Back Exercises - Back flexibility is a
weak point for me, and these are some helpful stretches.
- Lie on your stomach and put your hands flat on the floor next
to your shoulders. Push upwards until your arms are straight, raising your upper body up while keeping your legs and
hips against the floor. This is a good warm-up stretch for your back.
- Lie on your back and push upwards into a bridge
- Crouch with your feet on the ground and one hand on the ground
behind you. Reach backwards with your other hand and plant it, going into a bridge. Come out of the bridge with the reverse
motion, lifting up the hand and bringing yourself back to the original crouching position. Do this on both sides (i.e. do
the reach with your right and your left hands). To warm up for this move, practice reaching backwards but don't go into the
full bridge.
- Face a wall and stand at a distance so that you can extend your
arms forward and have the tips of your fingers just touch the wall. Then turn around, with your back to the wall, lean back,
place your hands on the wall, and "walk" them down until you reach the floor in a bridge position. Then walk back up.
- Try walking backwards and forwards in a bridge
- Falling backwards from standing into a bridge (do this with a spotter first!)
- Raising one leg in the air while in a bridge