The Best Ab Workout in a Single Move

Oh I want great abs! How do I get them? Well, the truth is, great abs take a lot of work. You can have nice abs with just a simple routine, but if you want great abs, you need to work at it pretty hard.

This article will cover the best move for an all over ab workout which is especially good for beginners or for people who just want a nice set of abs. For more advanced individuals or those wanting killer abs, we will also cover some isolated moves to help you target in on each section of the abdominals.

It should be noted that you can't completely isolate any one section of the abs but you can target a section to get a better workout for that area.

The Bicycle: Remember that one from high school gym class? A study published in 2001 indicated the bicycle to be the best over-all ab workout. It works the whole of the abs, upper, lower and obliques all at once. This study was published by the "American Council on Exercise's Fitness Matters" and compared 13 ab workouts. Using the bicycle crunch was the best workout and recorded the greatest muscle activity of any of the other exercises. This means that the bicycle crunch is the best workout you can give your abdominal muscles. It's perfect for those just wanting a nice set of abs, but is vitally important to be included in your ab workout for the more advanced workout group. The study suggests that more advanced participants should use the bicycle crunch every other day and more isolated exercises the other days.

When doing an ab workout- just like any other body part- you need to create a varied routine and not the same exercises all the time. Some people like to change this up monthly or bi-monthly. If you're more advanced you probably want to change your routine bi-weekly.

The following exercises are good for intermediate to advanced trainers and do require the use of some equipment. This is a two month program. The exercises in month one should use heavier weights and lower reps. Month two consists of lighter weights and higher reps. This helps even out your program and builds endurance as well as strength.

Month 1: Low rep, high weights.
The first two require the use of an incline or a decline board. For beginners, the incline and decline board can be the same machine, it just depends on whether your body is in an incline position (head over heels) or a declined position (heels over head).

You should do 3 sets of 12 reps with as heavy weight as possible without becoming too fatigued.

Reverse crunch: Lower abs.

Decline crunch: Upper abs.

Oblique crunch: Obliques. Can also be done on a decline board if you're very advanced.

Month 2: High reps, low or no weight.
You should do 1 set of 25 reps.

Crossover Split-Leg Crunch: All abs.

Bicycle: All abs.

Crossover crunch: Upper, lower abs.

Hanging Leg Raises: Lower abs.

There are many ab workouts you can incorporate into this routine. The key is to vary your routine so your muscles don't get accustomed to any one routine. Keep them challenged, eat healthy and work hard and you'll get a set of killer abs.