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Abdominal Exercises



Abdominal exercises are one of the most sought after strength training exercises.  Everyone is looking for ways to get the ultimate six pack abs by searching for the most effective and best ab exercises.  Wanting to get a flat stomach is many people’s dream, including my own.

Click here for the list of ab exercises and links to the exercise videos and instructions pages on this site.




Abs Exercises to Lose Belly Fat?

abdominal exercise ball crunch
Many people believe that by doing 100 abdominal exercises, they can not only get six pack abs, but reduce and eliminate belly fat.  After all, it seems logical right? 


By exercising and toning the muscles in those areas with larger amounts of fat, you would think that this would automatically start to burn fat in those areas.

The truth is, by just doing ab exercises; all you really accomplish is toning muscles that will forever be hidden behind the fat.  To really achieve the all elusive flat stomach, you must also focus on burning the fat.  If you have already read my exercise myths, then you know you cannot spot reduce fat by doing targeted toning exercises.

To reduce body fat, you must begin to eat healthy and add aerobic exercises.  These 2 changes are critical to losing fat.  This does not mean that you will automatically lose fat from your belly first.  As you begin to reduce fat, you will not necessarily have any control as to where your body loses fat first.  Unfortunately, your body makes this decision.  Certain things like genetics will drive where you lose fat first.

But don’t be discouraged, if you follow these simple steps in “how to lose belly fat”, you will see results in all areas of your body, including your abdominals.




Do you Need 100 Abdominal Exercises?

There are many different exercises to choose from.  In fact, many claim there are at least 100 different abs exercises.  And yet there are only four abdominal muscles; the rectus abdominus, the internal and external obliques and the transverse abdominus.

So do you need to do 100 exercises to strengthen and tone your abs? The answer to this question is no, you do not need to perform 100 different ab exercises to strengthen and tone your stomach.  In fact what you want are a handful of different abdominal exercises that will work all your abdominal muscles.  

Even though there are probably over 100 different exercises for your abdominals, many are just slight variations of the most common stomach exercises.  Adding this many variations of ab toning is not necessary to work the abdominal muscles, but adding variety can keep your weekly exercise routine fun.


truth about six pack absThis ebook is a great resource for getting flat abs and that all elusive six pack abs.  The book goes into details about what it really takes to lose belly fat and flatten your stomach.  I love this book and highly recommend it.  Click Here! to learn more.

When I first visited this site it is a bit sales pitchy, but the product is well worth the visit.




Which Ab Exercises are Right for You?

So, with only a handful of muscles, yet so many exercises to choose from, what are the best ones to do?  Not all stomach exercises have the same effectiveness on the abdominal muscles.  Some are more effective than others.  In fact, one study was done to measure the effectiveness of some common abs exercises and the results may surprise you.  Be sure to read this article to see what this study deemed as the best ab exercises.

Not only are some abdominal exercises less effective than others, but some have a higher degree of compression on the lumbar spine.  This can put unwanted stress on your lower back.  The key to minimizing stress to your lower back is to ensure you do the exercise correctly and at the position that is comfortable for your level based on your abdominal strength. 

When doing many different abdominal exercises, you are sometimes engaging more than just the ab muscles.  You are often using your lower back and/or hip flexors.  Whenever you are doing any of the 100 abdominal exercises that require you to lay flat on your back, be sure that your back is flat to the ground and not arched.  If at any time your feel your back arch and lift off the ground, then bring your legs back into a position where your back is flat to the ground.  This is the position that would be right for you for that particular abdominal exercise.

Choose a variety of exercises to really work all the ab muscles.  Be sure to include exercises that also help to strengthen your core muscles.  This will help minimize back injury and pain.  




List of Common Abdominal Exercises

Use the links below to go to the page for the particular abdominal exercises you want to see demonstrated with exercise videos and instructions.  The ab exercise pages are grouped by abdominal muscles plus a separate page for the top 3 and common crunches.

Top 3 Abdominal Exercises
  • Bicycle Crunch
  • Captain's Chair
  • Exercise Ball Abdominal Crunch
Common Abdominal Crunches
  • Traditional Crunch
  • Reverse Crunch
  • Vertical Leg Crunch
  • Long Arm Crunch
Rectus Abdominis Exercises
  • Bent Knee Abdominal Hip Raise
  • Abdominal Leg Pull Ins
  • Abdominal Leg Raises
  • Abdominal Flutter Kicks
Oblique Exercises
  • Fingers to Heel Oblique Touchers
  • Oblique Crunch
  • Elbow to Knee Oblique Crunch
  • Lying Side Oblique Crunch
  • Isometric Side Bridge
Transverse Abdominis Exercises
  • Plank Pose
  • Plank Pose Leg Lift
  • Plank Pose Twist
  • Transverse Pull Ins
  • Back Extensions


These are just a few of many exercises you can do to tone and strengthen your abdominal.  When working your abs, you want to make sure you are doing them correctly.  Use the links above to see instructions and illustrations on how to perform some of these exercises.  You may also want to purchase an exercise DVD to follow along on how to do ab exercises.

Another way of doing abdominal exercises is with specialized abdominal exercise equipment.  However, before you spend too much money, be sure to read the results of the study I mentioned above as they also researched some exercises using equipment.

If you are looking to buy ab exercise equipment, Click Here. This online store has a variety to choose from.


Here is a site dedicated to helping your flatten your stomach.

Stomach Exercises - Free healthy diet tips and stomach exercises for achieving a flat stomach and six pack abs for Men & Women. 








Additional articles

Lose Belly Fat
Find out how to lose belly fat and get your six pack abs.

Fat Burning Foods
Help shrink your belly fat with the fat burning foods.






Exercise 4 Weight Loss 2 Achieve Fitness and Health

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