Core · Bodyweight
Standing Air Bike
How to do the standing air bike, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand tall with your hands behind your head and drive one knee up while twisting the opposite elbow toward it. Lower and repeat on the other side in a steady cycling rhythm, like a standing bicycle crunch.
- 1Obliques crunching as the elbow rotates toward the opposite knee
- 2Hip flexors driving each knee up high
- 3A tall posture with the trunk doing the twist
Common mistakes
- Yanking on the head and neck with the hands
- Rounding the upper back instead of rotating
- Rushing so the knees never get high
Muscles worked
The standing air bike mainly works the obliques and hip flexors, with the upper abs, lower abs, and quads assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Hip FlexorsPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- QuadsSupport
- GlutesMinor
- HamstringsMinor
- CalvesMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the standing air bike for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.