bridge/ski slope

• Breathe in to prepare
  
• As you breathe out...
  
• bring your pubic bone upward to flatten your lower back on the mat,
  
• continue curving your spine to lift your bottom off the mat
  
• keep going up, raising your torso one vertebrae at a time, stop when you reach the point where your weight is on your shoulder blades (NOT your neck!)
  
• Breathe in – hold the position
  
• Breathe out – lower the bridge back to neutral with the exact opposite curving of the spine
  

Visualisations:

• Draw a straight line from your shoulder to your hip to your knees

Watch points:

• Keep your core muscles engaged throughout the movement, especially don't let your tummy pop out at the top of the bridge
  
• Use your buttocks to help keep you up
  
• Keep knees, hips and shoulders in line, lengthen away through the knees
  
• Keep your weight evenly distributed across the shoulder blades and feet
• Avoid pressure on your neck
• Come up and down evenly on your right and left sides

If you are able to control the movement and keep your core muscles engaged throughout then you can add further challenge by floating your arms overhead as you go up and bringing them back down in synch with your torso.

Give the Pilates Bridge a try and let me know how you go by leaving a comment on this page.

Remember everybody's bodies are different. Consult with your doctor before trying out a new exercise, in particular if you have any conditions or injuries which could be aggravated by certain types of movement.

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