A: Lie on your back with bent knees and feet on floor. Press lower back into floor. Cup hands lightly over ears. Lift left foot off the floor until left knee points toward ceiling. Extend right leg, lifting it slightly off floor. Exhale slowly, curl torso upward, and touch right elbow to left knee; lower to starting position.
B: Repeat on right side, touching left elbow to right knee. Do 10 reps.
Too much, too soon? Instead of incorporating your upper body, just keep shoulders and head flat on the mat. Eventually, start to curl up.
Why do it now? You might think the Bicycle is an old-fashioned ab exercise, but a study of 13 abdominal exercises at San Diego State University (SDSU) found it to be the most effective midsection strengthener. “It requires constant abdominal stabilization, as well as body rotation. And in this study, it generated the most muscle activity in the obliques (side abdominal muscles),” says Peter Francis, PhD, an SDSU biomechanist.
