Overview: The two leg supine elevated bridge is a simple and effective exercise that helps strengthen and increase stability in all of the important muscles that make up the core. This is an excellent bodyweight movement that can be performed virtually anywhere to quickly improve both strength and power in this important area of your body.
Exercise Advice: Place a padded exercise mat on the floor and lie on your back. Align your feet under your knees and close to your hips with your arms out to your sides and your hands flat on the floor. Slowly raise your hips directly up until you form a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Keep the weight of your body on your shoulders and not your neck. Maintain this static position for several seconds (depending on your fitness level) and then slowly lower your hips back down to the ground.
Muscles Targeted: The primary muscles being targeted with the 2 leg supine elevated bridge are your abdominal muscles. Your abdominal muscles are all the muscles between your chest and pelvis. This exercise engages your entire abdominal wall. Your abdominal muscles include:
- Rectus Abdominis – This muscle is in front of your abdomen and runs along your anterior wall. Tendinous intersections separate your rectus abdominis into sections. If your body fat is low enough, these areas will appear under the skin and form the “6 pack abs” look.
- External Obliques – This muscle is the outermost and largest muscle in the abdomen and is found on the anterior part of your abdomen. This is an area where a lot of abdominal fat is stored and is also known as “love handles”.
- Internal Obliques – This muscle is located above the rectus abdominis muscles and is perpendicular beneath the external obliques.
The secondary muscles that are engaged with this exercise include:
- The group of muscles that run along the length of the back known as your erector spinae.
- Your glutes which are your buttocks and upper thigh muscles.
- Your hamstring muscles which include the three muscles on the back of your thigh.
Things To Avoid:
- Avoid spacing your feet too far apart. Your feet should be parallel to each other and about shoulder width apart.
- Avoid bending your wrists as this could cause you to collapse. Your hands need to be straight as they are your primary support for your body. They should be slightly wider than the line of your shoulder and in line with your feet.
- Avoid dropping your hips as they need to be in line with your shoulders and knees. If your hips drop too low, this could put added pressure on your spine.
- Avoid bending your back. Your spine needs to be in line with your shoulders. If you feel any pressure or pain in your back, you should stop this exercise immediately.
- Avoid placing your body weight on your neck. The weight of your body should be supported by your shoulders when you are in the top position.
Reps and Sets: Depending on your level of experience, the amount of time you hold the static position at the top will vary. Here are some recommendations:
- Beginner – Hold the top position for 3-5 seconds. Perform 2-3 sets with 60-90 second rest periods.
- Intermediate – Hold the top position for 5-10 seconds. Perform 3-4 sets with 60-90 second rest periods.
- Advanced – Hold the top position for 10-30 seconds. Perform 5-6 sets with 60-90 second rest periods.
Other Exercises To Use: There are many other effective exercises you can include in your core workout along with the two leg supine elevated bridge. Once you have mastered this movement and you’re ready to advance to the next level, you can try the Face Up Supine Bridge and the 1 Leg Supine Elevated Bridge since these are both great core stability exercises that are very similar but are more difficult.
