Shoulder Bridges | Fitness Ep 03

Carol Beringer's Amazing Movement Podcast | Ep. 3: Shoulder Bridges

Reconnect with the often-neglected back of your body in this powerful episode focused on shoulder bridging! Carol explains how these "unremarkable movements with remarkable benefits" effectively strengthen your low back, hamstrings, and glutes - areas frequently overlooked in our forward-focused lives.

In just 5 minutes, Carol guides you through proper shoulder bridge positioning, execution, and variations including heel lifts that challenge stability and build strength. Learn why these movements might initially cause cramping (hint: it's about hydration!) and how to address it when it happens.

Perfect for all fitness levels, this simple yet effective practice helps establish better posture, core stability, and functional strength for everyday movements. Add this essential technique to your movement repertoire for a stronger, more balanced body.

ABOUT CAROL BERINGER:
With 25+ years of experience, Carol combines expertise in brain-based functional movement, Pilates, and yoga to help clients achieve improved posture, pain relief, and lifelong wellness. Her compassionate approach has transformed lives of individuals aged 6 to 96.

CHAPTERS:
00:04 - Introduction to Shoulder Bridging
00:46 - Starting Position & Neutral Spine
01:30 - Basic Shoulder Bridge Technique
02:18 - Proper Form & Arm Variations
03:40 - Understanding Muscle Cramping
04:35 - Advanced Variation with Heel Lifts

SERVICES OFFERED:
- Private Sessions
- Group Classes
- Workshops & Retreats
- Zoom Sessions

CONNECT WITH CAROL:
Website: https://carolberinger.com/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pilatesandmore110/ 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarolBeringerMethod 
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-amazing-movement-podcast/id1801483560 

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#ShoulderBridge #FunctionalMovement #PilatesInstructor #CoreStrength #AmazingMovement

Transcript

00:04 - Carol Beringer (Host)
Hi, carol Beringer, another segment of Amazing Movement here, and, as we know, amazing Movement are unremarkable movements with remarkable benefits. And today we're going to work on shoulder bridging. And shoulder bridging is great for getting in touch with the back of our bodies, because everything happens in front of us and the backside of our body just doesn't get invited to play the same way as the rest of us. So shoulder bridging is very effective for strengthening the low back, the hamstrings, the glutes so much that gets neglected. So we're going to come on to our back with the arms long at the side, wide through the shoulders, long through the neck, and then lining up the heels with the sitting bones, the bony protuberance, so you probably could pass your hand between your inner thighs. First thing we're going to do is put the hands on the low belly and just rock the pelvis back and forth, pressing the curve out and then accentuating the opposite curve, and this is just to warm up Our neutral spine when we're laying on the ground. Here would be where the fingertips, the butt of the palm and the thumbs are all in an even plane. So that's a neutral pelvis and that will mean that you have a small arch in your low back, called a lordosis, which we need to have in our spines to absorb shock as we walk on the planet. But we're going to work through that to build some strength. So we're going to plant the feet and you want to feel the the weight of the big toe. We're going to tend to want to roll out sometimes if we have tight hip sockets, but that's going to engage the inner thighs. So now that we have this neutral, we're going to take the arms at the side palms pressing into the mat and we're going to tip the tailbone up towards the back of the knees. We're going to reach the knees forward towards the toes and then just open the hip sockets up towards the ceiling and then recheck the big toes because that's where we'd have a tendency to let it go and that really shows that you have tight hip sockets. So right now you might get a hamstring cramp, because we just don't allow the hamstring to come to the party like this. 

02:18
And then, reaching the knees forward long through the front of the body, sink the breastbone, sink the ribs, keep that tailbone tucked up towards the back of your knees to roll through your waist and then lengthen the sacrum and tailbone is going to point down between the heels. Alright, let's do it again. Press the curve out of your low back, tip the tailbone up towards the back of the knees, reach the knees over towards the toes and you don't want to pop your ribs up, you want to lift the hip sockets and then here we can take the arms up to the ceiling. So if we inhale to raise the hips, exhale here, inhale to reach back and exhale. Keep reaching the arms back that way as you pull the spine down this way, then let's do some fancy footwork with this bridge. So anytime you need to reorganize, do it because you want to have the best position to start in, and as you get better, your heels will come closer into your glutes. Curl the tailbone up, reach the knees forward, lift the hip sockets to the ceiling and then lift your heels seven times. Push down through that big toe side as you lift the heels If you get a hamstring cramp, you don't don't be surprised and then, up on the toes, keep the heels raised as you roll your spine down. 

03:40
So not that it's a proven theory, but my story to myself about cramping is wherever we do not fully use our muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia, they are dehydrated, because when we lengthen, old fluids are squeezed out and when we shorten, the new fluids are pulled in to hydrate any part of your body and we don't get enough action back here because the front of the body takes over all the time. Let's do one more where we curl the tailbone up towards the back of the knees. So that's my story about the dehydration, and your arches can also often get cramped. Lifting the heels like this. So we're going to lift the heels and put them down Three to go Pushing down into the big toe side. 

04:35
Keep the heels up, see if you can take the arms up, reach them back. Now your calves are really fired up. You might have the same thing happen to your calves Get a little cramp or a big cramp and then pull yourself down, lower the heels, bring the arms to the side so when you get cramps in the back of the legs, so you can flex the foot and lengthen it out and breathe into it and you can also do some pointing and flexing. But anyway, shoulder bridges are pretty powerful and there are many, many, many versions of shoulder bridging. But that's a good start. I hope you join us next week.