A strong core is essential for not just most workouts, but also posture, balance, and lower-back health. To strengthen those muscles, we're big fans of ab workouts, whether they're bodyweight, use fun equipment like sliders, or bring all the heat with dumbbells [1]. But as much as we encourage people to work their ab muscles [2], they may not be getting the most out of the exercise if they don't have proper form. NASM-certified personal trainer Guychard Codio, cofounder of New York City Personal Training [3], told PS that, if he could choose just one ab exercise that his clients tend to do wrong, it's the bicycle crunch.
Bicycles are a move that a lot of people do, he said, but they don't know how to rotate to fully engage their obliques and deep abs known as the transverse abdominis [4] or TVA. Ultimately, people don't use their entire torso and core to twist during bicycles; they just go through the motions with their elbows and use their head and neck instead. Feeling called out? Join the club.
There's no need to beat yourself up if you occasionally cheat at a move like a bicycle crunch. After all, working out is hard, so it makes sense that we're tempted to cut corners and make things easier where we can. But bicycling crunching without proper form means you're losing out on some serious benefits — and even putting yourself at risk for pain. Here, more about what muscles bicycle crunches work, and how to ensure you're practicing proper form.
Experts Featured in This Article
Guychard Codio [5] is a NASM-certified personal trainer and cofounder of New York City Personal Training [6].
Bicycle Crunch Benefits
Bicycle crunches work your rectus abdominis (the "six-pack" muscles), obliques (the side abs) [7], and transverse abdominis (the deep abs), and your hip flexors to boot.
But that's only true if you're doing the full motion, and mindfully engaging your core. To help clients learn how to properly engage their core in moves like the bicycle crunch, Codio has them do planks [8] and side planks [9]. "Learning where your muscles are and how they feel and how to engage them is key before you do some ab exercises," Codio explains, adding that if you don't learn how to engage your abs [10], you'll be using other muscles to compensate, and this can also lead to lower back pain [11].
How to Do a Bicycle Crunch
- Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground.
- To start, bring your hands behind your head with your elbows wide; then bring your knees toward your chest. Lift your upper back until your shoulder blades are off the floor.
- Straighten your right leg out. Your left knee should be bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Using your entire torso, rotate towards your left knee. Codio said to make sure that your left shoulder is on the ground and your right shoulder is moving along with your motion. You should think of it, he said, as "shoulder to knee" not "elbow to knee."
- Switch sides, and do the same motion toward your right knee to complete one rep.
— Additional reporting by Mirel Zaman
Samantha Brodsky [12] is a former assistant editor at PS. She uses her gymnast background to inform her sports and fitness coverage, powering through Peloton videos in her free time.
Mirel Zaman [13] is the health and fitness director at PS. She has over 15 years of experience working in the health and wellness space, covering fitness, general health, mental health, relationships and sex, food and nutrition, spirituality, family and parenting, culture, and news.