Expert: Ken Alan - 5/2/2006

Question
hello,

i do 'the bicycle' ab exercise and wondered if, by adding ankle weights and 'pedaling' for 30-45 mins, i could achieve an aerobic state similar to training on a stationary bike at the gym...?

thnx for ur help
sbl

Answer
Good question.

Actually, yes you could. However, it's more comfortable doing a regular stationary bike for aerobic training.  If you're doing the exercise for your abs, and are able to do 30-45 minutes of the "bicycle" ab exercise, you're cheating yourself somewhere.   

The most reps of any ab exercise you want to do should be 15-25 reps maximum.  If you're able to do more, you're not strengthening the abdominals muscles very much.  You're building endurance, but that does not tone or tighten the muscle as much as strength training does.  You need to make the exercise harder, more intense, rather than doing more reps that take a longer period of time.

The "bicycle" exercise also targets the hip flexors more than the abdominals, especially when you're able to do it for such a long time.

Hope this helps.