If exercising your abs at the gym is what gets you motivated, then take advantage of the weight machines and gym equipment. Exercises like crunches and leg raises that you can do at home on the floor or a ball may be done at the gym with added resistance from a machine or by placing your body in a more challenging position, such as on the parallel bars.
Vertical Leg-Hip Raise
The vertical leg-hip raise exercise is performed on the parallel bars. A Roman chair or captain's chair are other names for this piece of equipment. The bars allow you to support your upper body but leave your lower body dangling so that by lifting your legs and hips you flex your spine and engage the rectus abdominis muscle of your stomach. The rectus abdominis is the muscle closest to the surface of your skin. A Bosu ball is placed between your back and the back rest of the parallel bars. The round, inflated surface of the Bosu ball forces your abs to contract to stabilize your spine before your legs even move. The deeper muscles of the obliques and transverse abdominis are primarily responsible for stabilization. Once on the machine, place your forearms on the bars and then bring your knees up toward your chest. The pelvis and hips must move up toward your ribs to work the rectus abdominis.
Lever Push Crunch
The lever push crunch is done on the machine of the same name. It works the rectus abdominis mainly, though the obliques activate in conjunction for stabilization. The oblique muscles run diagonally like "X's" on the sides of your stomach. To do this exercise, simply sit on the machine and scoot back so your hips touch the hip pads. Extend your arms straight and grab the handles. Place your feet on the foot rests. Maintain a straight spine and then hinge forward at your waist and push against the handles. This motion flexes your spine thanks to the rectus abdominis. Return to the seated upright position to complete a lever push crunch.
Abdominal Crunch Machine
Performing a crunch on an abdominal crunch machine is a simple movement that uses the rectus abdominis. You will curl both your upper and lower body to flex your spine. Spinal flexion means moving your rib cage closer to your hips. After you sit on the machine, hook your ankles into the leg attachment and grab the handles above your shoulders. Then, bring your ribcage toward your hips by bending forward at the waist and simultaneously lift your knees and hips to bring them toward your ribcage. Sit back up straight and lower your legs to complete one crunch.
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