Best Ab exercise and its free..

MelissaE27

I just saw on the doctors after a research was done... between all the ab machines out there.. like the ab roller.. etc .. the most effective was crunches.. good ole fashioned crunches... wow Ive spent so much money on different things... crunches free.. go figure.. thought it was interesting

ebramlett

Thats what I do, regular ole crunches. Legs straight, then legs leaning left, then right. It does all you'll ever need.

cjjones007

Tell me you don't just love that huh? Thanks for the info Mel!!

penny39

I was watching the Doctor's too, just to see what they had to say about it and had a knock at the door and missed it. Glad you posted about it! Thanks!

stroutman81

Most effective for what?

krystonite

I definitely like planks more. Crunches hurt my back.

RosiePie25

It's amazing, people spend tons of money and buy all these products and machines that are supposed to do the trick..meanwhile the simple, original way is usually the most affective!!

Chel702

I do the 8 minute abs everyday...they are old fashion crunches ) Thanks for the reassurance!

Amandamccl

I love adding weights to my ab exercises but if I see somthing I like my dad builds me somthing kind of like it.. he made me an ab roller and a weighted ball

twintea

that is great - thanks- good to have an excercise set that I can take with me everywhere I go ...although with a lower back injury I have to be careful with crunches..... .....on another note I was just watching Dr. Phil and it is all about severe anorexia nervousa -WOW....:noway: to everyone on this stie I wish you to be healthy in your weight loss and lifestyle- eating and excersing and enjoying life and the results will happen one day and one pound at a time .....:happy:

stroutman81

In training for performance, I'd say crunches are far from the most effective for most sports. I'll stick with anti-rotation, anti-flexion, and core stability stuff long before you catch me crunching.

There's a healthy dose of research out there that suggests that crunches are contraindicated for spine health. I'm not sure I buy into that completely... but you can't categorize specific exercises as "most effective" or "least effective" without explaining what they are or aren't effective at?

There's no one perfect exercise for any given task.

mauryr

I'm with Krystonite... crunches hurt my back too, so I do planks (which hurt less) and the "captains chair", which is surprisingly effective.

ninerbuff

I just saw on the doctors after a research was done... between all the ab machines out there.. like the ab roller.. etc .. the most effective was crunches.. good ole fashioned crunches... wow Ive spent so much money on different things... crunches free.. go figure.. thought it was interesting

Good to see that "basics" is what builds good bodies. So many people want gimmicks. I posted this on another thread that you can get ab exercises for free, yet many want to pay money for a DVD.

nukehiker

steam engines are great too !! you say what are steam engines ? while standing up put your hands before behind your head, now twist your right elbow towards your left knee as you raise it with each rep.

End6ame

Actually the primary function of you abs is to stabilize your spine from the frontal plane while your back stabilizes it from the rear. When you take this into account, non flexing exercises are the “best” for training your abs, like planks/bridges. For flexing, I would vote for hanging leg raises (most people do these wrong) or even reverse crunches before standard crunches.

MelissaE27

This is from the doctors...This was just something I thought was interesting because of all the money people pay for items thinking this is the way.. but Everyone is different and likes different exercises.... just thought it was interesting is all By no means am I trying to tell people this is what you need to do


Dr. Sternlight hooks electrodes to Liz’s abdomen to measure her muscle activity in the three abdominal muscle groups; upper rectus abdominus, lower abdominus and external obliques. Liz tries the Ab-Roller Plus, Ab Coaster, Torso Track 2, a stability ball and a traditional crunch.

After compiling the correlating muscle activity data for each device that Liz tested, Dr. Sternlicht concludes, “For every exercise, we found that none of the activities were higher [for the device] than it was for the crunch exercise.”

stroutman81

That makes sense... there's definitely more to defining the efficacy of an exercise than surface EMG readings though. No offense to the docs, but it sounds like soundbite science to me.

Just trying to keep it real.

Thanks for sharing!

cjjones007

Carizma - I read your original post and appreciate that you were just sharing something you found interesting!!!

I would HOPE that everyone on the boards would take the time to do their own research based on "topics" they also find interesting...

I for one really appreciate you sharing the information you heard so that we too can look into it if we are not happy with the types of crunches we are doing!!!!

Thanks again for adding this content regardless of how others choose to react to it

ebramlett

Carizma - I read your original post and appreciate that you were just sharing something you found interesting!!!

I would HOPE that everyone on the boards would take the time to do their own research based on "topics" they also find interesting...

I for one really appreciate you sharing the information you heard so that we too can look into it if we are not happy with the types of crunches we are doing!!!!

Thanks again for adding this content regardless of how others choose to react to it

I 100% agree!

mrdavidjk

i heard that the bicycle maneuver was the best for a flat stomach as it targets the abs and the obliques

MelissaE27

i heard that the bicycle maneuver was the best for a flat stomach as it targets the abs and the obliques

Ohh yes I heard that's a good one to.. it makes you really sore which is awesome ..

TK421NotAtPost

You walk into a store, you see 8 minute abs sittin there, there's 7-minute abs right next to it. Which one are you gonna pick man???

stroutman81

Carizma - I read your original post and appreciate that you were just sharing something you found interesting!!!

I would HOPE that everyone on the boards would take the time to do their own research based on "topics" they also find interesting...

I for one really appreciate you sharing the information you heard so that we too can look into it if we are not happy with the types of crunches we are doing!!!!

Thanks again for adding this content regardless of how others choose to react to it

I can't help but feel like this post was directed at me and my posts. If I'm mistaken, please forgive me. If I'm correct, I just want to be clear in the fact that I try and provide objective, evidence based advice in all of my posts on this forum. If I'm speaking without evidence and solely from experience, I'll make note of this.

My posts were not a "reaction" to the information provided. I actually appreciate that the OP started this thread as well. It provided a stage so that we could hash out the topic of abdominal exercises - what's appropriate and what's not. It also highlighted how not everything you hear from doctors is correct when it comes to exercise.

I look at these forums as a place to discuss and even debate. It's a place to share opinions, experience, and evidence. Most importantly it's a place to learn.

If I start a thread about something I learned, and then others chimed in explaining how what I learned probably isn't correct, I'd be happy. I'm not married to any of my ideas.., I'm in this for personal success and the pursuit of truth in fitness.

Anyhow, I'm not trying to bicker and hopefully it's not coming across as that. I just wanted to make sure that it's understood... my "reaction" wasn't knee-jerk or emotional simply because crunches aren't my exercise of choice. I've investigated the available academic papers heavily regarding core exercises and figured I'd share what the research suggests. That's all.

Best to you!