According to Science — These Are the 5 Best Abs Exercises for You

I don’t expect 6-pack abs at my age, but any improvement would be a plus.

Photo by mr lee on Unsplash

I have a noticeable tummy. It’s rather bulgy. The rest of my body is slender and somewhat muscular yet the abs are lacking in firmness.

I’m sure part of it is my age — I’m well into the Third Third of my life. Another part, the women in my family typically carry their weight in their tummies. I guess it’s destiny.

However, I still work on firming the bulge a few times a week.

I've even found success with the 30-day plank challenge on an online site. I surpassed the 30 days, completing 40 days of planks. 

Part of the challenge was to hold the plank for 2 minutes. Of course, we work up to the 2-minute hold. I achieved the 2-minute mark on day 15 and continued adding seconds every day.

My abdominals ached after the first few days. On subsequent days I didn’t feel the workout as much. However, I know holding a plank for 2 minutes works more muscles than the abdominals. 

My triceps and shoulders felt the workout as well.

I found it surprising that the plank is not one of the top 5 abs exercises.

The exercises

1. Bicycles — The most challenging abs exercise for the rectus abdomini proved to be the bicycle. Lying on your back, you pretend you’re riding a bicycle. Place your hands behind your head, then bring your legs into tabletop — knees over hips, shins parallel to the floor. With your head in your hands, curl your head, neck, and shoulders up off the floor as you rotate your torso over toward your right leg and extend your left leg straight at a 45-degree angle — aiming your left armpit to the right hip. Reverse the movement to return to center, lower your head down, as you draw your left leg back into tabletop before switching sides.

2. Captain’s Chair —This is a gym exercise using the Captain’s Chair exercise equipment. It is a chair back with two handles, elevated above the ground, with no seat. Place your forearms onto the armrests of the chair and grip the handles with your legs dangling. Slowly tuck your knees in toward your chest. The motion should be controlled and deliberate as you bring the knees up and return them back to the starting position.

3. Crunches on an exercise ball — Lie back on a large exercise ball until your thighs and torso are parallel with the floor, feet flat on the ground. Cross your arms over your chest and slightly tuck your chin in toward your chest. Contract your abdominals and raise your torso up off the ball no more than 45 degrees. Spread your feet wider apart for better balance. To challenge the obliques, make the exercise less stable by moving your feet closer together.

4. Vertical leg crunch — Life flat on your back on a workout mat, interlace your fingers and place your hands behind your head, then extend your legs straight up toward the ceiling so your feet are over your hips. Keep your head heavy in your palms and curl your head, neck, and shoulders up off the floor. Make sure to keep your chin off your chest with each contraction, like you're pinning an orange against your chest.

5. Reverse Crunch — Lie flat on a mat with your lower back pressed to the ground. Put your hands behind your head or extend them out flat to your sides — whatever feels most comfortable — then extend your legs straight up toward the ceiling so your feet are over your hips. Contract your low abs to lift your hips a few inches up off the floor like you’re trying to touch your toes on the ceiling. Lower back down with control.

As the writer for the Well+Good newsletter, Rachel Kraus states — “the most effective abs workout is the one you’ll do consistently.”

The most efficient exercises should target all the different muscle groups in your abdomen: transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, pelvic floor, and obliques.

The exercises chosen were recommended by the biomechanics lab at San Diego State University. The lab tested 13 popular moves to see which ones challenged these muscles the most.

This was a fairly small study, performing tests on 30 men and women for one hour each. Still, the insights are valuable.

My experience

The bicycle exercise is one I have used for decades. My greatest problem with it is my neck begins to ache after a while. I persevere as long as possible. I do have achy abs the next day or two.

I have not tried the Captain’s Chair, and perhaps I will in the future. I have used an exercise ball in the gym prior to Covid, and I felt results from this one, too. 

The vertical leg crunch is one I used years ago and will give it a go. The reverse crunch is a great exercise, provided I place my hands under my tailbone to ease the stretch. This also proved successful for me.

The reverse crunch is another one I’ve used somewhat consistently. I tend to have lower back issues, so I place my palms on the floor under my tailbone. This helps release pressure.

Will I go back to my planks? Probably, but now I don't feel guilty when I don’t complete them, as they’re not in the top five.

Any exercise we do regularly is a plus. Our bodies love to move and stretch and be well-oiled, and what better way than to give them a workout?