Air Bike

How to do the air bike with proper form to fire up your abs and obliques with alternating rotations.

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How to perform

Lie flat on your back with your hands placed lightly behind your head and your elbows pointing outward. Lift your legs off the ground and bend your knees to a 90-degree angle over your hips. Brace your core, then bring your right elbow toward your left knee while simultaneously straightening your right leg toward the floor. Return to the center and switch sides, bringing your left elbow toward your right knee while straightening your left leg. Keep alternating in a smooth pedaling motion, with your lower back pressed into the floor and your breathing steady throughout.

Muscles worked

The air bike combines a crunch with a rotational twist, so every rep hits the rectus abdominis and both obliques. The cycling legs add a constant hip-flexor workload, making it one of the most demanding bodyweight ab exercises.

• Abs — crunch the torso up off the floor
• Obliques — rotate the ribcage toward each knee
• Hip flexors — drive the cycling leg motion
• Lower back — stabilizes the pelvis against the floor

Make it easier

Slow the pace and bring your knees closer to your chest, or keep your shoulder blades down and do the leg cycling alone until your abs get stronger. Touching the elbow to the knee with less torso lift also lightens the load.

Make it harder

Increase your speed without losing the crunch, extend your legs lower to the floor on the straight phase, or pause with your elbow locked to the opposite knee for two seconds each side.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: Pulling on the head to lift your torso. Fix: keep your hands light — the curl should come from your abs, not your arms.
• Mistake: Letting the lower back arch off the floor. Fix: press your back down and reduce your range until you can hold it flat.
• Mistake: Pedaling with tiny leg movement. Fix: drive a full range — knee to chest on the fold, nearly straight on the extension.