Done properly, the air bicycle abdominal exercise is a very effective movement because you are engaging your upper and lower abdominal areas at the same, while simultaneously exercising your hip flexors.
Although there is really no such thing as the “upper” and “lower” abdominal area, there are certain exercises where you will feel the burn in one area more than the other, which is what makes the air bicycle movement so effective. By keeping your shoulders elevated, you are tightening up the part of your abs that are closest to your chest while at the same time moving your legs which targets the hip flexors and the lower abdominal area.
The keys to this movement are:
- Don’t stop until you feel the burn, and even then try to go for more reps
- Support your head with your hands, but do not pull on your head
- Bring your knees up as far as you can on each repetition
- Focus on every repetition rather than just getting into a “groove” of back and forth movements
Air Bicycle Abdominal Exercise
For an incredibly effective abdominal training routine, be sure to check out the Ab Ripper X portion of the P90X Extreme Home Training Program.
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I find this routine exercise very effective especially to those whose belly can be considered as triple Xtra large. Moreover, the health benefit is also enormous as it deals mostly on the upper part of the body in which I think most of the toxic substances are found.
Hello, can you tell me what is the best strength, stretch, and reflex training for baseball?
Gilbert,
Sport-specific training is made up of 2 parts:
1) Physical Conditioning
2) Sport-specific technique practice
Anyone who tells you that one is more important than the other is just setting you up for failure. Specific to baseball training, a quick search on the Internet turned up all of these results:
BaseballStrength.com
The Lost Secrets of Pitching
Become a Power Hitter
Baseball Hitting eBook
Lost Baseball Secrets
BaseballMaster.com
Baseball best Drills, Tips, & Strategies
Core Power for Baseball
Baseball Pitching & Hitting Instruction
I find that small crunches are just as effective as big sit up movements or bicycles, and it’s easier to concentrate the burn.
Geoff – yes, regular crunches are a very targeted movement indeed. The difference between them and the Air Bicycle movement is that you also engage the ab muscles from the bottom while still working the “crunch” muscles. Both movements have benefits, and as always, quality is more important than quantity!