I am a 28 year old male I have been lifting now for about 11 years. I have read about all the benifits of Bridging. Now I used to be able to do this when I was in Highschool. I new it would take a little bit of work to be able to get into the bridge and hold it. But I thought it was worth working towards.
So I get down on the floor and start to press my hips up then start to push up with my shoulder but I cant do it they will not go into that position any more. I am guessing my lats are to tight or maybe just my shoulder. I just cant get them to roll back like that. Maybe this explains why I have such a problem with dumbell pullovers.
How can I work this problem out. I want to bridge I also want full moblility of the shoulder joint. One more thing that might be from lack of flexablitly when I shoulder press the weight is about 2 inches forward my shoulder will just not go straight up. Help Please.
[quote]Bryce3 wrote:
I am a 28 year old male I have been lifting now for about 11 years. I have read about all the benifits of Bridging. Now I used to be able to do this when I was in Highschool. I new it would take a little bit of work to be able to get into the bridge and hold it. But I thought it was worth working towards.
So I get down on the floor and start to press my hips up then start to push up with my shoulder but I cant do it they will not go into that position any more. I am guessing my lats are to tight or maybe just my shoulder. I just cant get them to roll back like that. Maybe this explains why I have such a problem with dumbell pullovers.
How can I work this problem out. I want to bridge I also want full moblility of the shoulder joint. One more thing that might be from lack of flexablitly when I shoulder press the weight is about 2 inches forward my shoulder will just not go straight up. Help Please.[/quote]
Bryce
There could be a variety of issues but likely you have nailed it on the head with range of motion in the shoulder capsule / back and I would further expand that to relative strength of back, shoulder, hips and torso.
Of course, if you want to “bridge” you need to, well…practice bridging more, but I think more importantly you need to look at the attributes on bridging, consider what your training lacks and build it in. Typically few exercise enthusiasts / athletes today make use of movements that enhance dynamic range of motion and tumbling exercise but given your goals of actual performance (something rare these days), they should be apart of your training regime.
For your reference, within an article I published here known as the “Renegade Challenges” I enclosed a photo of one of my athletes/coaches going from a bridge to a complete standing position, which is an extraordinary display of athleticism. You may want to take a look at for your reference.
What can I do to increase the range of motion for the shoulder capsule. Is there any stretching or lifting that will help me with this. Any advice you have would be greatly appriecated. Thanks
[quote]Bryce3 wrote:
What can I do to increase the range of motion for the shoulder capsule. Is there any stretching or lifting that will help me with this. Any advice you have would be greatly appriecated. Thanks[/quote]
Please search this - I’ve written four books and each includes enormous sections on range of motion work that’ll help the shoulder capsule. Much of this will easily be found on the net and I have a section on my site called “renegade 101” that will help.
However, the tumbling drills I’d start with would be:
somersaults (fwd / backward)
spider lunge
tripods to rollout
handstand to rollout
The lifting parameters are wider and depending upon equipment, I would expand these exercises (i.e overhead rotations with an Iron Woody Fitness band can be incredible). As a start I would definately include Overhead Squats, the Snatch Balance and Snatch Press but again that is great dictated by your start point right now. Furthermore, please review my med ball programs as they are extremely important for enhancing torso range of motion.