Bicycle

There are two popular versions of this exercise. The easier version focuses more on your lower abdominal muscles and hip flexers. Start out laying flat on your back. Bring your legs up 90 degrees from the ground. bend your knees so that your calfs are parallel with the ground. Start the workout by doing alternate legs kicks using the same motion you would to pedal a bicycle. At the bottom of each leg motion or pedal, your leg should be straight but still off the ground about 30 to 45 degrees. About halfway through the exercise time it a good practice to reverse your pedaling direction, which sometimes trips people up a bit because most people are not use to pedaling in reverse. Placing your hands under your glutes makes the exercise easy. Placing your hands behind your head makes it harder. Non-beginners often do not like this version because you end up feeling a lot of the burn in your hip flexers and not your abs.
The second more challenging version of the bicycle works the lower abdominal muscles and hip flexers like the first version but also gets the upper abs involved for a pretty killer ab exercise. Repeat the same starting position for the first version but this time put your hands behind your head and slightly lift your shoulder blades off the ground like you are doing a crunch. When you begin pedaling your legs, rotate your torso and bring the opposite elbow to the knee that is currently in the up pedal position (the bent knee). Repeat with the other leg and other elbow as you go through the pedal motion. It is alright not to actually touch your elbow to the opposite knee when doing this exercise but reach like you are trying to. Be sure to keep your shoulder blades off the ground as you do this exercise. You will definatley feel the burn in your abs when doing this version.

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