If there’s one muscle exercise that gives you plenty of bang for your buck, it’s bicycle crunches. According to a study published in American Council on Exercise (Opens in a new tab)Abdominal exercises are among the most effective exercises when it comes to working your midsection.
In fact, bike presses are excellent for engaging the rectus abdominis muscles—the six-pack abs along the front of your stomach, obliques, and deep, hard-to-target transverse abdominals. You’ll also work your hamstrings and quads in this move.
But what will be the effect of 100 bike push-ups? To find out more, I unrolled my yoga mat, engaged my roots, and started grinding. Read on to find out what happened.
As a reminder, what works for me may not be right for you and your body, and if you are new to exercising, or are returning to exercising after an injury, it is a good idea to check your form with a personal trainer before adding reps. It’s also a good idea to check with your doctor if you’re pregnant or have a lower back injury before doing sit-ups.
How to do a bike crush
Let’s start by taking a look at How to do a bike crush:
- Start on your back with your feet pressed to the floor, hip-width apart
- Suck your belly button in toward your spine, gently place your hands behind your head with your elbows width apart, and lift your upper back off the mat
- Lift your legs to a tabletop position and engage your abdominal muscles
- Slowly extend your left leg away from your body with your toes pointed. While doing this, bend your right knee toward your torso, and curl your left elbow to touch the outside of your right knee
- Switch sides by twisting to the other side, alternating with slow control.
It is important to keep your lower back pressed into the mat throughout the exercise – not doing so can put stress on your spine. To avoid arching your back, consider keeping your core engaged, sucking your belly button in toward your spine, and doing the entire exercise slowly, with control.
If you feel pain in your neck while crushing the bike, make sure you don’t physically tighten your neck with your hands. The movement should come from your abdominal muscles, not your arms. Keep your eyes on your toes and rest your hands on your temples.
I did 100 bicycle crunches a day for a week – here’s what happened
What can 700 bicycles do with substance? To find out more, I unrolled my yoga mat and got to work. Here are my training notes from the week:
Day 1
Tom’s Guide readers will know that this isn’t my first exotic fitness challenge for the brand – a few weeks ago I did 100 board jacks per day for a weekand the week before, 100 donkey kicks. I do bicycle crunches regularly as part of my abs workout, so I wasn’t expecting this exercise to be so challenging. On the first day, I chose two sets of 50 reps, trying to get my knees to my elbows each time.
The key to getting results from bicycle crunches is moving slowly, and with control – it’s important not to race between reps, because often, you won’t actually work your abs as hard as you will control your hip flexors. After 100 reps, I could feel a slight tingling in my abs, but nothing too exciting.
the second day
The second day follow the same pattern. I could feel the beat in my body more quickly this time, but maybe because I was working on the same muscles as I did yesterday. As a reminder, it is not recommended to work out the same muscle group day after day, as your body needs time to recover – this is when your muscles will recover and grow stronger.
I did 100 reps before I walked out the door for a tempo session and found I was able to engage my core much better while running. a result! As a runner, a strong core is imperative – it can help you run faster and better.
day 3
On the third day, I decided to mix things up and try sit-ups with hold. That’s why I slow things down, pausing for a count of two each time my elbow reaches my knee. I did five sets of 20 reps, 10 on each side.
I found these a lot Harder than the faster reps, probably because I was forcing my core to activate for a longer period of time during the hold. Doing exercises that involve gripping increases the time the muscles are under tension, which helps you build muscle.
the fourth day
On the fourth day, I ticked off 100 bike push-ups at the end of a strength session in the gym. Grabbing a Bosu ball, I opted to do bicycle crunches there, forcing my core to work even harder to keep my body stable on the uneven surface. I was rocking five reps, and by the end of the fourth day, my heart was on fire.
Days 5 and 6
On days five and six, I was back on the firm ground but practiced catching one of the The best adjustable dumbbells In my hands I crush. This upped the ante, and I felt like my core was working hard, but with the final few reps on Day 5, I felt like I had a little tightness in my neck. On the sixth day, I put the weights to one side and did a slow bicycle crunch with just my body weight.
the seventh day
Finally, the end was in sight! On the last day of this challenge, I tied a bunch of The best ankle weights And I got crushed.
Ankle weights can easily strain a joint, so if you’re new to moving, this is one to skip. I found that using ankle weights forced my legs to work harder as I stretched them and crunched them again, and I definitely felt like they turned the workout into a full-body workout.
My verdict after a week? The bike pushup is an excellent workout for the muscles, wow, I felt this in my core.
Of course, there were no physical results after 700 workouts – sadly, visible abs are the result of a Low percentage of body fat, so no amount of cycling will get you a six pack. That said, I felt like I worked hard, and in the morning doing my reps before heading out for a run seemed like I was able to engage my core and run better. This is one I will repeat.
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