Sit ups and crunches work your abs but they aren t the only exercise to do for a strong core.
Standing bicycle crunches muscles worked.
Standing abs exercises work more muscles than crunches says sara haley creator of the daily sweat workout dvds and a reebok global master trainer in santa monica ca.
Which by the way is proven to be 248 more effective than standard crunches.
The move activates muscles of the abdomen better than 12 other exercises including the traditional crunch a crunch with your legs up in the air and several ab workout machines while no one abdominal exercise comprehensively addresses all the muscles of the abdomen the bicycle crunch comes close.
The standard bicycle crunch consists of lying on your back with your hands behind your head then lifting each knee up toward your chest in the direction of the opposite shoulder.
This exercise will help you to build up the functional core strength and improve your balance.
Standing bicycle crunch also known as standing criss cross exercise is a more functional variation of regular bicycle crunches.
Focus on contracting the muscles as tightly as you can and maintaining a slow steady pace.
To work the front abs stand with your hands behind your head and lift one knee at a time up toward your chest as high as is comfortable contracting your upper and lower abs as you raise your knees.
There is a long list of different types of crunches which are performed differently and one of them is standing bicycle crunch which is considered to be the best abdominal exercises as it alleviates strengthening of muscles in rectus abdominus.
This exercise helps strengthen not only your rectus abdominus muscles those six pack ab muscles but also your internal and external obliques these are the muscles on the sides of your torso which can help.
Lifting your head and shoulder blades during bicycle crunches engages your rectus abdominis the upper muscles of your abs that are worked when you do crunches he explains.
An oblique crunch sometimes called a twisting crunch is a common abdominal exercise in which you crunch upward as you twist your upper body aiming to touch an elbow to the opposite knee.
When you do a bicycle crunch you re working out your side abdominal muscles and also toning your thighs.
With a special emphasis on the oblique muscles.
Muscles used in oblique crunches.
What are standing oblique crunches side crunches standing oblique crunches also popular as side crunches are effective abdominal exercises that target your oblique muscles performed by assuming a standing position while you may add these exercises in your daily abs workout regimen you may also use them as alternatives to the oblique crunches on the floor.
On each crunch you alternate which direction you twist.
It s important to incorporate moves that target your obliques like bicycle crunches.
