The lying bicycle exercise is a slow pedaling movement of the legs, done lying on your back. Your head and shoulders stay down on the mat or bed while your legs cycle in the air, one knee bending toward your chest as the other leg straightens away. It works the front of the hips and the stomach muscles that keep your lower back steady.

How to do the lying bicycle exercise

Lie on your back on a mat or bed, knees bent, feet down and arms resting at your sides. Your head stays on the surface throughout.
Draw your knees up toward your chest, first one leg and then the other.
Start pedaling: push one foot away until that leg is nearly straight while the other knee bends back toward your chest. Keep swapping in a slow, smooth circle.
Keep the pedaling up in the air, never skimming the floor. Start with your feet high, the pushing leg pointing well up at about 75 degrees from the bed, and let the push reach lower, as in the video, only while your lower back stays still on the surface. The lower the legs travel, the harder your back has to work.
When you finish, bend both knees and lower your feet back down one at a time.

What you should feel

Work at the front of your hips and thighs, and in your lower stomach as it holds your back steady. Your lower back should stay comfortable against the surface.

Common mistakes

Letting the legs sweep low so the lower back arches off the mat.
Pedaling fast and letting momentum take over.
Lifting the head or tensing the neck and shoulders. In this version the upper body stays relaxed.
Holding your breath.

How often

Many programs use 2 to 3 rounds of 10 to 20 slow pedal strokes, counting each leg as one, with a short rest between rounds. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Back pain that builds, or your lower back will not stay down even with the legs higher.
A pinching pain deep in the groin or hip.
Numbness, tingling or pain that travels from your back into a leg.
A ridge or bulge down the middle of your stomach, leaking urine, or a heavy feeling in the pelvis. Mention it to your physio.

From the clinic

This is not the same exercise as bicycle crunches. Here only the legs move and your head stays down. Bicycle crunches add a curl of the upper body and a twist of the elbow toward the opposite knee. If the lying bicycle is hard to control, make the circles smaller and keep your feet higher. For an easier start that asks for the same steady back, try supine marching or the dead bug.

Both legs stay off the surface the whole time, and that puts steady load on the stomach wall. Check with your physio first if you have a hernia, have had stomach or back surgery recently, or have diastasis recti, where the two sides of the front stomach muscle sit wider apart than usual, often after pregnancy.

If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try this exercise. Each pedal stroke bends the hip well past a right angle, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations. If you are pregnant, check with your midwife or physio first. From about 16 weeks the NHS advises against lying flat on your back for long periods because it can make you feel faint.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-26.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Lying bicycle exercise