The Best Abdominal Exercise

To determine the best abdominal exercise and find out which were less effective, the American Council on Exercise conducted a study. The study looked at 13 abdominal exercises ranging from the traditional crunch to more complicated abs exercises, using at-home and gym equipment.

The 13 exercises were ranked for muscle involvement (measured with EMG) in the upper and lower abs (rectus abdominus and the external obliques.) Researchers also measured activity in the rectus femoris to indicate activity in the hip flexors*.

(*This is important because activity in the hip flexors suggest that an exercise is either done incorrectly or recruits muscles other than the abdominals and obliques.)

The Results:
The best abdominal exercise was the bicycle maneuver, the second ranked was the captain’s chair. For home workouts, the crunch on an exercise ball ranked highest coming in third.

Among the abs exercise equipment studied, the Ab Rocker was the worst piece of equipment tested. The Ab Roller and the Torso Track ranked better, but statistically they were not much better than the basic crunch.

The best piece of equipment was an exercise ball.
While the crunch on an exercise ball generated less activity in the obliques and rectus abdominus than the top two exercises, the exercise also generated significantly less activity in the rectus femoris – making it, the best abdominal exercise overall.

Recommendation
Many of the abdominal exercises tested proved to be relatively effective at working the abdominal muscles – some are just more effective than others.

Choose several of the best abdominal exercises and included them in your home workouts. This will help train different muscles and combat boredom. If an exercise doesn’t feel right, consider getting professional instruction from Tailored Fitness.

Take the time to train and strengthen your abdominal muscles. Strong abs help improve posture, lessen lower back pain and are essential for long-term health and well being.

The Top 13: Best to worst exercises for strengthening the
rectus abdominus:
1. Bicycle maneuver
2. Captain’s chair
3. Crunches on exercise ball
4. Vertical leg crunch
5. Torso Track
6. Long arm crunch
7. Reverse crunch
8. Crunch with heel push
9. Ab Roller
10. Plank
11. Traditional crunch
12. Exercise tubing pull
13. Ab Rocker

Best to worst exercises for strengthening the obliques:
1. Captain’s chair
2. Bicycle maneuver
3. Reverse crunch
4. Plank
5. Vertical leg crunch
6. Crunch on exercise ball
7. Torso Track
8. Crunch with heel push
9. Long arm crunch
10. Ab Roller
11. Traditional crunch
12. Exercise tubing pull
13. Ab Rocker



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