Bicycle Crunch
Alternating elbow-to-opposite-knee crunches with a cycling leg action — abs and obliques with a coordination element.
Illustrations: Exercise data by RepDB (repdb.co)
Setup
Lie on your back, hands lightly behind the ears, knees up at 90 degrees.
How to do the Bicycle Crunch
- Bring one knee in while the opposite shoulder rotates toward it, extending the other leg.
- The shoulder blade lifts off the floor — reach with the shoulder, not the elbow.
- Extend the straight leg low but keep the lower back down.
- Smooth, deliberate pedaling — no yanking the head.
Bicycle Crunch muscles worked
The Bicycle Crunch works the abs and obliques.
Common Bicycle Crunch mistakes
- Pulling on the neck.
- Tiny elbow flaps with no torso rotation.
- Racing through reps with momentum.
Scale it
Easier: Keep the resting foot on the floor between reps.
Harder: Slow every rep with a one-second pause at each touch.
Pairs well with
Russian Twist
Rotating the torso side to side from a leaned-back seated position — rotational core strength and control.
Copenhagen Plank
A side plank with the top leg supported on a bench — the standard for building groin (adductor) strength and injury resilience.
Crunch
The classic short-range ab curl — simple direct ab work when programmed alongside the stability movements.
Hollow Hold
The gymnast’s banana-shaped hold — total anterior-core tension that transfers to a stable, tall running posture.