Move of the Month: The Bicycle

It is going to be scorcher in Southern Ontario today so try to keep cool and stay hydrated.

I know it has been way too long since I have featured a Move of the Month, but it is back in full effect.

I am meeting with my good friend (and photographer) Christine next week to review the 400 + promotional photos she took for me and many of them are of different exercises just for you!

She was kind enough to give me a sneak peak of some of the pics, including the one I am sharing today :)

In light of the #Fitblog Abs Challenge, I thought it would be fitting this month to feature a killer exercise for the core:  The bicycle.

This exercise is arguably one of the best abdominal exercise your can do as it incorporate your obliques, upper and lower abs.



Here are a few cues to make sure you get the most out of the exercise:

• Place your hands just behind your ears and keep your elbows back.  
• Tuck your chin slightly into your chest and think about pushing your head into your hands
• Decrease the intensity of the exercise by keeping one foot on the floor, alternating knee lifts and returning the shoulders to the ground
• Increase the intensity by extending the legs straight out and keeping the shoulders lifted

Are you ready?

The Bicycle

1. Begin with the hands behind the ears and tuck the chin into the chest.
2. Lift both knees up over the hips.  Pull your belly button into your spine and lightly press the lower back into the mat.
3. Take a deep breath in and as you exhale, slowly lift your shoulders off the mat into a crunch position.
4. Inhale and rotate your left shoulder to your right knee as you extend your left leg.
5. Exhale and rotate your right shoulder to your left knee as your extent your right leg.
6. Repeat 10-15 times on each side.
7. Rest and complete the sequence two more times.
8. This is a very quick movement, feel free to slow the exercise down if you are a beginner by taking a slight pause in the centre between each rotation.
9. When you are finished, hug both knees into the chest and return the head back to the mat.

So tell me, do you have a love/hate relationship with the bicycle?

Stay Healthy,
Tracy