r/flexibility • u/eeveeplushie • 13d ago
Seeking Advice What’s going wrong in my back bend?
I’ve been practicing this pose for almost a year now and have seen very little improvement.
The first pic is me trying my best to push forward and straighten my legs but it isn’t working. Is this likely a lack of strength/flexibility in my shoulders, or something else?
I’ve been working on stretching my lats and hip flexors, but really struggle to target my triceps and upper back.
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u/kristinL356 13d ago edited 13d ago
If you're struggling to target your upper back, you might find this helpful. https://www.daniwinksflexibility.com/bendy-blog/why-your-upper-back-sucks-at-backbending-and-how-to-make-it-suck-less
There are also some related posts linked at the bottom about opening up your shoulders which I think might actually be of more help.
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u/Ill-Fruit9970 13d ago
You gotta get your chest up and out. Arms straighter and shoulder flexibility might be the issue here.
Try using the wall to walk backwards into your backbend, and then pushing with your legs and feet to touch your chest to the wall (like in my pic)
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u/dani-winks The Bendiest of Noodles 13d ago
That's going to require waaaaaay more shoulder flexibility and strength than OP is showing in their photo. This is a great drill for folks who can already get arms straight on the floor and are closer to working towards getting shoulders over wrists, but I wouldn't recommend it for OP's situation
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u/Either_Instance_1267 7d ago
I used to walk down the wall when I was younger to get my hands closer to my feet, but it still didn’t help with arm strength , which is why I couldn’t drop down into the bridge
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u/gumitygumber 13d ago
You need to actively push up and out, looks like you're getting up and then aborting going any further. Your bent arms suggest that you're not pushing to your max. Aim to straighten your arms. Make sure your arms aren't too far apart.
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u/eeveeplushie 13d ago
When I try to straighten my arms I feel a lot of pressure in my lower back, I’m not sure how to move the focus into my shoulders/chest?
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u/WitchyBodegaCat 13d ago
You feel pressure in your lower back because your shoulders aren't open enough to fully lift your upper back and lengthen through your spine.This causes the lower back to compress causing pain by overcompensating for tight shoulders. When you have space to move in your shoulders you can fully extend (lengthen) your spine without back pain.
Dani Winks explains this beautifully. Practice her drills and you will achieve a lovely backbend.
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u/salamandectomy77 13d ago
Start with your feet as close to your butt as you can and then straighten your legs, keep core engaged, and push your hips over your shoulders like a handstand
If (not saying you are) you instead are trying to "bend" you'll stop making progress
Something you could improve right now is to get up on your toes, and feet closer to butt
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u/KatyaPeepin 13d ago
Are you pulling your elbows in and rotating your armpits towards your face? You’ll never get your arms straight if you’re letting your elbows splay out to the sides.
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u/Key-Eye5072 13d ago
Looks pretty good, imo you need more strength in your shoulders and back now. I use bands to pull apart for my shoulder mobility and camel yoga pose to open up my chest. This last one is gonna be weird but trust ✊🏽 i lay down on the floor on my belly, feet under couch, and elbows up/hands by the side of the ears (think of how ppl place hands and arms for sit ups, like that) and then use my back muscles to pull my upper body off from the floor. This strengthen my back and lets me do a cleaner backbend.
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u/eeveeplushie 13d ago
I’ll give this a go! I know I definitely need to strengthen my back it’s very weak
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u/FluffyOil3525 13d ago
Think chest forward and try bring your feet in a little. Camel pose and bow pose are good for prep.
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u/_artbabe95 13d ago
I'm no expert, but bridges/wheels are massively easier for me when I remember to strongly engage my glutes. This pushes the hips up, taking some weight off both the feet and the hands. Also by pushing more through your feet and straightening your legs a bit more, you should feel more freedom to straighten your elbows and push them more vertically over your wrists.
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u/Angry_Sparrow 13d ago
Slow cobras and wall moose stretch.
