The abdominal area consists of the rectus abdominis, oblique and transverse abdominis muscles. The rectus abdominis is the middle portion of the abs that runs from the chest to the pelvis. The transverse abdominis is deep inside the stomach and the obliques run down the sides of the ribcage. Any time you do an ab exercise, all areas get targeted. However, you can use a particular gym machine to place most of the emphasis on the lower area.
Captain's Chair
To determine what machine works the lower abs, you need to think about how this portion of the rectus abdominis functions. Any time you bend your knees and draw your legs toward your body, you target the lower abs. The best way to do this in a gym is with a captain's chair. This machine is operated with your body in a hanging position off the ground.
Benefits of the Captain's Chair
The captain's chair exercise is considered one of the best in the world for the entire abdominal area. According to a study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise, the rectus abdominis received over 200 percent recruitment and the obliques over 300 percent recruitment during the exercise.
Form with the Exercise
The reverse crunch is the signature exercise performed on the captain's chair. Execute proper form when doing this exercise to prevent injury and ensure you make adequate progress. Step onto the machine, press your back against the padded backrest and lay your forearms across the padded supports. After gripping the handles, carefully remove your feet and let your legs hang straight down. You should feel your abs tightening up at this point. Keeping your upper body still, lift your legs, bend your knees and move them up as high as possible. Squeeze your abs forcefully for a second, slowly lower your legs back down and repeat. For a more intense variation, keep your legs straight.
Other Muscles Worked
The motion of pulling your thighs toward your stomach works your abs, but it also causes recruitment of two other muscle groups -- the quadriceps and hip flexors. This movement pattern is called hip flexion. The quads run down the front of the thighs and consist of the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius and vastus medialis. The hip flexors consist of the iliacus and psoas major, and they run from the lower stomach to the top of the thighs.
Resistance
Being that the captain's chair is used with the weight of the body, you need to get creative to increase your resistance. Wear ankle weights, pinch a dumbbell between your feet or squeeze a medicine ball between your thighs. Ankle weights start as light as 1/2 lb. and generally go up to 20 lbs. Dumbbells range from 1 to over 100 lbs. and medicine balls range from 1 to 30 lbs.
Spot Reduction
Regardless of what you might have seen or heard, flab in the lower ab area cannot be shed by doing reverse crunches on a captain's chair. That would be spot reduction, which is not possible. The true way to get rid of fat is by doing cardiovascular exercise and cutting back on your calories.
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