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We often get questions about the best abs exercises—after all, who doesn't want to tone their tummy in the least amount of time? There are countless exercises that target the abs, including fitness DVDs (Does "8 Minute Abs" ring a bell?) and even pricey machines that you often see on infomercials. But do you need a video or specialized piece of equipment to get the abs of your dreams? A study conducted at San Diego State University's Biomechanics Lab (and published by ACE, the American Council on Exercise) says no. Their research revealed that the best exercises for your abs don't require any gizmos, and are surprisingly easy to fit into your day. Researchers looked at the effectiveness of 13 common abdominal exercises—everything from crunches to the "Ab Roller" machine. Using EMG (electromyography), researchers measured the muscle activity of the participants to determine which exercises best targeted the abs and the obliques, while also limiting the activity of the hips and thighs (because when an abdominal exercise is executed poorly, the hips and thighs engage to "help out" the abs). Overall, researchers said that all of these exercises are "relatively effective" ways to train the abs—but some are more effective than others. Check out their ranking of abs exercises (from best to worst) below:
4. Crunches with Vertical Legs: This exercise is just like a traditional crunch (see #11 below), but with your legs extended up into the air, in line with the hips. 5. Torso Track Machine 6. Crunches with Arms Extended: This exercise is just like a traditional crunch (see #11 below), but you extend your arms overhead, squeezing your upper arms by your ears as your crunch up and lower down. 7. Reverse Crunches: Click here for a demo. 8. Crunches with Heel Push: This exercise is just like the Crunches with Vertical Legs (see #4 above), except that as you crunch up you also slightly lift your hips off the ground (feet towards the ceiling). 9. Ab Roller Machine 10. Plank: Click here for a demo. 11. Traditional Crunches: Click here for a demo. 12. Exercise Tubing Pull 13. Ab Rocker Machine To view the entire study report from ACE, click here. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download this PDF.) Action Sparked: It's important to remember that every individual performs exercises differently, and even in this study, an exercise that proved effective for one person was sometimes ineffective or uncomfortable for another person. Especially for people with back, spine or disc issues, it can be tricky to find exercises that don't aggravate your problems. So listen to your body and work at a level that is comfortable for you, and never perform an exercise that causes pain. The big thing you can take from this study is that you really don't need to buy anything special to train your abs—traditional exercises prove to be better. But if you are going to invest in one piece of exercise equipment, a simple and inexpensive stability ball is the way to go. Not only are crunches on the ball ranked as #3 above, but the ball is extremely versatile for all types of exercises. Remember that your abs are just like any other muscles in your body, so train them accordingly. That means 1-3 sessions per week, and 1-2 days of rest in between abs workouts. Also, be sure to avoid the top 10 abs training mistakes. |
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Fitness Articles › Focused FitnessThe 13 Best Abs ExercisesFitness News Flash-- By Nicole Nichols, Fitness InstructorSparkPeople advertisers help keep the site free! Learn more
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Nicole Nichols
Nicole was named "America's Top Personal Trainer to Watch" in 2011. A certified personal trainer and fitness instructor with a bachelor's degree in health promotion and education, she loves living a healthy and fit lifestyle and helping others do the same. Her DVDs "Total Body Sculpting" and "28 Day Boot Camp" (a best seller) are available online and in stores nationwide. Read Nicole's full bio and blog posts. Follow Coach Nicole Online:   
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SparkPeople member AQUAGIRL08 struggled with chronic pain unitl she decided to take control of her health through diet and exercise. She offers her best advice anyone dealing with pain.
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Member Comments
Also, too bad that of the first three, you do need materials for two of them, and of the first five, you need materials for three of the exercises, also. - 12/25/2012 5:46:09 AM
- 7/28/2012 8:52:44 AM
http://rawfocus
.blogspot.co.
uk/2012/06/ab
-attack.html
the above system gives me all the abs session I need in just 8 minutes. Highly recommended! - 6/23/2012 7:56:38 PM
rkoutsreview.com You Can Do It Dream On.. - 6/9/2012 1:43:55 PM
uikspieroefen
ingen.com. It's a dutch site, but the training has got nice things that you mentioned as well; but also some great fitness tools, like the kettlebell, it's freaking awesome! - 6/4/2012 7:29:38 AM
Not that it's not interesting information, but based on the article, "best" seems to be misleading for an article headline. - 8/10/2011 11:35:17 PM
I was looking to change things up and as usual your 13 course menu was right on .
- 8/10/2011 7:33:01 PM
There are no STANDING AB exercises shown, and there are a lot of them that are very effective.
My suggestion - ditch this article and promote something new. - 8/10/2011 3:29:38 PM
fitness.com/c
runches-abs-core/ for a great article. It contains lots of support for the theory that crunches are not good for you, along with sound alternates. I hope Sparkpeople makes some changes. - 8/10/2011 10:56:21 AM