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Kettlebell About hip bridge

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masa

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Hi there!
I'm just wondering is it okay to do hip bridge loaded or one-legged? I know it's just warmup drill in S&S, but it feels Super light. I can bang them +20 reps anytime. Doing them slower don't make them much harder anymore.
 
I am not Pavel, but I think it sounds OK to do them either weighted or one-legged.

Not a bad idea to post a video of your bw-only for feedback ...

-S-
 
This is an interesting question. I feel that the bridges are very easy throughout most of the range of motion, but if I squeeze hard at the top, trying to force hyperextension of the hip and stretch the hip flexors with the force of the glutes, then it becomes difficult. Therefore I see it almost as an isometric exercise at the top.

I saw somewhere in the old forum that Pavel replied this same question. I´ll try to look it up. As far as I recall he didnt favor weighted bridges, saying that for weighted he preferred swings or the like.

Edit: Just found Pavel´s answer, here you go

S&S By-The-Book & the warm-up
 
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Thanks for the answers @Steve Freides and @Oscar. I'm not familiar to upload videos on YT, but maybe I can figure it out.

My PT put me to do one-legged version and supporting leg was on a Swiss ball etc. I liked it.
 
Bret Contreras has carried out a lot of research on this exercise. Even though he mostly uses them for appearance purposes with women, apparently he has found that it also improves sport performance in men. The idea of the exercise is that you are keeping the hamstrings slack, therefore all the hip extension work has to be done by the glutes. So it is suposed to wake up an develop the glutes a lot.
 
I don't think it's necessarily necessary to do them weighted. I see them as a mobility exercise. Just like I don't see sense in using a heavier weight, like with the halos.
 
I don't think it's necessarily necessary to do them weighted. I see them as a mobility exercise. Just like I don't see sense in using a heavier weight, like with the halos.
Thanks for your feedback. You're right. In this context it's only a mobbing drill. But I can contract my glutes harder during swings, after I have done hip bridges hard. My PT also encouraged me to progress in this exercise due to my leg imbalances.
 
I am curious why Pavel doesnt like the weighted variation of this exercise. On the one hand, it is an isolation exercise, so I get the point that doing full body exercises like DL or swings would be better. But on the other hand, they are targeting the most important muscle in the body, and a muscle that lacks activation and development in many of us. So maybe some isolation would be good...

Anyways, @masa let us know how it goes and if you achieve a bootilicious booty like Bret Contreras calls them
 
Interesting that I ended up on my own morphing the S&S warmup "by the book" to what Pavel describes in the linked thread above: halos replaced by arm bars, always goblet squats, and dropping the hip bridge if glutes and hips are firing as they should. Most days I do hip bridges anyway because I sit all day.
 
@Oscar, I'll let you know how it went. I'll stick with bodyweight variations thou. I think elevated one-leg version is enough. @Antti said it's unnecessary to do it weighted and Pavel T is not a fan of them either. Case closed.
 
Hello,

@masa
The one legged version (or loaded one legged version) seems interesting to me to work on anti-twist and core stabilization :)

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hello,

@masa
The one legged version (or loaded one legged version) seems interesting to me to work on anti-twist and core stabilization :)

Kind regards,

Pet'
From my short experience, I can honestly recommend one-leg elevated hip bridge exercise. Haven't tried it loaded though. If you try it, tell me how it went.:)
 
Hello,

From my short experience, I can honestly recommend one-leg elevated hip bridge exercise. Haven't tried it loaded though. If you try it, tell me how it went.:)
If you wish :)

I'll try this out this evening. Indeed, I often test some moves that way, aside from the training ;) I'll tell you how it is then !

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Anytime I get a personalized pt recommendation for a warm up, Ill go with that. The warmups in books and programs are trying to be as broadly appicable as possible and kind of buckshot style. A personal recommendation can make all yhe difference, targetting exactly what your body needs. For example, my pt likes the hip bridge without the inward pressure of the legs, instead having me focus on pressing outwards through the heels to focus glute medius. I just have to be aware to not extend through lower back by keeping abs engaged along the front.
 
Hi there!
I'm just wondering is it okay to do hip bridge loaded or one-legged? I know it's just warmup drill in S&S, but it feels Super light. I can bang them +20 reps anytime. Doing them slower don't make them much harder anymore.
They shouldn't feel hard and you shouldn't make them harder by going slower. Pavel specifically adresses this in S&S:
"...This is not a muscular endurance exercise. Your job is not to see how long you can hold the bridge, but to get the maximal glute contraction and the greatest range of motion. ..." - S&S

They are a quick drill to stretch the hip flexors and activate the glutes, nothing more.
"At StrongFirst we do not stretch just for the heck of it. We stretch to remove the brakes that prevent us from fully expressing our strength. (...) The second exercise - the StrongFirst hip bridge - will stretch the hip flexors, the muscles on the top of the thighs that act like brakes for the glutes. It will release deadly strikes, fast sprints and powerful jumps." - S&S

They are not meant to be hard or a strength or strength endurance exercise. Treat them accordingly.
 
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