Effective core strength training should include a set of challenging core exercises that give you a great ab workout. I’ve listed some basic movements below based on reports from ACE. ACE or The American Council on Exercise, is a recognized authority in the fitness industry, who conducted a study led by Peter Francis, Ph.D., determining 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.

While these exercises can be challenging, you should know that I consider them to be in the ‘beginner or basic category’.

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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, a 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.

As part of your core strength training routine, you can use the captains chair (sometimes called a Roman Chair) to perform leg raises, one of the best lower abdominal exercises. 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.

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 ab ball (often termed an exercise or stability ball) is a versatile and fun piece of core strength training fitness equipment. Not only are they commonly seen at public gyms and workout facilities, the workout ball can also be used at home as an effective part of your home gym. The most basic movement; 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

To change the level of difficulty, you can also come up higher when performing an exercise ball crunch, hold a weight in your hands or incorporate twisting or a medicine ball. If you decide to increase level of difficulty, remember using the ab ball correctly is more a matter of maintaining balance, stabilizing and holding correct posture while going through the pre-determined range of motion. These movements are a great way to start a basic core strength training program.

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