Top 10 Most Effective Ab Exercises
By Paige Waehner, About.com Guide
Updated September 23, 2012
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board
The Torso Track comes out as number 5 for effective ab exercises, but this is one of my least favorite exercises because it can cause lower-back pain, particularly if you roll out too far. In fact, in the ACE study, researchers found that a significant number of subjects reported lower-back pain, so you may want to skip the expense, and discomfort, of this one and choose other exercises that can target the abs with equal effectiveness.
How to:
- Grip the handles of the Torso Track and pull the abs in without holding your breath (as though bracing them).
- Exhale and glide forward as far as you comfortably can.
- If you collapse in the middle and feel it in your back, you've gone too far. Shorten your range of motion as needed to protect your back.
- Contract the abs to pull your body back.
- Add tension by using more tension chords.
If you don't have a Torso Track, you can substitute by trying the ab roll out on the ball.
View this exercise in the Best Ab Workout.
Next: Long Arm Crunch
