Back flexibility

[AvsFan]

Hi,

I'm wondering about back flexibility. I am 23 years old and I've never done any gymnastics in my life. However, I would like to be able to do a bridge and then stand up from the position. When I try to do the bridge I can't straighten my arms because I can't bend my back enough. I've been trying for about a week. My question is, is it possible that with practicing the back flexibility will improve so that I can do it, or am I just that inflexible?

Thanks for your answers.

[Blairbob]

Back flexibility can improve but remember bridging is about shoulders flexibility more than lumbar flexibility.

[AvsFan]

Back flexibility can improve but remember bridging is about shoulders flexibility more than lumbar flexibility.

Okay, thanks. Any tips on how to improve shoulders flexibility?

[Larry Roseman]

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=160

Similar issues as yours towards the end espeically but read it all.

[AvsFan]

Thanks for the link.

I have one more question. After bending my back I always feel pain in my lower back afterwards. I also feel that pain whenever I have to stand up for a long time. Is it normal? Will it go away or should I just stop doing the exercise?

[Cole Dano]

Generally best not to feel pain after backbending. The problem is almost always the lower back is doing all the backbend. Why upper back and shoulders are not moving into the arch.

The thread mentioned above is a place to start.

No you don't need to stop, if you do it will never improve, you do need to figure out how to change how you are doing it.

A good mechanical way to get the bend out of your lower back is to raise the level of your feet.

[Blairbob]

To get more flexible shoulders in the bridge, practice more bridging. This is no.1

After that do assistance stuff, cat stretches, stretch out pecs, stick pass thrus, etc.

[Larry Roseman]

To get more flexible shoulders in the bridge, practice more bridging. This is no.1

After that do assistance stuff, cat stretches, stretch out pecs, stick pass thrus, etc.

This looks like a nice symetrical bridge, no?

The blueberry might be helping a little!

[Blairbob]

It's alright.

Technically in gymnasts, we want the shoulders over the wrists if not leaning past the wrists. Notice her shoulders are behind the wrists.

[Ian Legrow]

Just remeber, its going to take a lot of practice. Back and should flexibility is one of the hardest things i have had to work on when it comes to flexibility and such

[Aaron Griffin]

To get more flexible shoulders in the bridge, practice more bridging. This is no.1

Do you prefer to program wall walks or bridges on the floor here?

[Blairbob]

The hand bridge is the focus and #1 drill. Generally elevated for newbies as necessary whether they are 4 or 40.

Bridge wall walks for beginners either end up using really bent arms which doesn't focus on the shoulder flexibility necessary but is still good for core strength. If they do limited ROM with straight arms it's alright, but they still need to do some hand bridges.

For instance, a lot of the time I will have competitive kids do bridge wall walks very early in the warmup and then move them to our general warmup area. That way I don't have to deal with them scrambling everywhere when it comes time to do them.

This sort of depends on how much wall space a gym has. If I don't have a lot of wall space, then it becomes a station with what little space there is or I would setup a portable wall (block or portapit on it's side).

You can also program them later at the end of a workout as either a preference or more bridge wall walks. They might also be a station on stall bars with some other station as a circuit.

Sometimes for myself, I will do bridge wall walks in my warmup and then do some bridge rocks off the floor. Or I might just do backbends if I want to get them done quickly without setting up a portable wall or walking all the way to a wall and then walking back to my warmup area.

[Cole Dano]

Where can i get that giant blueberry?

Anyway, i would call that type of backbend the yoga backbend. In yoga it is generally taught to be more balanced, and the gymnastic style pressed forward is considered to be a variation.

IMHO you want to get a decent yoga variation first. When that feels right, and there is no discomfort in the lumbar, begin to press it forward.

[Larry Roseman]

Where can i get that giant blueberry?

Anyway, i would call that type of backbend the yoga backbend. In yoga it is generally taught to be more balanced, and the gymnastic style pressed forward is considered to be a variation.

IMHO you want to get a decent yoga variation first. When that feels right, and there is no discomfort in the lumbar, begin to press it forward.

Photoshop probably

Interesting ...good to know. SO far away from that point. Although, I did spend a fair amount

of time back laid over my stability ball. The upper back and

shoulders are definately my sticking points.

[Blairbob]

Interesting, Cole.

I'd wager that any gymnast that can have their shoulders over or past their wrists could do this "yoga" version without problem.

Just remember, not all gymnasts have good even passable bridges. Some may never even get one as good as that yoga-ish version.

[Cole Dano]

The yoga one is definitely easier, and the goal is to get the shoulders over the wrists, but the legs stay bent so there is less drive into the shoulders.

However i would rather see the arms behind the shoulders at first, because if the shoulders and t spine aren't open enough the arms invariably bend. Since most yoga students don't have the shoulder strength gymnasts do, this can cause problems with the shoulder joint. Once the student can get the arms to fully straighten and the arch to connect from the lower back to upper back, the work of pushing forward begins.

[Larry Roseman]

Is this useful?

http://www.sensational-yoga-poses.com/bridge-pose.html

He goes into a lot of specifics about thoracic flexiblity, and

there is another page with and videos on shoulder stretches.