The Exercise For Abs Authority

ACE or The American Council on Exercise, a recognized authority in the fitness industry, conducted a recent study led by Peter Francis, Ph.D., to determine the best exercise for abs.  Of the exercises they studied, there were the top three most effective exercise for abs were the bicycle movement, captain’s chair, and the exercise ball crunch respectively.

The captains chair is a piece of commercial gym equipment that is often, but not always, designed to allow the user to perform a variety of body weight exercises.  It’s basically a large metal frame designed for pull-ups, tricep dips, and leg raises.  There are a few variations in design of the captain’s chair, so if you’re looking for it at the gym and you don’t see one similar to that in the demonstration photo, then look for a similar piece with an overhead metal brace that would allow you to do pull-ups on it.  Another variation of the captains’ chair replaces the flat pad you normally lean against with a bosu ball to provide additional support to the lumbar spine.

When focusing on the abs, you can use the captains chair (sometimes called a Roman Chair) to perform leg raises, one of the best lower abdominal exercises.  Leg raises is the second best exercise for abs as determined by ACE.  Beginners often start out by doing leg raises with knees bent, or by raising one leg at a time.  If you are more advanced, you can keep legs straight throughout the entire movement and you can also twist during the movement.  Whichever exercise you choose, they are all excellent lower abdominal exercises.

To use the chair effectively, maintain neutral posture while supporting the upper body with forearm pads.  Proceed to follow the instructions below:

1. Stand on foot rest and position arms, bent at 90 degrees, keeping shoulders down and back while grasping handles to stabilize your upper body.
2. Lean back against support pad and allow legs to hang below you while maintaining the natural curve of your spine.
3. In a slow, controlled movement, contract the abs and raise your legs keeping knees bent at 90 degrees.
4. Slowly lower legs down and repeat 5-15 reps.

You can also perform an isometric abdominal contraction by holding either bent or straight legs in the raised position for a previously determined interval of time.  Just another one of the challenging lower abdominal exercises you can do using a captains chair.

Lower Abdominal Exercises 1

Lower Abdominal Exercises 2

Lower Abdominal Exercises - Twist

The exercise ball is piece an excellent piece of fitness equipment because while it is commonly seen at public gyms and workout facilities, it can also be used at home and be just effective.  Fitness balls are also a great tool to strengthen abs and improve balance which is probably why they ranked third in the study for best exercise for abs. Exercise ball crunches can be done by following these steps:

1. Lay face-up and place the ball under your mid/lower back.
2. Cross your arms over the chest, to support your neck, place arms behind your head.
3. Contract your abs to lift your upper back a 4-6 inches off the ball in a slow, controlled manner.
4. As you curl up, keep the ball in one place & try not to push yourself up with your legs.
5. Lower yourself down slowly and repeat for anywhere from 10 -25 reps.

Exercise For Abs 1

Exercise For Abs 2

Although you don’t need to, you can also come up higher when performing an exercise ball crunch.  Using the ball correctly is more a matter of maintaining balance, stabilizing and holding correct posture while going through the pre-determined range of motion.

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The only way to reduce body fat and show off all the time you’ve spent toning abs is by following a well rounded, three pronged fitness program including cardio, resistance training, and nutrition.  Burning fat requires a calorie deficit which should be attained by eating healthy, ‘clean’ foods that will give your cells the nutrients they need to function at optimal levels.

If you have extra body fat over your abs, then there is no exercise for abs that will make make that fat disappear.  While a good exercise for ab routine will increase core strength and possibly result in a toning of the abs underneath the excess fat, there is NO exercise for abs that will miraculously burn off the fat of your stomach.

Purchasing the right foods at the grocery store will help you get on the path to clean eating, proper  nutrition, and with proper portion control will result in a visible toning of the abs.   Use this shopping list as a checklist to ensure you have nutritious, wholesome foods in your kitchen when it’s time to prepare a meal or snack.

Protein	Carbohydrates	Fat
Buffalo Cod Crab/Lobster Egg Substitute Egg Whites Extra Firm Tofu Flank Steak Free Range Egg Whites Fresh Fish Lean Ground Beef Lean Ground Sirloin Lean Pork Lean Sirloin Steak Lean Turkey Products L.F Cottage Cheese Ostrich Salmon Shrimp Skinless Chicken Breast Soy Products Protein Powder Swordfish Tuna Turkey Breast Whey Protein Powder	Baked Potato Barley Brown Rice Corn Old Fashioned Oatmeal Pumpkin Spinach Pasta Squash Strawberries Sweet Potato Wheat Pasta Whole Grain Pasta Whole Grain Tortillas Whole wheat bagels Whole wheat bread Whole wheat English muffins Wild Rice Vegetables Asparagus Beans (black, navy) Bell Peppers Broccoli Broccoli Slaw Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Cole Slaw (dry) Cucumber Garbanzo beans Green Beans Green Peppers Kale Lentils Lettuce Mushrooms Onions Snow Peas Spinach Tomatoes Zucchini	Almond Butter Canola Mayonnaise Cold water fish Flaxseed Oil Flaxseeds Free Range Egg Yolks Natural Peanut butter Olive oil Olives Peanuts Safflower oil Sunflower Oil Tahini Walnuts Fruits Apples Apricots Blackberries Blueberries Clementine Grapefruit Mango Melon Orange Peaches Raspberries Strawberries

Stocking your kitchen with foods packed with vitamins, nutrients, and fiber, makes it much easier to stay focused on your eating plan. Instead of filling your pantry with “junk”, use this list as a guideline to providing healthy alternatives.  It will make every exercise for abs you do more effective and give you visibly noticable returns ie: toning abs.

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