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Bicycle Crunch illustration, start and end position

Illustrations: Everkinetic (Greg Priday), CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped, resized & combined

Obliques

Bicycle Crunch

Beginner Bodyweight Isolation Obliques

How to do it

  1. Lie on your back with fingers resting lightly behind your ears.

  2. Lift both legs with knees bent to 90 degrees and your shoulder blades off the floor.

  3. Rotate to bring your right elbow toward your left knee while extending the right leg.

  4. Return through the middle and repeat to the other side.

  5. Keep the tempo slow and controlled the whole set.

Common mistakes

  • Pulling on the neck while rotating.

  • Going so fast that only the elbows move.

  • Letting the lower back lift when the straight leg drops too low.

Tips

  • Rotate from the ribcage, not from the elbow.

  • If your lower back lifts, keep the extended leg higher.

Secondary muscles

Abs

Alternatives

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