best ab exercises?

[Jaycee41]

im sure crunches are overrated...help?

[acrawlingchaos]

im sure crunches are overrated...help?

No such thing as "best" ab exercises. What exactly is your goal and what are you trying to accomplish?

[Bradster101190]

Here is an extraction from an article I wrote. It doesn't cover weak point training but from your post you seem confused about the training as a whole so here.



Abdominal Training
--------------------------

Before going in depth on training the abdomen, you first need to understand the main anatomical sections of it and how they relate to each other and function.

The visible sections of the abdomen can be divided into these basic muscles.


The Rectus Abdominis- Used To flex the spinal column and to draw the sternum towards the pelvis, it is the major muscle people wish to improve and picture seeing when imagining a well developed abdomen .It is at the center of the body starting at the pubis and extending up into the 7th rib cartilage.

The External Obliques ( Obliquus externus abdominis) - The muscles on each side of the torso, used to flex and rotate the spinal column.


Training Basics
------------
Abdominal training is one of, if not the most diversified forms of training. There are countless methods to train them and you will have to find out what works for YOU. Franco Columbo for example believed in training heavy through weighted exercises when focusing on abs and then during every other exercise squeezing them, it didn't matter if he was doing tricep press downs, you can bet he was squeezing his abs, and guess what? He won countless awards for best abs and almost always took home that category. So I encourage you to at least pick up that principle from one of the legends. During any exercise you do squeeze those abs! This will not only help develop them isometrically, but it will also build up your endurance to where you can pose them longer if you do decide to compete on stage one day.

Another arguable fact on training abs is how often you can train them, Arnold and other great past bodybuilders trained them every day and of course they got great results, but you now wonder if you can do that as well , well you probably can believe it or not. Most people I have trained and myself included can train abs every day without an issue but if you find you cannot and show signs of overtraining or DOMS ( delayed onset muscle soreness) then stop for a week and come back training them every other day instead.

Remember your abdominals, calves and forearms are your most used muscles in everyday motion therefore they are naturally faster at recovering. Much research has been done to confirm this and almost every professional bodybuilder would agree.




Basic Principles
--------------------------------------
-Training should be slow and controlled , using a full range of movement on each exercise , no choppy fast movement or pulling/ pushing off with your arms allowed.

-Always add a variety to your abdominal program , keep switching it up and pushing your body to adapt faster, I can name 17 different abdominal exercises off the top of my head so there is no excuse to not have variety in your workout.

- During every rep hold slightly for 1 to 2 seconds at the point of full contraction , do not rush the movement and come right back down. This will keep stress on the muscles at peak contraction and drive home the results.


Example Abdominal Routines
Pick 3 to 6 exercises off this list and do them, if advanced do say 3 sets of 3 chosen exercises , no rest in between exercises but 30 seconds between sets.


-Crunches-30 reps
-Reverse Crunches-30 reps
- Seated Twists-50 reps each side
-Seated leg tucks- 30 reps
-Vertical bench crunches ( or knees in the air) -30 reps
-Hyperextensions- 15 reps
-Twisting crunches-30 reps
-Bent over twists-50 each side
-Machine crunches (do a weight you could complete 15 crunches but not 18) - 15 reps



An old school training technique for variety- I used this program now and then and have other people use it and it always kicks starts results . You pick a number , I will use 100 for example . Now do 100 reps of an abdominal exercise, don't be reckless on your selection and choose something doing 100 reps will be beneficial and not overworking yourself say seated twists, complete the 100 then move down to 90, now do 90reps of say alternate heel touchers , then go down to 80 and pick say hip raises ect. This is a very advanced technique and requires a pretty vast knowledge of exercises and a person's limits but pays off if done right.



Stomach Vacuums- these are also very important in overall abdominal development and the namesake of a championship bodybuilding pose . It's time to plug in the vacuum baby!



Stomach vacuums primarily work your Transversus Abdominis and are incredibly effective. You see your body has its own built in method for support and increasing intra abdominal pressure like many people use a weight belt for, the Transversus Abdominis , but to get a use out of this mechanism you need to train the muscle through stomach vacuums. Start off in an all fours position as its usually the easiest to perform the vacuum in. Exhale all your air and pull your stomach in , focus on pulling it back toward your spine, hold this for as long as possible then release. ( Most people start off at 10-15 seconds) Do this until your total time is 1minute and stop for the day . Continue doing this after every abdominal workout. Then once you feel you have mastered this stage do it from a seated position , then eventually you will be able to perform it standing up. Do not rush it though , this takes time to develop and pays off greatly if done correctly, for some people it will even reduce overall waist sizes permanently as the muscles develop.

One last thing to consider when doing any abdominal training is NUTRITION, without it developing solid abs is a lot harder and sometimes near impossible , even a thin layer of fat or water weight over the mid section can mask well developed abdominals. So if you truly are working hard and not getting the results expected look here first.


Hopefully this small guide will help you make advancements in your own training and inspire others to do the same .

Brad Kelly
Certified Personal Trainer

[yakuzastyle]

IMO ab circuits are the best ab exercise. owwww weeee does it burn baby burn.

[jeremymatzke]

Diet is key to a flat stomach

[nattybeast]

zero carbs is the key for flat and ripped stomach

[acrawlingchaos]

Diet is key to a flat stomach

zero carbs is the key for flat and ripped stomach

I agree, BUT, only if a flat stomach/six pack is the goal.

[apujols24]

Decline weighted crunches, do them slowly.

[jlsnyderTypeR]

Weighted ab exercises ever other day and consistency is my only secret to success...crunches mainly!