Last Updated On January 11th, 2019
Do exercise bikes work your abs? If you are looking for a short yes or no answer to this question, you might be disappointed. The reason that it is impossible to categorically say yes or no is because exercise bikes are traditionally not designed to work the abs. However, you can create a workout routine that does exactly that if you put some effort into it.
How to Work Your Abs on an Exercise Bike
You might be wondering why an exercise bike is not capable of effectively working your abs while riding a bicycle down the street does exactly that. The reason is because of the way that each of these machines works with your body. When you ride a bicycle down the street, it is up to you to keep the bicycle in balance. If you don’t keep your core engaged by using your ab muscles, the bicycle can potentially become unbalanced and you might fall. The thing is, this is something that most people learn how to do so well that they start doing it without even thinking about it. If you ride a bicycle on a regular basis, this is an activity that becomes as natural as breathing. It becomes so natural that you might not even realize that you are doing it.
When you are on an exercise bike, however, things are a little bit different. Chances are, the bike is set up in such a fashion that it doesn’t require any effort whatsoever when it comes to balance. The reason is because these bikes don’t actually move. Therefore, they have to have some type of external stabilization that keeps them in place. This stabilization allows you to get on them and pedal as long as you want without really engaging your core muscles because it doesn’t matter what you do, there is very little chance that this type of bike is going to fall over. The end result is that you have to create situations with your own routine that force you to work your ab muscles.
This can be achieved in a variety of different ways. You might try gradually standing up on the exercise bike while pedaling without using the handlebars. You also might try doing some gentle twisting exercises that work your abs while using the bike so that you can get a more complete workout.
Conclusion
When it is all said and done, you will know whether or not you are actually engaging your core because you will feel it. If you are feeling a burning sensation in your ab muscles or you start to feel sore after a workout, you know that you are doing everything you need to do to exercise your ab muscles while riding the bike. If you aren’t feeling any of these things, perhaps it is time to increase the intensity level of your workout so that you are doing a more thorough job of exercising your entire body instead of just pedaling with your legs. One thing is certain, once you figure out what type of routine you want to participate in, you can get an excellent workout by riding one of these bikes.