Bridges

Bridges are a great low impact activity to strengthen the legs .

Muscles Worked

Bridges mostly work the posterior chain of the body which include the gluteals (Maximus, Medius, and Minimus) and hamstrings. You may even feel the quads working as well. 

Bridges are also a beginning back extension exercise. When a patient I work with has troubles with extension of the trunk (leaning backward when standing), I will have them start with bridges. 

As well as starting someone with back pain with the bridges, I will start someone with knee injuries with bridges. It is a great exercise for many different types of injuries because of the muscles that are strengthening.

Benefits of Performing Bridges

Bridges are important exercises to help improve hip and back pain. These muscles can even be considered part of the core muscles because they help with these issues. Check out these other core exercises here.

Strengthening the hamstrings and glutes can improve hip stability which then can improve lower extremity strength and stability. 

Currently, I have a high school basketball player rehabilitating from an ACL reconstruction. Once every 2 weeks, I have him performing different bridges variations to improve his core, hip, and knee strength. 

Lastly, bridges are a great activity because they are low impact. There is generally no increased pressure put on the joints of your body when doing them.

Exercises

Bridge

SL bridge

Bridge on Ball

Bridge with HS curl

Hip thrusters

Leg elevated bridge

To make most of these variations harder, you can add weights to each of them to increase resistance. Like many of the exercises I prescribe to patients or do myself, 3 sets of 10 repetitions is prefect.

Since bridges are a low impact activity, they are a great way to start strengthening if you are new to the game.