In yoga, theres a posture called the wheel pose which to us physical culturists refer to as the Gymnastic Bridge, in wrestling theres the neck bridge (which too many people think is the worst exercise ever) and theres the front bridge which is also used in wrestling. In India where it is argumented that it was the birthplace for physical culture, wrestling had major ties to the country and some of the strongest and most conditioned men were infact wrestlers. I believe in all its forms, wrestling is the reason why there is yoga today. When it comes down athleticism and down right masterful conditioning one of the best exercises is infact the Bridge. The reason for this is, is that because in wrestling if you want to be the best and a driving force you start with bridging. For the average person however it can seem very dangerous and very disasterous on the human body when in reality the exact opposite is true.
Now when you see the wheel pose (aka gymnastic bridge) you might think someone is very flexible and has a decent amount of strength to weight ratio but if you saw the wrestler's bridge on the neck you would usually have a look of fear and no one should be doing it. I on the other hand believe if you take away the fear and see the beauty in the bridge you might be shocked to find out how beneficial it can be interms of strength, flexibility, stamina, mind power and mentle clarity. There are many ways to bridge and I will say its not for everyone if they have a major problem with their neck, back or spinal cord but for the most part for those who are healthy can do this with practice and patience.
There are many ways to bridge and there's actually a system that has been around for hundreds of years but the name of it has only been around for less then 100 its called Bridging Gymnastics. Its when you practice many types of bridges in a workout that takes less time to get winded then anything else there is. I have done over 500 Push-ups, 1000+ Squats, 20+ Handstand Push-ups, 60+ Pull-ups (none of them in one workout LOL) but nothing got me winded in less then 15min. then Bridging Gymnastics. An advanced version of this is to start falling into a wrestler's bridge on the head, have your nose touch the mat and begin to kick over and back and if you're a stud stand up. This also goes with the Wheel Pose as well when fall back into one, kick over and back and if you're very flexible stand back up. I have done the basics of this and it killed me within minutes and that should tell you how tough it really is.
What are the benefits of the bridge? Well with practice, patience and mentally aware, it gains you strength, flexibility, endurance, balance, coordination and believe it or not it can get you a great physique because it makes you breathe hard which increases your Hormones and builds muscle, it makes you solid as a rock because of the isometric contraction you have to make in order to hold some of the bridges. For health benefits it can increase your brain activity due to the blood flow to the brain, it can keep you flexible in order to move in certain directions with ease and a personal favorite, it keeps you from being obese and because of the HGH increase it can even help your sex life because of the way you have to hold a certain bridge. Before you judge whats wrong with the exercise how about you actually try it yourself and if you don't like it thats fine do something else that works for you but I guarantee from personal experience and learning from friends in Physical Culture, Bridging is one of the healthiest and most meditative forms of strength & Conditioning on the planet. Bridge well and bridge smart.
Advanced Bridging Course
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