Best 5 Bicycle Crunch Alternatives to Start Today

Let’s face it: bicycle crunches can feel horrible.

Your neck muscles may ache, your back can arch, and your legs can feel wobbly.

Pushing through all this pain isn’t the best solution. If you can’t do bicycle crunches with proper form, it’s better to work your way up to them by doing some alternative exercises.

That’s what this article will teach you.

But to understand the best alternatives, we’ll also examine bicycle crunch benefits, muscles worked, and burned calories.

Let’s jump straight into it.

Table of Contents

Bicycle crunches benefits

Looking at bicycle crunch benefits is important if you want to choose an alternative with the same advantages. So, these benefits include:

1. Strengthening your abs: Bicycle crunches primarily target the abs, specifically the rectus abdominis, which is the muscle that runs down the front of your abdomen. That’s what will give you a supple six-pack.

Just kidding; six packs are less important that having a strong core without dangerous visceral fat.

2. Improving core stability: Bicycle crunches improve core stability because the abs and lower back muscles must work together to maintain proper form.

In the long run, this translates into better posture and a lower risk of injuries.

3. Lowering your risk of back pain: Bicycle crunches improve posture and strengthen the muscles in the lower back, which can help reduce the risk of back pain.

Whether aging or working 8 hours per day from a computer, life puts you at significant risk of back pain.

Luckily, bicycle crunches can remove that risk.

Bicycle crunches calorie burned

The internet agrees that four bicycle crunches help you burn approximately one calorie.

That means you’ll need 100 crunches to burn 25 calories. And since most people do 25 crunches per minute, you’ll burn around six calories in that period.

This is the equivalent of 360 calories per hour, which gives these crunches a competitive edge compared to other ab exercises.

Of course, almost nobody does crunches for a full hour, but we need this Math to find worthwhile bicycle crunch alternatives with similar calorie-torching power.

Bicycle crunches muscle worked

Bicycle crunches primarily target the front of your core, but your obliques and lower back are supporting muscle groups.

Let’s back up a bit.

Fitness exercises can be based on flexion and extension.

Bicycle crunches are based on flexion because you contract your rectus abdominis. That’s what gives your frontal abs such a good workout.

But bicycle crunches also involve twisting.

The twisting motion works the obliques, the muscles on the sides of the abdomen.

The obliques are responsible for flexing and rotating the torso and play an important role in movements such as bending over and twisting.

As we age, bending and twisting can become challenging unless we strive to exercise the responsible muscles early on.

However, it’s important to remember that the primary focus of bicycle crunches is to target the rectus abdominis, which runs down the front of the abdomen. While the twisting motion can provide additional benefits, it’s not the primary reason bicycle crunches effectively target the abs.

Now that we’ve covered all that let’s move straight into the part we promised:

Best alternatives to bicycle crunches

1. Standing bicycle crunches

This exercise is intuitive: you’ll do the same movements as during a bicycle crunch while standing upright.

Basically, you’ll bring your opposite knee to your elbow alternatively.

Notice how I said you bring the knee to the elbow and not the other way around. Because if you bend your elbow down, your lower back can strain and suffer.

The advantages are that:

You burn more calories because you’re standing up.
Your legs have to work harder.
You gain more balance and stability.
Your neck muscles suffer less.
You’re targeting the same core muscles.

2. Medicine Ball Slams

Slamming a medicine ball on the ground is an excellent bicycle crunch alternative for beginners.

Besides, medicine ball slams are a functional exercise that can improve strength, power, and coordination. Here’s how to do them:

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and holding a medicine ball above your head.
Stand with your knees slightly bent and your core engaged.
Slam the medicine ball down onto the ground in front of you, focusing on using your hips, legs, and core to generate power.
Immediately stand up and repeat the movement, aiming to perform as many reps as possible in a set.

The advantages are clear:

You burn more calories.
You’re working out your entire upper body, arms included.
You have more options to scale up the exercise, such as using a heavier medicine ball or a weighted vest.
You have more options to vary the movement, such as slamming the ball in different directions.

3. Dead Bug (Reverse Bird-Dog)

This exercise has you starting in a prone position, with your back glued onto the mat.
Your arms should be straight above your shoulders, and your knees should be bent in a 90-degree angle. Keep your thighs perpendicular to the mat.
Now, extend one leg and the opposite arm as close to the ground as possible.
Keep your abs engaged and your back glued to the mat.
Bring the leg and arm back up and repeat on the opposite side.

This exercise engages your front abs with a lower back and neck pain risk. Your arms and legs also work more efficiently, particularly if you use wrist/ankle weights.

The calorie burn is similar to bicycle crunches, or more so if you’re using those extra weights.

On the other hand, your obliques won’t be activated as much, so you’ll have to consider special exercises for them.

4. Russian twists

Russian twists can improve strength, stability, and flexibility in the abdominal muscles. Here’s how to do them:

Start by sitting on the ground with your legs slightly bent.
Lean back as much as possible, keeping your core engaged.
Slowly twist your torso to one side, bringing your hands down to the ground.
Hold the twist for a few seconds, then slowly turn back to the other side.

This exercise exercises your lower back more comprehensively than the other alternatives above.

However, unlike bicycle crunches, it protects your neck muscles.

Pro tip: You can hold a weight or a medicine ball to increase the difficulty.

5. Planks

Planks are a total body exercise that will burn more calories than bicycle crunches. Besides, they’re based on extension, not flexion.

That means your abs will gain more power and endurance.

Here’s how to do a plank correctly:

Start in a push-up position, with your hands placed directly under your shoulders and your feet hip-width apart.
Engage your core and glutes, and balance your body on your hands and toes.
Hold this position for as long as possible, keeping your body straight from head to heels.

You can also do a plan from your knees or elbows to make it easier.

But if you want a larger burn, balance off a stability ball. Or use an ab wheel to roll your arms forward and back.

And that concludes my article. Now I’m curious to hear from you: which alternative will you choose? Or what other exercises am I missing from this?

Let’s talk in the comments!

Author
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Mary D. Brown

Mary is a mom of three, blog writer, strength training addict, fitness psychology guru, Origami dork, and Metallica lover. She has degrees in Communication and Physics and is a certified Personal Trainer.

Mary advocates for one powerful idea: fitness is about challenging yourself, but it’s not a race against the clock. She wants people to understand that the best fitness equipment doesn’t have to be expensive or very popular. The best workouts and machines should always fit your style and needs, not the other way around. So, Mary’s dedication and hard work are the engines that keep this website going.