Calories Burned Bridges Calculator
Depending on your weight and exercise intensity, you’ll burn about 429 calories each hour from doing bridges. If you perform 10 bridges each minute, every bridge that you perform will burn about 0.71 calories.
Continue reading to find out everything you need to know about bridges and how you can work them into your exercise routine for maximum benefits.
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How to Do Bridges
Bridges (or butt lifts) work all three of the gluteal muscles, the maximus, minimus, and medius. This exercise is becoming increasingly popular among both men and women who are trying to shape their glutes and develop their core.
Mastering the technique of the glute bridge is essential if you want to avoid injury and get the bum you’ve been working so hard for.
Here’s how to do bridges the right way:
- Find an open space on the floor and lie on your back. Use a mat if you have access to one.
- Put your hands at your sides, bend your knees, and place your feet flat on the floor, right beneath your knees.
- Tighten your abs and glutes by pushing your lower back into the ground.
- Raise your hips and create a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
- Squeeze your abs and pull your belly back toward your spine.
- Hold for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Lower the hips to return to the starting position and repeat.
The basic bridge is not a difficult exercise to do. The hard part comes when you start to add additional resistance while still using the correct form. Be sure to gradually work up to adding more weight when you’re first getting started with bridges.
Tips & Techniques
Those that are new to the bridge exercise may find it difficult to do without the proper training beforehand. Below are some additional tips that you may find helpful if you’re just starting to work this exercise into your routine:
- Keep your core engaged while doing the exercise. You should be able to clench your abs and feel the burn as you perform a bridge.
- Make sure that you are continuously breathing while doing bridges. You may find yourself holding your breath during the exercise, but constant controlled breathing is crucial for performing this exercise.
- If you notice your form suffering, you should take a break and try the exercise again in a few minutes. Don’t be afraid to decrease the resistance if it’s too much.
Benefits of Bridges
The bridge exercise provides many benefits for those that choose to make it a part of their routine. The first benefit that you’ll notice is that you build firmer and shaped glutes since you are constantly working your core and glute muscles.
Bridges also help to strengthen your back muscles, specifically the erector spinae. This group of muscles runs the entire length of your back starting at the tailbone and up to your neck.
Other muscles that you’ll see develop over time from doing bridges consistently includes the hip abductors, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, and the lower back. The obliques, rectus abdominis, and quads are worked indirectly while doing bridges.
As you improve your form and are able to add more weight to your bridges, you’ll notice that your strength in other lifts will improve as well. You should notice that your squat and deadlift PRs should increase with doing bridges consistently.
Lastly, bridges are extremely beginner-friendly. Just about anyone is able to reap the rewards that come with bridges, as they don’t require a significant amount of coordination like other compound lifts.
Bridges are also a great warmup exercise to prepare for the lifts that require heavier weight later in your workout.
How the Calculator Works
This calculator uses a MET value to give an accurate estimate of how many calories you’ll burn while doing bridges and other exercises. The higher the MET value, the more calories you can expect to burn while doing bridges.
MET
MET stands for metabolic equivalent of task, and these values allow us to give you an estimated expenditure of energy for many different exercises, such as bridges.
A MET value is a ratio between the working metabolic rate and the resting metabolic rate [1], which is the rate of energy that is used relative to the duration of time spent doing exercise like bridges.
This means that a MET value of 1 is the equivalent of the amount of energy you expend while at rest, and a MET value of 6 means you are expending 6 times as much energy compared to if you were just at rest.
There are a lot of different exercises that have MET values assigned to them. For instance, squats and sit-ups are examples of other exercises that you can use MET values to determine how many calories you’ll burn.
Most activities come with varying levels of intensity and have different MET values assigned to them, however, bridges have a MET value of 6.
Formula
The formula that this calculator uses to determine the number of calories burned per minute is (bodyweight in KG x MET x 3.5) ÷ 200.
Example
A person weighing 150 pounds will burn approximately 426 calories per hour from doing bridges since bridges burn 6 times as many calories compared to being at rest.
This is what the formula for calculating the calories burned while doing bridges will look like for a 150-pound individual at a MET value of 6.
- Calories burned (per minute) = (body weight in kg x MET x 3.5) ÷ 200
- Calories burned (per minute) = ( 68 x 6 x 3.5 ) ÷ 200
- Calories burned (per minute) = 7.15 calories x 60
- Calories burned (per hour) = 429 calories per hour
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Bridge Variations
If you’re looking to take your workout to the next level or just want a challenge, you’ll need to incorporate variations of the traditional burpee.
Single-leg glute bridge
The single leg-glute bridge is more difficult than the regular bridge since you’re only using one leg to lift your glutes off the ground.
To do this exercise, you’ll start in the same position as you would with a normal bridge. This time, you will extend one leg straight out and keep it in line with the leg that’s still planted on the ground.
Squeeze your abs and glutes tight and then drive your hips into the air. Make sure that you don’t let your hips drop to one side. Pause briefly at the top and then lower your hips back down to the starting position.
Side abduction glute bridge
The side abduction glute bridge starts with the normal position of the standard bridge. But this time, put your feet together and squeeze your abs and glutes tight and lift your hips into the air.
Once you’re at the top of the bridge, you should squeeze the sides of your glutes and push your knees outward then return to the center. Then lower back down and repeat the exercise for at least 5-10 repetitions.
To make the side abduction glute bridge even more difficult, consider placing a resistance band around your knees.
Bridge and curl
For the bridge and curl variation, you can use sliders, two small towels, or two thick pieces of paper under your heels.
First, you’ll lie on your back with your legs extended straight with your arms on the ground to your sides. Then squeeze both your abs and glutes and pull your feet inwards towards your butt while you drive your hips upward.
Slowly lower back down to your starting position and slide your feet back out until your legs are extended and repeat.
FAQs
How many calories do you burn doing bridges?
Bridge exercise burns approximately 8 calories per minute (depending on body weight, metabolism rate, and muscle-to-fat ratio).
What happens if you do bridges every day?
Performing exercises such as bridges (especially after prolonged sitting) will activate the glutes and reset your pelvis. By doing so, the body is reminded to move with its hips (glutes) instead of the lumbar spine, which is more delicate.
The Bottom Line
You might not have known the name for this exercise, but you’ve almost certainly seen people at the gym doing bridges for what may seem like hours. The reason that this exercise is so popular is because of the benefits that you’ll get when doing bridges consistently.
If you incorporate bridges into your workout routine, you’ll see that your core becomes tighter, your posture improves, and you’ll develop the glutes you’ve been working so hard to get.
Also, trying some variations to the standard bridge is a great way to mix up your workout routine and bust through plateaus.
Use this calculator to get an idea of how many calories you can expect to burn and be sure to check out all the other calculators that we have to offer at Fitness Volt!
References:
- Jetté, M., Sidney, K., & Blümchen, G. (1990). Metabolic equivalents (METS) in exercise testing, exercise prescription, and evaluation of functional capacity. Clinical cardiology, 13(8), 555–565. https://doi.org/10.1002/clc.4960130809
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