A recent study lead by Peter Francis, PhD, director of the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University, looked at a variety of common abdominal exercises in order to determine what really works. The study looked at 13 abdominal exercises, ranging from the traditional crunch to more complicated activities, using at-home and gym equipment. Each of the 13 exercises was ranked for muscle stimulation (measured with EMG) in the rectus abdominus (the long, flat muscle extending the length of the front of the abdomen) and the internal and external obliques (the long, flat muscles extending along the sides of the abdomen at an angle).
Best to worst exercises for strengthening the rectus abdominus:
- Bicycle maneuver
- Captain’s chair
- Crunches on exercise ball
- Vertical leg crunch
- Torso Track
- Long arm crunch
- Reverse crunch
- Crunch with heel push
- Ab Roller
- Hover
- Traditional crunch
- Exercise tubing pull
- Ab Rocker
Best to worst exercises for strengthening the obliques:
- Captain’s chair
- Bicycle maneuver
- Reverse crunch
- Hover
- Vertical leg crunch
- Crunch on exercise ball
- Torso Track
- Crunch with heel push
- Long arm crunch
- Ab Roller
- Traditional crunch
- Exercise tubing pull
- Ab Rocker
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