Humans over the ages have sort to develop the perfect body aesthetically, and with it came the advent of the bicycle crunch exercise. As such, I have decided to write a post about the bicycle crunch exercise overview and benefits
What is the bicycle crunch exercise?
The bicycle crunch exercise is a core and abdominal workout in which a person, lies on the ground and alternates between moving their right legs and left knee, and left leg and right knee.
The exercise is known to target the body’s core. Hence, why it is so popular among fitness experts.
How to do Bicycle Crunch Exercise
The exercise is quite simple, just follow the steps listed below:
- Lay a workout mat on the floor.
- Lay down on the mat.
- Raise your hands and put them behind your head. Make sure your fingers are interlocking behind your head.
- Using your palm interlocking behind your head, lift up your head a little bit.
- Bend your legs, towards you. With your feet, planted firmly on the ground and your knee facing up
- Now raise your legs up a little, making sure that the sole of your feet is no more touching the ground.
- Start the exercise, by moving your left interlocking arm to touch your right knee, then your right arm’s elbow, to be touching your right knew. Making sure, that your fingers are still interlocking behind your head, and your head and legs, should not touch the ground at any point.
Also, you must make sure, you are alternating between the movement, and not doing both at the same time.
Benefits of Bicycle Crunch Exercise
- Tones abdominal muscles (especially lower abs)
- Strengthens the body’s core
- Helps in weight loss
- Strengthens back muscles
- Builds up endurance and stamina
- Builds oblique muscles
Dangers of Bicycle Crunch Exercise
Like all good things in life, the bicycle crunch also has a bad side, when it is not done properly or overdone.
1. Risk of spine injury
If not done correctly, the bicycle crunch can damage the spine, due to the repetitive to and fro motion of the legs and arms.
Care should be taken when doing this exercise, and concise movement is key, during the exercise.
Also, under no circumstance should the exercise be rushed, and this might elevate the risk of spine injury.
3. Hard to master
The bicycle crunch falls under the category of exercises that are quite hard to master.
Proper technique and form are required to obtain the benefits of the exercise.
Target Muscles
Unlike some exercises like swimming and squats that target many muscle groups in the body, the bicycle crunch specializes in targeting the muscles of the midsection.
The main muscles targeted during a bicycle crunch are the following.
- Front abdominal muscles
- Side abdominal muscles
- Upper back muscles.
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