Best Ab Exercises

and the Worst

Many people believe that a basic crunch is one of the best ab exercises. In fact, people will do 100 or more crunches in record time thinking this is the best way to get fab abs. Although the traditional crunch is effective, you may be surprised to learn that the basic crunch is actually one of the worst abdominal exercises according to research.

Study of the Best Abdominal Exercises

abdominal muscles

In a study conducted by the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University, the basic crunch fell well below many other well known abdominal exercises in its effectiveness, and instead of being the best abdominal exercise it actually fell in the bottom 3 abs exercises that were studied.

In this study, sponsored by the American Council of Exercise (ACE), 13 common abdominal exercises, including some commonly used abdominal exercise equipment, were compared and then ranked from best to worst.

The study for the best ab exercises included 30 healthy men and women varying from ages 20 to 45 with different current exercise habits. Some were avid exercisers while others were just occasional exercisers. To measure the effectiveness of each exercise, electromyography equipment was used.

An electro-what-a-graphy? Exactly, very technical term, but for the layman’s explanation, electromyography is a technique used for recording and analyzing the activation signal of muscles. If you want the techie version, check it out here on Wikipedia.

During the study, each participant was allowed to practice each exercise and each exercise was introduced at random. After the practice set, the participants performed 10 to 12 repetitions of the said exercise. The results were then gathered and analyzed.

Best Ab Exercises Winner Is.....

The top most effective and the best abdominal exercise is the bicycle maneuver. Surprised? Well, after I do the bicycle move, I can feel the muscles in many areas. This exercise move works all the major abdominal muscles. Following close behind were the Captains Chair coming in second and the Exercise Ball Crunch taking third.

Below is the full list of the 13 exercises included in this study. They are grouped by activity in the Rectus Abdominus and the Obliques. To learn more about all the muscles in your abs, be sure to read this article on the abdominal muscles.

Best Ab Exercise to Worst

Activity in Rectus Abdominus

Activity in Obliques

Exercise	Mean Activity
Bicycle Crunch	248%
Captain's Chair	212%
Exercise Ball Crunch	139%
Vertical Leg Crunch	129%
Torso Track	127%
Long Arm Crunch	119%
Reverse Crunch	109%
Crunch with Heel Push	107%
Ab Roller	105%
Hover	100%
Traditional Crunch	100%
Exercise Tubing Pull	92%
Ab Rocker	21%

Exercise	Mean Activity
Captain's Chair	310%
Bicycle Crunch	290%
Reverse Crunch	240%
Hover	230%
Vertical Leg Crunch	216%
Exercise Ball Crunch	147%
Torso Track	145%
Crunch with Heel Push	126%
Long Arm Crunch	118%
Ab Roller	101%
Traditional Crunch	100%
Exercise Tubing Pull	77%
Ab Rocker	74%

Although this study ranked the bicycle crunch as the best abdominal exercise, it also states that all exercises did show results of being effective at working your abdominal muscles; some were just more effective than others.

The key thing here is whichever exercise you choose, rather it be the basic crunch or the best abdominal exercise, remember to do it right. You don’t have to use equipment to be effective, but if you are trying to find the most effective abdominal exercise equipment, make sure you spend your money wisely and get the most out of your routine.

Here are instructions and exercise videos on the top three best ab exercises.

To see the full study as referenced in this article, visit acefitness.org. This link will take you to the PDF file of this study.

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