How to perform a swiss ball bridge exercise with an image showing the move. Click on the picture to see the full sized image.
The swiss ball bridge exercise is a static move. There is no movement involved other than getting into and out of the correct position. The picture above is not a true animation; I am showing the move from a few different angles instead. When doing a swiss ball bridge, keep the following points in mind:
- You should maintain a straight line between your ankles, waist, and shoulders.
- Your forearms will support your upper body by pressing into the swiss ball.
- Your upper arms should be at an angle to the floor and perpendicular (about) to the swiss ball.
- Your weight will be resting on your elbows and toes.
- The exercise begins when you are in position and suck in your gut.
You will know that you have the right form when your abs begin to burn 10 to 15 seconds after you begin the bridge exercise. If you do not feel the burning sensation, then use a mirror or a friend to spot you and to let you know what you need to do to fix your form. The most common problem with a swiss ball bridge exercise is losing your balance and having trouble staying on the swiss ball.
A variation on the swiss ball bridge is to elevate your feet so that your body is parallel to the floor like a normal bridge, but you still have to balance yourself on the swiss ball. I am not a very big fan of this and do not recommend it. The added risk does not seem to offset any gains you might get from the exercise; I am not so sure that it is any extra work to begin with.
I recommend getting used to a normal bridge on the floor before you attempt to do a swiss ball bridge. That way, you will not have to think about how to do the bridge part of the exercise and can concentrate on getting used to balancing on an unstable surface.
I LOVE the Swiss ball – but I have a really tough time keeping my balance on it!
I like the way you are using photographs to illustrate the exercise. Our approach at Muscle Ventures is to use the camera’s video functionality and then do screen captures. This can really help in situations in which the exercise requires complex movement. you can do a sort of stop-motion photography effect.
You don’t need any of this for bridging exercises which are essentially static. It might be of interest to watch you hold it through the video, though. How do you get on? How do you dismount?
Next time I take pictures I will have to try using the video mode. I have not used it before on my camera so I am not so sure how well that will come out. It would certainly make it easier to get a full range of motion through on the same repitition, though. Right now I do a lot of fudging and mix and match.
Blaine, I tried to track back but am not sure it worked. We posted a follow up to this video how-to here:
http://muscleventures.com/video/2006/05/bridge_plus_knee_tuck_with_swi.html
I think between our takes on these exercises, people will have a nice progression. BTW, I note that your original 4/18 how-to on the bridge exercise has gone missing.
Bud, thanks for the heads up. I have no idea how it got set this way, but somehow the article was set to be private. It is fixed now; that was much better than my having accidently deleting it and then having to go through some backups to see if I could find it again.
Thanks for the link to the video; that is great. I can’t wait to try it.