Bicycles--WTH?

[LauraMax]

Let me just say right off that I really hate this exercise. It puts such a strain on my lower back that I rarely finish them. I did the abs portion of B&G Sat morning & had to stop twice I was in such discomfort. So that's my first comment--they seem like such a risky oblique exercise when there are so many other options out there.

Then I started thinking about the bicycles in Ab Ripper X. WTH is the difference between forward bicycles & backward bicycles? I mean, aren't they the same exact movement?

I guess this is just my way of venting & saying bicycles should be completely eliminated from the world of exercise. :+ }(

 

[allwildgirl]

I hate 'em too. And my legs don't WANT to go backwards on the ARX ones. They keep trying to go forward.

 

[dorothyrd]

My chiro says this is one exercise to avoid. That it can cause problems in your back and hips.

 

[marcy]

I agree totally. I can't stand bicycles. Didn't like 'em in Ab Ripper X and don't like them in Cathe's 4DS. I just don't feel anything. However, I do feel them more when I do them slowly like in Pilates or Tracey's Core Strength & Conditioning. But if I had my choice, I would completely eliminate them as well.

Marcy

 

[endorphin_junkie]

another hater herex( If I do them at all I do them slowly or substitute altogether. I modify the backwards ones in the new workouts and do them on my forearms and much more slowly. I'm always pi$$ing and moaning about the same stuff BUT I wish Cathe would put some taller background exercisers in her workouts as long levers move so differently on these types of exercises but...I digress...

Take Care
Laurie

 

[SRP]

Can you substitute the kind where you're lying on your back and alternate knees to elbows? You'd still be getting the oblique motion.

 

[LauraMax]

Sure--I like that exercise & do it all the time.

Still, no one's explained to me the difference betw. forward & backward. I think they're the same. That's my story & I'm sticking to it! ;-)

 

[Boybert]

I have a love/hate sort of thing going with it. Usually by the end of it I am uttering some, ahem, rather unpleasant words. Thank goodness there are no half pints around to hear it


Debbie

I don't want to take a pill. Go to Africa, go follow some bushman around. He's being chased by a lion. That's stress. You're not going to find a pygmy on Paxil, I'll tell you that right now.
-Ellen Degeneres

 

[RunninTeach]

I don't know what the difference is between forward and backward except that when I try to go backward, I seem to lose all coordination.

I'm not fond of these, either, but I've gotten better. I did a modified version on my new BOSU the other day and that felt more comfortable to me.

[font face="heather" font color=black size=+2]~Cathy[/font]
[font face="comic sans ms"]http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee296/runninteach/th_sunshine.gif

 

[Clarissa]

They are especially hard and I don't recommend them either. They are particularly difficult when you have just done all legs for 60 + minutes and you actually have to still hold them out there for bicycles. No way!

Clarissa