Best Ab exercise and its free..

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MelissaE27
MelissaE27 Posts: 682 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
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 :)
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  • ebramlett
    ebramlett Posts: 306 Member
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    Thats what I do, regular ole crunches. Legs straight, then legs leaning left, then right. It does all you'll ever need.
  • cjjones007
    cjjones007 Posts: 602
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    Tell me you don't just love that huh? Thanks for the info Mel!!
  • penny39
    penny39 Posts: 266 Member
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    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
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    Most effective for what?
  • krystonite
    krystonite Posts: 553 Member
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    I definitely like planks more. Crunches hurt my back. :(
  • RosiePie25
    RosiePie25 Posts: 26
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    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
    Chel702 Posts: 23
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    I do the 8 minute abs everyday...they are old fashion crunches :)) Thanks for the reassurance!
  • Amandamccl
    Amandamccl Posts: 380
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    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
    twintea Posts: 23 Member
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    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.....:smile: .....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
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    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
    mauryr Posts: 385
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    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
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,708 Member
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    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
    nukehiker Posts: 457
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    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
    End6ame Posts: 903
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    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
    MelissaE27 Posts: 682 Member
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    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
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    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
    cjjones007 Posts: 602
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    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
    ebramlett Posts: 306 Member
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    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
    mrdavidjk Posts: 105
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    i heard that the bicycle maneuver was the best for a flat stomach as it targets the abs and the obliques
  • MelissaE27
    MelissaE27 Posts: 682 Member
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    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 ..

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