The Best Machine For Lower Ab Workouts

Before you spend money on abdominal equipment or spend time on abdominal machines, take a look at results from a recent study performed by the American Council on Exercise. The study suggests that classic abdominal work is more effective for abdominal toning and strengthening than machines or new-fangled equipment. The captain's chair, the bicycle maneuver, the reverse crunch and the exercise ball came in on top. Lower abdominal muscle fiber recruitment was inconclusive, but a small number of studies have demonstrated that lower abdominal muscle recruitment is possible. The exercises that came in first are also used in the fitness industry for lower abdominal work.

Captain's Chair

The captain's chair is the apparatus with a cushioned back rest, two elbow pads and handles that stick straight up. You hold your body weight through your shoulder girdle pressing down through your forearms which are on the arm pads. Your legs hang down together, and are raised up and lowered down with control. The captain's chair ranked first in soliciting your oblique muscles and second in soliciting your rectus abdominis muscle. The captain's chair is often used to work your lower abdominal muscle fibers because the weight of your legs lifting up and down places resistance force in proximity to the lower muscle fibers.

Bicycle Maneuver

The bicycle is also called the criss-cross and is performed lying on your back. You start by stacking your hands behind your head and bringing your right shoulder toward your left knee. Straighten the other leg. Reverse the motion and bring the left shoulder toward your right knee. Keep your abdominal wall compressed downward throughout the entire exercise. The crisscross motion works your obliques, flexing your knees and torso inward works your rectus abdominis, or six-pack. Extending the leg out and bringing it back in is thought to recruit the lower abdominal fibers. The bicycle maneuver ranked first in the study.

Reverse Crunch

The reverse crunch can be performed on a mat or on an incline bench with hand or bar grips. You lie on your back with your legs extended upward and crossed at the ankle. Tighten your abdominal muscles and lift your pelvis up off of the mat or incline bench. The reverse crunch ranked third for oblique muscle recruitment and seventh for rectus abdominis muscle recruitment. However it is listed as a lower abdominal exercise because fitness professionals like Frederic Delavier state that it recruits the muscle below the navel.

Exercise Ball

The exercise ball or stability ball ranked third for rectus abdominis recruitment and sixth for oblique recruitment. It was praised as a top choice because it used the rectus femoris or quad muscle least out of all equipment. Therefore the majority of payload remained in the abdomen. This piece of equipment is used in many ways, and the ACE study did not specify which exercise technique was used. Because the rectus femoris was not used, it is assumed that ACE tested a crunch exercise in which you lie your mid-back on top of the ball. Place your feet apart for stability, and raise and lower your torso. In order to recruit more lower muscle fibers, you can raise one foot at a time off of the floor during crunches.