Matthewismith

A common mistake when trying to improve the bridge… is to only train the bridge itself.

Limited shoulder flexibility is a really common reason many people cannot get into a bridge.

If your score in the Leahy Shoulder Flexion test is less than 150 degrees, I recommend to focus your efforts on your shoulders.

Improve them first and then integrate it back into the very compound multi joint movement that is the bridge.

When it comes to front splits we break it down into three distinct levels - each building upon the previous one.

Beginners: touching your toes & unlocking your hip flexors
Intermediate: touching down the front split & learning the techniques involved
Advanced: oversplits, active front splits & head to toe

Let us know in the comments which level you are.

If you’re not getting deeper, increase your time under stretch.

Adding another rep or 2, or just 5-15s extra hold time will help you improve your capacity in the stretched position.

The scapula is a “floating joint.” It doesn’t rely on a bone-to-bone joint for stability; it relies on force couples between our muscles —specifically the traps and serratus anterior.

If this system is imbalanced, your mobility could be capped. Identifying an imbalance and strengthening the force couple can unlock further mobility.

Most people stretch their shoulders without knowing what’s actually limiting them. Change the arm position and you can see which muscle is being stretched. Test first, then target the real limiter.

Most people just throw themselves backwards into a bridge. A better bridge comes from creating space first by expanding, lifting up and over, and opening the front of the body.

In this video I break down the three visualisations that help you do exactly that.

If you’re struggling to lift into a Bridge, the problem might not be your back, it could be your overhead range.

In this video, I’m sharing a overhead mobility test to help you measure your degree of shoulder flexion.

Watch to find out if you should keep training the Bridge, or if you need to stop and fix your shoulders first.

From the side split assessment, Theo had all the prerequisites to do a side split—he passed all the tests, but he still couldn’t do the splits. Why? His body hadn’t figured out the position yet.

This shows the power of an assessment—it highlighted that the only thing Theo needed to work on was the position itself.

In these cases, we can practice and drill the technique for entering the side split and often get there in just one session.

Some people overly focus on just one stretching method and then their progress stops and they wonder why…

➡️ To have more chances of success we can vary our training and focus on the attributes we need using the Assisted to Resisted Spectrum. It’s a powerful tool to know which exercises you should focus on.