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The Best Ways to Exercise the Abs

Aug 11, 2011 | By BariA
The Best Ways to Exercise the Abs
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The best ways to exercise abdominal muscles depend on whether you plan to work out at home or in a gym and which abs training methods and strategies match your level of fitness. Abs exercises should be combined with a healthy diet and consistent cardiovascular and strength training to help you lose body fat and reveal defined abs.

Change Angles

Changing up the angle of your movements during abs exercises is the best way to effectively target the entire rectus abdominis unit, according to Lara McGlashan, co-author of "Kim Lyons' Your Body, Your Life: The 12-Week Program to Optimum Physical, Mental & Emotional Fitness."
McGlashan states that hitting abs from different crucial angles enables you to engage sections of the abdominal region, including the lower and upper sections, obliques that contribute to a trim waist and everyday functional twisting moves, and the core, which includes back muscles supporting the spine.

Do Giant Sets

Robert Kennedy, publisher of "Oxygen" fitness magazine, says that the best way to exercise abs is with giant sets, which means performing a series of different abs exercises with minimum rest in between until all exercises are complete. Beginners should perform just one giant set, intermediates should do two or three giant sets and those who are advanced should aim for four.

Add Resistance

Using abs machines or other forms of weighted resistance to train abs is one of the best ways to challenge your muscles in ways floor exercises cannot, according to personal trainer and physical therapist Charles Inniss. When regular crunches and other abs exercises become too easy, you need to find a way to further increase strength and break through plateaus. Working out on abs machine or using dumbbells and ankle weights can add significant challenge to the abs, especially if you haven't used any weighted resistance in your abs routines before.

Use Stability Balls

Using a stabilty ball is the best way to recruit more muscle fibers when exercising abs, primarilly because you're simultaneously balancing while performing movements, according to a study by the National Strength and Conditioning Association
The American Council on Exercise also explains stability balls can help strengthen and create balance between the muscles of the abdominal and the back. By concentrating on the abdominal section, you can improve your posture, and your core can become more prepared to support the rest of your body.

Try Different Exercises

When working out at home, all you need is a towel or mat to perform floor exercises. For more of a challenge, add resistance with dumbbells or ankle weights. If you belong to a gym, your abs routine can include floor exercises combined with sets on seated and horizontal abs machines or use of equipment such as abs rollers, abs straps and cables.
"Oxygen" fitness magazine recommends crunches, scissor kicks, crossover crunches, side planks, kneeling cable crunches, hanging leg raises and stability ball abs exercises with or without resistance.

Determine Repetitions

"Oxygen" publisher Robert Kennedy explains the best way to determine the number of repetitions for ab exercises is to consider your current physical condition and whether you're adding weight resistance. He suggests aiming for around 20 reps per set--but if an exercise becomes too easy you can do more. Kennedy also advises the best way to allow for adequate recovery time is to train abs no more than three days per week.

References

Article reviewed by Jeannette Belliveau Last updated on: Aug 11, 2011

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