To craft your abdominal region into a defined six-pack takes a lot of disciplined focus and energy. Clean up your diet and employ a hyper-intensity interval training, or HIIT, to your cardio sessions, as noted by MayoClinic.com, to complement your ab work. Not all ab crunches are created equal. Some are far more intensive and thorougher than others. Mastering those that will give you the maximum workout in the shortest time is key.
Bicycle Kicks
Bicycle kick crunches are the most effective of all ab exercises, according to the American Council on Exercise. Lie face-up on a mat. Link your fingers behind your head with your elbows pointing out. Raise your knees to create a 90-degree angle. To perform the exercise, elevate your upper torso towards your knees, twisting as you go. Touch your left elbow to your right knee and then reverse as you straighten out your other leg, creating a bicycle-riding motion.
Captain's Chair
The captain's chair exercise requires a gym machine. Rest back into the captain's chair frame. Do not slouch in the frame but instead allow your arms and shoulders to take most of your body weight. To perform the exercise, simply raise your knees up towards your chest and then down again. You can twist your hips to a sideways-on starting position and perform the same motion. This variation is considered the number one ab exercise for obliques, notes ACE.
Stability Ball Sit-ups
Sit off center on the ball. Walk your feet forward while rolling backwards. Your back should now be resting over the peak of the ball and your bottom perched on the side. To perform the exercise place your hands behind your head and then elevate your upper torso towards your legs. Come up to a 45-degree angle, tensing your abs, then return to start. This works the rectus abdominus and the obliques.
Vertical Leg Crunch
The vertical leg crunch is simply a standard crunch but in this exercise you raise your legs straight up, creating a right angle with your torso to the floor. Be sure that your hips remain grounded. Place your hands behind your head with elbows out. Elevate your upper torso towards your legs, contracting your abs, then return to start position. This is effective for the full length of the rectus abdominus and the obliques.
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