Regular abdominal exercises help to keep your tummy muscles strong and toned. However, according to the American Council on Exercise, while fitness professionals and exercise enthusiasts often want to train only the lower abdominal muscles, electromyographic testing indicates that most people are unable to target only their "upper" or "lower" abdominal muscles. Feeling more fatigue in muscles in one area after an abdominal exercise does not mean that only those muscles are working.
Benefits
The good news is that any abdominal exercise you do will help to tone the lower part of your tummy---and the benefits of core conditioning go far beyond how you'll look with your top off. Strong core muscles stabilize your spine and improve your ability to carry out daily activities, such as lifting a child, playing sports or performing other exercises.
The Best Ab Exercise
Researchers at the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University investigated the effectiveness of the most popular abdominal exercises and ranked them from best to worst. The most effective workout was the bicycle maneuver, which involves doing a pedaling motion while lying on your back on the floor. This exercise generated significant activity in the obliques and the rectus abdominus, which is the set of thin muscles running along your abdomen.
Next Best
Working out on the captain's chair came in second. The captain's chair is an apparatus commonly found in gyms. It has a rack with padded arms on which you rest your arms while your feet are dangling. For the exercise, you lift your knees to your chest in a controlled motion and then return to the starting position.
Sit-ups or crunches on a stability or exercise ball rounded out the top three abdominal exercises. These types of crunches don't challenge the abdominal or oblique muscles as much as the top two exercises, but they also do not involve your hip flexor muscles as much, which means you are relying less on muscles other than the abdominals to perform the exercise.
Considerations
To get the best results, perform all of these top-rated abdominal exercises during a five-minute core-strengthening session every day, advises Peter Francis, lead author of the study, from Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University. If any particular exercise causes discomfort, switch to a different one.
Caution
A common complaint when performing abdominal exercises is lower back pain. A fitness trainer or physiotherapist can help you learn the proper technique to avoid this injury. Correct technique also enables you to more effectively target your abdominal muscles instead of using your hip flexors too much. If you have been sedentary for a while or have any back problems, consult your doctor before beginning abdominal exercises.
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