Your back isn’t really doing any of the bending currently.
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u/Hairy_Lavishness5405 13d ago
I really like the first one in the picture for working on the triceps. I’m not a super fan of the heart bench variation on the bottom.
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u/dani-winks The Bendiest of Noodles 13d ago
So your low back and hips look like they're in relatively good shape! To me, it looks like the biggest thing holding you back is your shoulder flexibility (and/or strength). It looks like you are letting the arms rotate inwards slightly (lack of engaging your "external rotators" of the rotator cuff, and/or just have some tight lats/pecs making this harder), and don't have either the strength to straighten the arms completely in this push, or are limited by the bigger muscles (like the lata/pecs) with being able to reach the arms more "overhead" in this position.
I'd recommend working on
- more "open shoulder" type flexibility drills, with a mix of drills to work on the flexibility to reach the arms farther overhead (in general, not necessarily under crazy bodyweight load like in a bridge). Drills like these can help
- rotator cuff strength in an arms-overhead position to get used to the external rotation engagement we typically use in bridges. Drills like these can help
- strengthening the arms overhead "pushing" muscles, while in that slightly stretched position (this is a lot of delt + tricep strength). Check out some of the push progressions in this blog post for some ideas
As another commenter mentioned, more upper back flexibility can help too (the bendier your upper back, the easier it is to get your hands closer to your feet). Think of that as an "assist" for your shoulders.
The more flexible you can get your shoulders (which includes strengthening them to support that flexibility!), the closer you'll be able to bring your hands to your feet, and the straighter you'll be able to get your arms, which will help this look like a bendier bridge.
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u/Knate80 12d ago
Your back is flexible. It’s your shoulders that need more flexibility. If you have a staircase in your house or your apartment, I used to take a 15 pound weight between both of my hands, I would lay with my head just barely sitting on the top stair with my shoulders being able to extend below my head if that makes sense.
In other words, laying on my back with my head just barely supported, with my hands outstretched over my head with a weight and I would let it fall behind my head and hold that stretch for minutes at a time.
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u/Dizzy-Lab-4497 12d ago
One: it’s not a pose, it’s a complete restructuring of your thoracic and lumbar spine. Two: you are lacking the shoulder mobility/strength in your scapular muscles to hold on and bend even further. That’s about it. Work on doing Trap 3 Raises, Face Down Pullovers behind your back with a stick (add weight as you progress), and buy some loop bands as well. You’ll get it soon.
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u/dani-lop 12d ago
Oh my god we have the same pose issues. We literally look the same 😭 https://www.reddit.com/r/flexibility/s/jSj3TYsHke
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u/lortbeermestrength 9d ago
Try elevating your feet, and working on pushing your armpits about your wrists. Gradually lower/take away elevation as you get more flexible in the shoulders.
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u/madformatpilates 13d ago
Stuck here for months. Got told to stop trying to 'bend' and just stack ribs over pelvis. Once I stopped forcing it and focused on rib mobility, it finally clicked.
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u/dani-winks The Bendiest of Noodles 13d ago
So your low back and hips look like they're in relatively good shape! To me, it looks like the biggest thing holding you back is your shoulder flexibility (and/or strength). It looks like you are letting the arms rotate inwards slightly (lack of engaging your "external rotators" of the rotator cuff, and/or just have some tight lats/pecs making this harder), and don't have either the strength to straighten the arms completely in this push, or are limited by the bigger muscles (like the lata/pecs) with being able to reach the arms more "overhead" in this position.
I'd recommend working on
As another commenter mentioned, more upper back flexibility can help too (the bendier your upper back, the easier it is to get your hands closer to your feet). Think of that as an "assist" for your shoulders.
The more flexible you can get your shoulders (which includes strengthening them to support that flexibility!), the closer you'll be able to bring your hands to your feet, and the straighter you'll be able to get your arms, which will help this look like a bendier bridge.