Hip Bridge Pose or “Back Dancing”
Benefit: This is a great exercise to strengthen and sculpt the glutes while at the same time adding in a stretch to the lower back.
Play one of your favorite songs with a good beat ( 125-135 beats per minute). A song that I love for this exercise is “Dancin” by Aron Smith. Lie flat on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Legs are parallel, and feet are hip-width apart. The ankles should be directly below or just slightly in front of the ankles.
Rest the palms by your side and flat on the floor and draw the lower abdominal muscles in toward the spine, then right above your belly button pull abs up. Think abs pulling in and the up. . Keep the abdominal muscles active and engaged for the entire exercise.
Curl your tailbone up and off of the mat while tilting your pelvis slightly toward the ceiling. Engage all the glute muscles to lift the entire seat and tailbone 2 to 3 inches off the floor. Keep the back of the rib cage on the floor as much as possible ( in the photo above the back of ribs should be lower towards the floor). Lift and lower the glutes up and down 20 to 30 times. Try to focus on engaging the glute muscles to get the hips to lift.
For more challenge, add in this exercise variation: Engage the glutes to lift the hips again 2 to 3 inches off the floor; lift the right leg up and bend the right knee (into a 90-degree angle); keep lifting the hips up and down by engaging the glute muscles (you will feel this work more in the left side of your glutes); repeat 10 to 20 times.
Option to add on a new variation: Keep the hips lifted; straighten the right leg, and point the toes; the right ankle is directly above the right hip; then rebend the right knee into the tabletop position in step 5. Repeat the bend, and extend of the right leg 10 times.
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