side bridges - straight arm with alternating leg raises

Instructions

• Movement: Start by lying on your side. Raise up slightly and place your hand directly beneath your shoulder. Now straighten your arm and raise your hips up so your weight is distributed between your hand and your feet. Brace through your core and establish a straight line between your shoulders, hips and feet, maintaining a neutral spine. Now raise your top leg as far as you can. Hold that leg in the raised position for the allotted time, then bring it back to your stabilizing leg and repeat. Also be sure to keep your shoulder blades together and braced to stabilize the shoulder joint. Perform on both sides.
• Repetitions: Perform all prescribed reps on one side, then on the other. This counts as one set.
• Benefits: The side bridge is an excellent exercise for the abdominals and for training trunk stabilization. It is one tool to help improve force transmission from the lower to the upper body, as well as improve posture and reduce the risk of back injuries.
• Strength criteria: You must be able to perform a side bridge from the knees before progressing to a full side bridge.

Muscle Roles in side bridges - straight arm with alternating leg raises