Waist Exercises: The Bicycle Crunch   by Nick Benzer

in Health / Fitness    (submitted 2012-01-13)

There aren't many ab movements that work out the full range of your stomach muscles, and the bicycle crunch is one. Because the movement requires both turning the torso and extending/retracting the legs the full range of the abdominals is used in this exercise.

The Starting Position

Lie on the ground, ideally on a yoga mat or rug. Put your hands on the sides of your head and lift your feet so that your upper legs are vertical with respect to the floor and your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle. The lower back should be pressed into the floor.

Tighten your stomach and raise your head and shoulders from the ground without tugging your head with your arms, which will generate unneccessary tension in your neck. The more from the ground you raise your head and shoulders, the more valuable the exercise will be. Be certain to continue to keep abdominal tension throughout the movement.

The Movement

Turn at the waist so your head and shoulders face to the left, holding your abs taut and your head and shoulders lifted off the floor. At the same time, stretch your right leg so that it is only just above the floor and bring your left knee up to contact your right elbow.

Reverse the motion and rotate at the hips to the right, extending your left leg and bringing your right knee up to contact your left elbow. When you've touched each elbow to each opposite leg you've executed one rep.

To begin the next repetition, turn again to the left and reverse your legs. When correctly done your legs should look as if they are pedaling a bicycle.

Scaling the Bicycle Crunch

There are many ways to scale this waist exercise to suit your fitness level. The first is as simple as altering the elevation of the upper body. The higher off the floor you lift your head and shoulders throughout the exercise, the more tension there will be on your mid-section. To make the exercise less difficult, raise your head and shoulders off the floor a little bit. To make it tougher, lift your upper body so only your lower back and a section of your upper back are coming in contact with the floor.

Another way to scale the bicycle crunch is by altering the leg movement. To make the exercise less difficult, don't straighten the leg fully and/or rest the foot on the lengthened leg on the ground. To make it tougher, straighten the extended leg as much as possible.

Lastly, the more slowly this exercise is carried out, the more challenging it is. In non-timed workout routines, experiment with doing the bicycle crunch extremely slowly to boost the difficulty significantly. If you want a less strenuous bicycle crunch, accelerate the movement.

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