It's been a long time away from them, but recently I went back to Matt Furey's "Combat Conditioning" book and tapes to enliven my on-the-road training regimen. The Hindu squats and various push-ups I've always done, but the different bridging exercises aren't something I've done much of since high school wrestling and yoga.

Furey calls bridging the "king" of bodyweight exercises. Any suggestions for avoiding becoming the king of cervical strain would be appreciated.

Tom,
I personally hate bridging, but in all fairness to the exercise, it has helped me.

I use my hands for support. I tend not to hang in the position for a long time but rather do 'sets' of bridges. I tend to do Matt's exercises when I'm traveling also. I combine them with Tim's Power exercises (for the ground and standing) and it gives a really well-balanced workout.

good training,
Joe

Thanks for the advice, Joe. Especially about hands for support and doing sets rather than a long sustained bridge. I see guys twisting from back to front and back, turning on their heads. At 250 lbs., that kinda scares me.

I have just started to work on the royal court exercises. Squats and push ups are fine compared to the bridging. Just going up into the bridge for a few seconds each showed me how poor my flexibility is in my shoulders and lower back. My lower back also felt rather uncomfortable. How did anybody else feel when they started the bridge (with hand support).