I call this the all-in-one ab exercise because it works the abdominal muscles from almost every possible angle. You end up working the lower, upper and middle sections of your abs as well as your oblique stomach muscles. It also strengthens the core of your body.
This exercise incorporates the bicycle movement with the ab crunch and short pauses in between. It is really an excellent stomach exercise, especially when you are pressed for time or when you don’t have time for a longer ab workout.
When you perform your repetitions for this exercise slowly and properly, you will really feel its benefits and hopefully see some great results.
Here is how you perform this exercise:
Lie flat on your back.
Bring your legs up, bent at the knees and at a 90 degree angle.
Put your hands behind your head.
From the right side, simultaneously, bring one knee to your chest along with your arm and elbow until they touch. As you are doing this, you will lift yourself using your abs, making sure your lower back is still pressed against the floor. This ab portion of the movement is similar to a side abdominal crunch with leg movement. You hold this position for 3 seconds. Don’t forget to breathe in here. Simultaneously, bring your hands back to the floor and your legs to the 90 degree position. Breathe out here.
Repeat this movement in the middle, but this time both feet and arms come in and you hold for 3 seconds. No different than an ab crunch except that both feet are brought towards your chest. Bring both your hands back to the floor and your feet to the 90 degree angle.
Now finish the exercise on the left side by performing the same movement that you did on the right side.
Don’t forget to breathe. Try to inhale when you bring your arms and legs in and exhale as you release or return to the starting position.
Repeat the movements.
In all, I recommend that you perform about 8-16 repetitions in 1 or 2 sets, depending on the length of the stomach workout that you are doing. This exercise should be done very slowly to maximize your results.
I’ve also created a short ab video demonstrating how to perform this exercise. It’s difficult to talk and perform this exercise, therefore the above description should complement the video.
