Muscle Ventures Video Analysis

Update: Chris D. tells me on Michigan Muscle Boy that he has done this exercise under the name "jackknife".

In this video exercise analysis, Nancy Arnold and I (Bud Gibson) demonstrate a difficult variation of the basic bridge exercise that adds a knee tuck (Quicktime, 5.7 MB; Google Video, no download but poorer quality). We were inspired in our efforts by Blaine Moore's series on the bridge with Swiss ball and the basic bridge. It's fair to say that these exercises present a progression in difficulty from the basic bridge which mainly taxes the abdominals, to the bridge with Swiss ball which adds a stabilization component, to our variant which adds a knee tuck further stressing the abdominals and making stabilization more difficult.

We've organized the video so that you first see Nancy coaching me on how to put together all of the elements in this the exercise and then see Nancy, an expert, perform at a virtuoso level. As you will note in the video, Nancy and I have two different body types which lead to some variation in how we perform the exercise.

You set up the exercise as follows. Get a bench that is about 24 inches off the ground and a 65 cm Swiss ball. Put your elbows on the bench and push the ball out behind you so that your lower shins and ankles can rest on it. The farther back you push it, the harder it will be to mount and maintain your balance on the ball. Then bring your legs up on the ball. I found I was constantly in danger or rolling off. The trick I wound up using was to put one leg on the ball, then stabilize, then put the other leg up.

Once mounted, contract your abs, letting the Swiss ball roll down your legs, until your knees come as close as possible to touching the bench. Then, extend your legs back out to the start position. Make sure to keep your abs contracted even as you extend your legs back so that your hips don't sag. The cheats in this exercise are to let your hips sag when you extend your legs and not to bring your knees up as high as possible when you contract.

Viewers of the video will note differences in how Nancy and I perform the exercise. Some of this has to do with body type and some with expertise. Nancy has a long torso and legs. As a result, it is easier for her to bend in the middle and touch the bench with her knees. I am short waisted with somewhat shorter legs. I was not able to bring my knees up to bench although I was able to come within about three inches. However, another difference is due to Nancy's level of expertise. In the video we show, she is able to start with the ball further down her legs, raising the difficulty level.

The inverted row is frequently recommended as a starter exercise for people wanting to improve their pull-up performance. As such, it targets the latissimus dorsi.

The exercise has variants that range from easier to hard. The basic setup is as follows. You place a bar on a rack about three to four feet off the ground. Make sure you are using something that can support your body weight. You then lie under the bar, grab it overhand, and straighten your back using your feet as the lever point. You may place your feet, in order of increasing difficulty, on the floor, on a bench, or on a Swiss ball. Feet on the floor moves some of your body weight off your back and onto your feet. Feet on a bench focuses the weight more on your back. Feet on the Swiss ball adds a balance and stabilization component to the exercise.

Once you are set up, the exercise is performed as follows. Pull your elbows back until your chest touches, or comes as close as possible to touching, the bar. Then descend under control until your arms are fully extended. Repeat for at least 10 repetitions. Your ability to do significantly more than 10 repetitions is an indication that you should increase the exercise difficulty.

This high quality 4.9 MB Quicktime movie shows Nancy Arnold and I (Bud Gibson) performing the exercise (you may also watch the video without downloading it here on Google video). In the video, Nancy explains to me how to get into position, and I perform the exercise for the first time for twelve reps. Nancy then expertly performs the exercise for 10 reps (and I tease her about the lower number of reps). As you can see in the array of pictures below, Nancy and I perform the variant with the Swiss ball.

Note that neither Nancy nor I quite touch the bar at the top. I wasn't convinced it was possible as my elbows felt like they had gone back as far as they would at the height you see me in the picture. Obviously here, much as in pull-ups, the cheat is to stop before the muscle fully contracts. Note also that Nancy has a slight bend in her waist in the down position, as did I in subsequent reps. In my experience the bend in the waist made stabilization easier but gave poorer leverage in going up, so I don't think it is a real cheat. A final way to cheat in this variant would be to move the ball further up your legs giving you better leverage. Neither of us tried that one.

Additional Links

• The strength center at University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse has a brief video of the inverted row performed with feet on the floor.