Performing bicycle kicks (also known as “bicycle crunches”) is a superb workout for acquiring a defined six pack. Bicycle kicks are sure to make the cut when compiling a list of ab routines that produce a tangible return on investment.
The effectiveness of this workout was put to the test by the American Council on Exercise, which sponsored a study to rank the most popular abdomen exercises. They determined that bicycle kicks are the leading workout for targeting the abdominals, granting outstanding work to both the rectus abdominis and obliques. This study provided a notable endorsement for bicycle kick’s capacity to give the body’s midsection meaningful work, demonstrates that their focus extends beyond what is offered by other abdomen exercises.
Whether cooped in a hotel room while on a business trip or making your nightly visit to the commercial gym, these exercises are the abdominal-centric cousins of push-ups: exercises whose completion requires minimal space but produces noticeable gains. These are not to be mistaken with “flutter kicks”, which consist of holding legs in the air and moving, or “fluttering”, them up and down while lying on your back; bicycle kicks are occasionally confused with these. Additionally, bicycle kicks for abs are not to be confused with video game icon Liu Kang’s signature move of the same name.
As with so many other core, upper body, and lower body routines, the Total Trainer home gym and its attachments can add a substantive wrinkle to your bicycle kick workouts. Utilizing the Dual Legs Cuffs as you perform this exercise ticks its degree of difficulty up a notch, allowing your legs and core to work against increased resistance. By fastening the Dual Leg Cuffs around your ankles lying down on the Total Trainer glide board, bicycle crunches can be done after determining resistance levels (1-12 levels are at your disposal on the Total Trainer Power Pro model.)
To do the bicycle crunch ab workout, lay down on your back as if preparing for a set of sit-ups. The palms on each hand should be resting right behind ears. Raise your legs off the ground, with the soles of your feet parallel to the floor and facing away from your body. Starting with either the left or right leg, bend your knee and bring it toward the body; the other leg should remain elevated several inches off the glide board.
While bringing the knee toward your chest, twist your body to bring the elbow opposite the bent leg toward it. Do not use hands to tug your head, but instead simply move it with a natural motion as if you are responding “no” to a question while reaching an elbow across your body. Tap the bended knee with this elbow before moving the leg back to the original position. Now it is the other leg’s turn to be bent and brought toward the abdomen; repeat this same elbow-to-knee motion with the other arm. Moving your feet in this manner makes it appear as if your legs are pedaling on a bicycle as you lie on your back. You should fall into a rhythm of left elbow to right knee, and vice versa.
Perform these several times prior to working them into your Total Trainer workouts. When initially learning how to do bicycle kicks, take some steps to keep your back from taking unnecessary abuse. Try using a mat to keep the pressure off the back and eliminate the strain that hard, unpleasant floors can place on it. It is time to bring your Total Trainer into the picture once you are proficient at performing them without Dual Leg Cuffs.
The objective of this exercise is not to furiously churn your legs as if pedaling uphill: the core will get the most out of the bicycle kick workout if you simply maintain steady and unhurried motions. The journey of completing your bicycle kick sets is more important than the destination of simply checking them off your fitness to-do list.
Focus should be on moving the legs in a determined manner, establishing rhythm as opposed to pedaling against the air at warp speed. Having the Dual Leg Cuffs attached to your legs will help emphasize proper mechanics as opposed to how rapidly each repetition can be performed.
Although not nearly as difficult to learn as the one-legged squat, bicycle kicks still take several run-throughs before you get the timing down and feel natural while doing them. You are going to notice the impact of bicycle kicks if correctly completed; the abdomen will feel tight afterward, as if the muscles around the stomach make a conscious decision to bunch together. Bicycle kicks on your Total Trainer and the toned abs that follow will leave you confident in your selection of home gyms.