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In response to this answer, I was curious what exercises specifically target the abdominal muscles. Answers given so far include:
My question is two-fold:
Probably the biggest problem with the age old crunch is that it is not functional. The crunch flexes the trunk and primarily targets the rectus abdominis, not the transversus abdominis or the obliques. If you want a flexed trunk when you stand up then doing lots of crunches will give it to you.
However, if you want an elongated mid section with strong abdominal muscles creating a solid core and support for your abdomen then you want to use postural exercises such as the plank, progressing the length of time you are able to maintain the hold, which translates into functionally controlling the torso. Also, by drawing your navel in towards the spine with these types of exercises you target the transversus abdominis which flattens the abdominal wall more than other ab muscles. The transversus is especially important in lifting.
If your goal is to have 6 pack abs then you need a low percentage of body fat which is generally achieved with diet, HIIT and strength training to burn calories.
Some suggestions of other good abdominal exercises that carry over into improved posture and function are: The plank, side plank, bird dog, progressing to dynamic control with dying bug, knee tucks on a swiss ball or swiss ball roll outs. Using resistance bands helps to target the obliques.
Some of the more advanced versions of leg raises are:
And when you get strong enough, you can do weighted versions of these. You can use a dumbbell in between your feet for the weighted version, just be careful though.
The problem with crunches is that they aren't very effective for the purposes that most people choose them:
Someone above described planks as a "postural exercise". That might be true in theory, but in practice it is a different matter. Visit your typical gym and just watch the people doing their planks. They are all doing terrible things for their posture. Their scapulas are winging, their thoracic spine is going into kyphosis (hunchback), and their cervical spine is protracted (forward head posture). This is especially the case when people try to do planks for a maximum amount of time, which is fashionable on facebook and youtube.
If you are going to do planks, have someone watch you and adjust you and keep you honest. Once your form shows any sign of deterioration, stop. After that point, you will just be imprinting bad posture into your nervous system (engram).
I don't do ab exercises yet I can see my abs. What I do targets them indirectly, squats, dead-lifts, standing shoulder press, shrugs, etc. For the little time I have to train, 2 for 1 (ie full body exercises) is the best way to go.
