Bridge Drop/Rise and Walkover Preparation

To get useful flexibility for this:

First walk down a wall over backwards like many people do to learn the bridge. Stay very close and when you get to the bottom, resting on your head, touch your chest to the wall. Once you can do this, start doing "reverse pushups" from the same position, trying to keep your chest in contact with the wall all the way up and down. Once you can do this, you are ready for the next phase.

Practice doing the wall walk just barely touching the wall a couple of times on the way up and down. At first you will practically walk down with your hands, but after you get the balance better and learn to keep your hips tight, it will be no problem. If you can get up and down with only one touch either way, you are ready to....

Two exercises:

1.) Put a weight bench or some kind of furniture with pillows on it behind you. Bend over backwards, touch your head lightly and come back up under your own power. Stick your chest out first, roll back, THEN bend the lower back and break the hips...in that order. Too many people cram all the bend into their lower backs (you have lots of verterbrae, use as many as you can!) Get rid of pillows or lower the bench or platform as you can. This is long term and leads to touching your head to the floor and coming back up again.

2.) The other half of this is: Get in a position like you are kicking up facing the wall you did the bridging on. there is a bench or platform against the wall to support your feet. Kick over gently (doesn't take much if you are doing it right) and while up on your hands, shift your weight from the lower back and let one of your feet dangle down to the bench or platform. Once touching, try to kick back just as gently. Lower the foot support as you can till you are working off the ground with some smoothness, balance and "class".

Once you really get the balance try going with both feet. Once you can do all this....go do a walkover and get on to the next thing.

This is my opinion on teaching this. Take what is useful to you.

Bryce Lane, Visalia Ca. 2005