The best way to tone your abdominals is to perform exercises that recruit a high amount of muscle activity. Popular ab exercises like sit-ups and crunches are not necessarily the most effective because they are less challenging for the abs. The American Council on Exercise sponsored a study to find the best ab exercises, and "The Journal of Applied Research" also reported an ab study. Both focused on muscle recruitment during exercise to discover the effectiveness of ab exercises.
The Bicycle Maneuver
The bicycle maneuver exercise is better known as the bicycle crunch, even though you do not raise and lower your torso during this exercise as you would during floor crunches. This is the No. 1 most effective exercise for the rectus abdominus, according to the ACE study. To perform the bicycle maneuver, lie on the floor with your knees bent and your hands behind your head. Raise your head and shoulders and pull your knees up above your lower abdomen. Then, alternate extending your legs straight as you twist your shoulders side to side, bringing them toward opposite knees.
Captain's Chair
The captain's chair exercise is named for the equipment used. Most gyms have a captain's chair, a free-standing ab machine without a weight stack. This exercise ranked No. 1 in most muscle recruitment for the oblique abdominal muscles, which criss-cross on the sides of the waist. Hang on a captain's chair with your forearms on the arm pads, your back against the back pad and your hands holding the handlebars. Pull your knees up toward your waist, then straighten your legs toward the floor again.
Exercise Ball Crunches
The ACE-sponsored study found that crunches on an exercise ball were the third-most effective exercise for the rectus abdominis and sixth-most effective for the obliques. This study did not include mini exercise balls, but crunches on the mini-balls, also called bender balls, use a higher amount of muscle activity, according to the 2007 study published in "The Journal of Applied Research." Place a mini-ball under your lower back while lying on the floor and do crunches as normal. This is more supportive for the lower back too.
Abdominal Recovery
Although exercising your abdominals is necessary for ab toning, time off for recovery is equally so. Strength training damages your muscles and results in weaker muscles one to three days following a workout. During this time, the body repairs itself. Rest between ab workouts for one to three days until your strength is 100 percent again and there is no stiffness.
References
- ACE FitnessMatters: New Study Puts the Crunch on Ineffective Ab Exercises
- "The Journal of Applied Research": Core Muscle Activity During Exercise on a Mini Stability Ball Compared With Abdominal Crunches on the Floor and on a Swiss Ball
- Johnberardi.com: Weight Lifting and Post Exercise Muscle Recovery
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