Intermediate

Bicycle Crunch

The bicycle crunch is one of the most effective bodyweight moves for the abs because it blends flexion with rotation, lighting up the obliques alongside the rectus abdominis. The alternating knee-to-elbow action keeps constant tension across the whole midsection. Done slowly with real rotation, it is far tougher than it looks.

Equipment
Body Weight
Body part
Abs
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Rotation, Spinal Flexion
Muscles worked
Target
Abdominal External Oblique, Upper Rectus Abdominals
Secondary
Lower Rectus Abdominals, Rectus Femoris

How to do it

  1. 1

    Lie on your back with hands lightly behind your ears and knees lifted.

  2. 2

    Curl your shoulders off the floor and brace your abs.

  3. 3

    Rotate your torso to bring one elbow toward the opposite knee.

  4. 4

    Extend the other leg straight out without letting it touch the floor.

  5. 5

    Switch sides in a smooth pedaling motion, rotating through the torso each time.

  6. 6

    Keep the pace controlled rather than racing through reps.

Tips

  • Rotate from your ribcage, not by yanking your elbow across with your arms.
  • Keep the extended leg low to raise the demand on the lower abs.
  • Slow down; a controlled twist beats fast, sloppy pedaling.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Pulling on the back of your head with your hands to reach the knee, which drags the neck into a movement the abs should be making; the fingertips rest, they do not pull.
  • Letting the shoulder blades touch down between reps, which unloads the abs at the exact moment the rotation should be building.
  • Extending the far leg lower than your low back can hold flat, so the lumbar arches off the floor on every other rep.
  • Rocking the hips side to side and rolling onto one glute, which fakes the rotation the ribcage is supposed to be making.
  • Counting fast pedals as reps; twenty quick ones with no torso turn are worth less than eight slow reps that actually rotate.

Frequently asked

How many bicycle crunches should you do when you are new to the exercise?
Three sets of 20 total, ten per side, at a pace where each rotation takes a couple of seconds. Time works as well as reps: 30 to 40 seconds of slow pedaling per set. The abs recover quickly, so two or three sessions a week is fine. Progress by pausing a second at each end and by extending the far leg lower, which raises the demand on the lower abs without changing anything else.
How do I make the bicycle crunch harder or easier?
Easier: keep the knees stacked over the hips and take a smaller leg extension, or rest the extended foot on the floor between reps while you build. Harder: pause with the elbow near the knee for a second or two, extend the far leg until the heel hovers just above the floor, slow every rep down, or hold a light plate against your chest with one arm and rotate against it. The one thing not to speed up is the return.
What is the bicycle crunch good for?
It combines trunk flexion with rotation, so the obliques and the rectus abdominis both work, and it needs no equipment or space, which is why it turns up in almost every home routine. It builds ab endurance and some strength. It will not flatten your midsection on its own, since where you carry fat is not decided by the exercise you pick. Skip it if lying flexion bothers your neck or back; a side plank or a standing Pallof press trains the obliques without bending the spine.

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