Bicycle Crunch Back Pain

Although it may be of little consolation lower back pain from cycling is seemingly universal.

Bicycle crunch back pain. 1 exercise for strengthening the rectus abdominus the abdominal muscles that make up the six pack. Physiologists personal trainers and physical therapists are quickly moving away from the traditional crunch as an ab exercise as there s a strong association between the move and back problems such as herniated discs. What really blows my mind though is when people who have been in a seated position all day long head to the gym where they perform seated military presses seated lat pulldowns and abdominal exercises with the knees up. Bicycle kicks also referred to as bicycle crunches are a great way to incorporate the essential motion of standard crunches without that back breaking motion that often leads to lower back pain.

The rectus abdominis and your obliques. Most of us sit for all or part of the day placing the hamstrings and hip flexors in a shortened position which can lead to low back pain or just a general sense of tightness. Back in 2001 the american council on exercise actually deemed the bicycle crunch the no. The standard bicycle crunch consists of lying on your back with your hands behind your head then lifting each knee up toward your chest in the direction of the opposite shoulder.

A bicycle crunch helps target two different areas at the same time. With proper posture and the right bike size and set up cycling is a good recovery exercise that will allow you to come back strong from an injury without undue strain to your back. Cycling and lower back pain. Experiencing back pain while doing crunches could be a precursor to a serious injury.

Given how hard your legs work on the bike it s natural to assume that when an overuse injury strikes it s your knees that will be most vulnerable. Crunches are one of the worst abs exercises and they are used everywhere from gymnasiums to modest get fit binges at home. When the lower back is overactive during the core exercise it can cause the back muscles to tense up which can cause pain trainer pj stahl m a c s c s co owner and head coach at lock.