Biking will work not only your leg muscles but also the muscles in the buttocks and nearby parts of the body. But, what is impressive is that biking consistently will also help engage your core muscles, particularly the abs, to make it more tone.
We all know that biking brings a lot of substantial benefits to the biker’s body. But, specifically, does biking work abs? Can biking give you six-pack abs if you do it regularly? These questions and other related information will be discussed in this article.
Working your Abs and Strengthening the Core Through Biking
Does cycling help with abs? Or does it give you a killer six-pack abs? To answer both of these questions, cycling or the other forms of biking will not give you rock-hard abs. It cannot also give you the six-pack abs you wanted.
However, it does not mean that biking consistently cannot positively impact this specific part of your body. In fact, biking can help in building your core and make it stronger. In addition, if you have a stronger core, it will make you a better biker.
If you are biking, it does not give you enough activity or movements to work with your abs. However, increasing the ride’s intensity, like dealing with steep hills or rugged terrain, can give your abs a lot of activity or exercise during the ride.
Research and scientific studies have also shown that biking is also an excellent way to enhance your core strength. In fact, if you are riding hard, especially on those uphill roads, expect these activities to impact your abs positively.
If you want to be a strong biker, you’ve got to have strong core muscles, including your abs. These abdominal muscles can help in your biking journey, particularly in stabilizing your ride by keeping stable and steady in your bike seat.
Once you are biking regularly, the abdominal muscles will also contract, which means providing the stability you need during the bike ride. Moreover, when the muscles contract periodically, it will help tone those abdominal muscles and increase your endurance and overall strength.
Developing Your Abs During the Ride
You cannot compare the results of doing those different exercises that target your abs to the results when you usually just biking. However, if you really want to develop your abs through biking, there are certain biking positions that you might look at:
Doing Bike Crunches
One way to develop your abs through biking is through bike crunches. But how will you do it? You can contract your abdominal muscles by bringing an elbow into you. After doing so, you can keep both of your hands to the handlebars but continue to pedal on the road.
While you are pedaling, you continue doing the position alternatively until such time that you are tired. Doing this technique will help contract the muscles of your abdomen and bring full attention to your bike ride.
Standing Up During the Ride
Another way to help contract your abdominal muscles is to stand up on the bike while you are riding. When doing this position, the muscles located on your legs will work harder to support your standing position.
While standing, you can alternately lift off your seat if you want to, then lean on the handlebars to make your stomach almost aligned to the road. You can do this position for a while pedaling.
Lifting Off the Bike Repeatedly
Another way to exercise while riding on a bike to target your abs is to lift from your bike repeatedly. How will you do it? You can lift yourself up away from the saddle for a moment, then come back again slightly.
You can repeat the process to help contract all of your abdominal muscles. This workout can be a challenge to you, but it is an excellent exercise to develop your abs while still pedaling on the road.
Of course, all of these bike exercises mentioned above cannot be compared to those exercises targeting the abs like the crunches. It is not even necessary to do these exercises while on the road, but if you have the time, all of it can help make your core stronger.
Doing different exercises focusing on the abs is an excellent way to enhance the strength of your core. A stronger core can help you in so many ways as a biker as it gives stability, excellent support, enhancing efficiency, and improving overall performance.
Make Your Abs Work through Biking
My principle when it comes to biking is that the more you bike hard, the more all the muscles in the body will also work, and that includes your abs. But how you are going to do it? You can increase your speed while on the road or navigate steep hills or rugged terrain.
You can difficult challenges during the bile ride to help work your abdominal muscles. You can even do different bike positions or perform bike exercises which were mentioned earlier to make your abdominal muscles work.
You can also upgrade the challenge by biking on unstable surfaces such as rugged terrain or even an off-road path. When you are doing this challenge, it will need more work for the core muscles, which in turn help strengthen your abs.
Apart from regular biking, indoor cycling can also be an excellent way to develop your muscles. In a stationary bike, the hips will usually move closer to the ribs in a fixed position making your lower abs work harder during the exercise.
Conclusion
Biking is an activity that brings substantial benefits to the body as a whole. But, does biking work abs? Yes, it is. It may not provide the same result as those exercises that target the abdominal muscles but can still help you strengthening the core.
Moreover, there are bike exercises that can be done to help tone your abdominal muscles. You can also challenge yourself to bike difficult destinations such as off-road and rugged terrains, which help increase your biking intensity while also making the abs work even more.