Weighted Bridge

We’ve talked about it in the past – that SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING. We sit A LOT; at home, going to work, at work, at school, when we get back from work or school. Our “backside chain”, which consists of the upper back, middle back, lower back, glutes, and hamstrings, is either tight, weak or both because of this.

The following exercises are GREAT for strengthening your core, which includes all of the above.

Weighted Bridge

Exercise #1

Lie on the ground, on your back, and hold a weight; dumbbell, kettlebell, medicine ball or even a small weight plate, at your belt line. With your knees bent at 90 degrees, heels on the ground and toes up pulled up toward your shins, start to do BRIDGES.

Lift the HIP and BUTT off the ground. While doing this, think lift and long. As the hips come up push the shoulders back and the knees away. You’ll feel a great stretch through the back. While doing this, also squeeze your butt together (sorry for the visual – but think of holding a piece of paper in our backside!). This activates more glute and hamstring while engaging the core muscles.

Do 10-15 reps for 1 set for beginners. As you advance, add more sets, or increase the number of reps. You can also increase the amount of weight used – AFTER YOU CAN COMPLETE 3 SETS of 15 REPS.

Cross-Leg Weighted Bridge

Exercise #2

This one is just like the WEIGHTED BRIDGE, but instead of two feet on the ground, you’ll lift one leg up and cross it over by placing the ankle on the opposing knee.

You still want to make sure your heel, on the down support leg, is in the ground and your toe is pulled back toward your shin.

Push the hips up – keeping the body long; LIFT AND LONG. Squeeze the glutes and make sure you are activating your core.

Do 1 set of 10-15 reps – repeat with the other leg.

Build up to 3 sets of 10-15 reps; then you can increase weight used. Starting over at 2 sets of 8 on each side.