One of the most noticeable muscles of a person is his abdominal muscles, or abs for short. Imagine taking your shirt off on a hot summer day at the local beach.
There are two possible ways that other people in the beach could notice you. For sure, people will notice you if you have the largest flabs and folds found in the beach.
On the other hand, people would surely notice you if you have awesome abs. It is a big confidence booster if you’re one of the people who can just take their shirt and show off their abs in the beach.
Abdominal muscles, though, aren’t just cosmetic in purpose. They support your whole body, keep your trunk together and your organs intact. Your abs also help keep your posture up and can help your spine in keeping your body straight. People with properly toned abdominal muscles are less prone to chronic back pain.
If you’re tired of the boring, painful, and repetitive ab crunches, you can choose to exercise your abs through air bike exercises.
Air bike exercises literally introduce a twist in your abdominal muscle exercises, as you twist your whole body in air bike exercises. Not only do your lower abdominal muscles get exercised, but your upper abs also get toned. Air bike exercises also help define your waist. Finally, your whole body coordination also gets improved.
One advantage of this interesting exercise is you can do it anywhere without any special equipment. If you’ve decided to tone your abdominal muscles with air bike exercises, here is how you could do so:
Lie down
Lie down on the floor flat on your back (if you would rather exercise on a mat, you could do so). Keep your legs straight, your arms at your sides and your back muscles relaxed. Remember, if you keep them tense, they might end up painful after your workout.
Place your hands behind your head
Raise your arms from your sides, place both your hands behind your head and clasp them together. If you have short arms or are having difficulty keeping your hands together, you can place them near each ear, as if scooping your hands to listen.
Raise both of your knees
Keeping your back flat on the floor, raise both your knees towards the ceiling. While bending your knees, create a right angle with your thighs and legs.
Try to connect your elbows and knees
As you twist your body with one fluid motion, try connecting your right elbow with your left knee. Do this alternately while lowering each elbow and raising each knee as if you’re riding a bike.
Fight gravity
Your head will have a natural tendency to “fall” towards the ground. Keep your neck straight, don’t move your head too much, and let your abs do the work.
Repeat!
Do 25 repetitions of this exercise. Rest between repetitions so as not to strain your abdominal muscles too much.
If you’re determined to get those hot, shapely washboard abs by next summer, start exercising now! Keep your blood flowing and your abs exercising by riding your air bicycle in the gym.