Foundations “the deep core”: Bridging: Flat Back

Quick Intro: your lower back is part of your core!

Instead of curling your spine off the mat, this time, try elevating your straight spine off the mat.  Focus on creating the connection to your lower spine that helps keep your spine straight as it works in opposition to your abdominals.

What’s it good for? ⁠

🌟  The short answer: strengthens the bum (glutes), back of the legs (hamstrings) and back (multifidi & erector spinae).
🌟 The intention of this exercise is to increase awareness of the the role that the spinal muscle group play in stabilising the spine in movement.
🌟  As well as this, you might notice that they work almost in opposition to your abdominals so that it’s not just a case of strengthening one group or the other, but getting them both to work together, creating a “balanced body”.

A quick “how to”…

🌟 Lie on your back with your amrs by your sides, palms down.  Bring your heels towards your sit bones so that they are almost under your knees, but not quite.
🌟 Try some pelvic rocking to establish a “neutral” position.  Maintain this pelvis – spine relationship throughout the exercise.
🌟 Engage your abdominals (Fingertip Abdominals) and press your pelvis up towards the sky.
🌟 Lower your hips back to the floor, engage your spinal muscles to maintain your neutral position..

Hints & Tips:

🌟 Keep your hip bones level as your rise.
🌟 To check you’re doing this exercise correctly, make sure that your bum hits the mat first rather than your lower back.
🌟 Go as high as necessary to have your leg bones aligned with your pelvis as they would be as if you were standing.
🌟 If your ribcage extends out when you are at the to of your press up, use your abdominal muscles to realign your trunk.  Be aware that your hips will probably drop down when you do that!

Any Questions?

Ask away – I love to help!  Click here for the Contact Page 🙂 – or leave a comment at the bottom of the post – see you there…