Yasmin Karachiwala shows how to do shoulder bridge. (Designed By: Nidhi Mishra)
If you’re just starting out with pilates or are even at an advanced level then Shoulder Bridge— one of the fundamental exercises of —can be a great workout for you. A strenuous workout that involves your abdominal and hamstring muscles, shoulder bridge helps in improving shoulder stabilisation, developing the ability to extend the spine, stretching and releasing tension from the front of the spine and challenging pelvic stability. It also gives a nice stretch to the the abdominals and the hip flexors.
Yasmin Karachiwala, celebrity fitness trainer who coaches Bollywood beauties like Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif, showed how to get the correct posture for the workout and what are the tips to keep in mind while doing it. She shared a video of the same on her Instagram page.
Since the shoulder bridge requires some training for the body, Karachiwala advised starting out with the prep version first.
Here are some posture tips that the trainer shared.
* Articulate the spine, one vertebra at a time.
* Start the exercise by tilting the pelvis towards the head and use the tilt to roll up through the spine.
* Your position should reflect a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.
* Relax the shoulders and neck.
* While doing the shoulder bridge prep, keep the angle of the knee stable. and move from the hip joint.
* In the shoulder bridge, keep the knee completely straight.
The trainer has been posting some pilates moves in a fitness series called March Matness. These will help you to easily acquaint yourself with the exercise.
If you’re new to pilates and want to try out an easy workout to start with, then Yasmin Karachiwala has a great solution for you. In a video posted on her Instagram account, the fitness trainer shows how one can work on the hamstrings, which are the muscles at the back of the thighs, with the ‘Single Leg Kick’.
Strengthening the bones around the scapulae (rhomboids, serratus anterior, trapezius and pectoralis minor) does not only support scapular mobility but also helps with right movement and support of neck, shoulder and arms. Karachiwala shows how you can work on that.
Inspired to hit the gym yet? Let us know in the comments below.