best ab exercises by activation

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Inside the Muscles: Best Ab Exercises(/training/inside-the-muscles-best-ab-exercises)by Bret Contreras (/all-articles/authors/bret-contreras) | 05/17/10

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Inside the Muscles: Best Ab Exercises | T Nation https://www.t-nation.com/training/inside-the-muscles-best-ab-exercises

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Tags: Abs (/all-articles/tags/ab-training)

Every guy has his own theory about which exercises are the bestand which exercises suck. Whether we're analyzing thebiomechanics of an exercise (not very likely), "feeling the burn"(more likely), or simply doing a ton of sets and seeing how sore weget over the next few days (ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!), weall think we know the best movements to grow our muscles.

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But do we really?Bret Contreras wants to take you inside your muscles—without thefreak accident that usually precedes such gross anatomy lessons—using EMG, a tool that measures how much muscle activity isgoing on with every movement you do.After testing a boatload of different ab and lower back exercises,he's here to reveal the best of the best.— Nate GreenEditor's Note: If you haven't yet read Inside the Muscles: BestShoulders and Trap Exercises (https://www.t-nation.com/training/inside-the-muscles-best-shoulders-and-trap-exercises) you maywant to give it a quick look as it'll clear up any questions you mayhave regarding electromyography (EMG) and the experiments. Youmight also want to read Inside the Muscles: Best Chest and TricepsExercises (https://www.t-nation.com/training/inside-the-muscles-best-chest-and-triceps-exercises), Inside the Muscles: Best Backand Biceps Exercises (https://www.t-nation.com/training/inside-the-muscles-best-back-and-biceps-exercises), and Inside theMuscles: Best Leg, Glute, and Calf Exercises (https://www.t-nation.com/training/inside-the-muscles-best-leg-glute-and-calf-


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exercises) as well.First, I apologize if I left out one of your favorite exercises. Don'ttake it personally. I performed these experiments in my garage, andwhile I have one of the baddest garage gyms in Arizona, I don't havea lot of machines. Furthermore, there are probably 200 different abexercises and variations that I'd need to test in order to pleaseeveryone, which wouldn't be feasible for a single experiment. Plus,I've had my fill of "crippled abs" and never want to go there again!I regret to inform you that I could only test four muscles at a timedue to the fact that the instrument I used to measure EMG activityonly has 4-channels. I'm also sorry I couldn't test more individuals.These experiments are very labor-intensive; in order to measureevery exercise on every muscle part using a variety of subjectswould be a project of colossal proportions. Just remember this:people are different, but not that different. What's true for me isprobably true for you.Finally, I'm not going to make any judgments regarding the safetyof any exercise. I realize that certain exercises pose greater risks tothe joints than others, but every guy has the right to train howeverthe hell he chooses. As lifters, we can choose to assume a lot of risk


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or little risk since we're the owners of our bodies.Oh, one more thing: good form, a natural tempo, and a full range ofmotion were always used in these experiments.Now that the pre-flight safety announcement list of warnings isover, let's get to it. Are you ready to get ripped-up abs and a stronglower back?

What You've Been Waiting For! The Exercises

Since this is a bodybuilding experiment, I used weight that was lightenough to allow me to perform at least five repetitions. The meannumber is on top and the peak number is on bottom. (If you don'tknow what I'm talking about, please read What Are Mean and PeakActivation? (https://www.t-nation.com/training/inside-the-muscles-best-shoulders-and-trap-exercises)

Exercise LowerRectusAbdominis

Internal s ExternalOblique

LumbarErector

Front Plank 22.433.5

31.242.6

21.726.7

2.85.8


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RKC Plank 88.0115.0

76.299.5

71.0104.0

2.95.4

35 lb Plate Squat 7.819.8

21.067.9

7.021.1

65.5137.7

Bodysaw 92.2188.0

105.0208.0

71.9143.0

4.415.0

Side Plank 33.148.8

52.477.6

57.673.8

18.829.2

Ab Wheel from Knees 103.0145.0

112.0184.0

63.497.2

4.910.6

Ab Wheel from Feet 103.0191.0

114.0220.0

90.0130.0

4.79.8

Lying Leg Throw 64.9116.0

69.8150.0

57.398.7

5.610.2

100 lb Suitcase Carry 13.231.2

21.433.2

46.785.5

65.6107.0

Band Pallof Press 6.811.5

16.827.1

29.644.3

22.532.5

120 lb Pallof Press 9.915.0

9.215.7

25.034.8

10.929.3


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90 lb Landmine 7.712.5

101.0154.0

18.126.3

99.0168.0

BW Tight Rotation 15.118.6

75.4133.0

35.863.6

49.666.0

10 lb Tight Rotation 13.517.3

64.2135.0

27.735.8

72.4130.0

10 lb Overhead TornadoTwirl

12.925.8

58.0104.0

29.752.0

85.4160.0

120 lb Half-Kneeling CableChop

27.268.2

60.4155.0

21.239.6

17.754.7

100 lb Half-Kneeling CableLift

6.08.8

83.4144.0

16.236.7

103.0248.0

10 lb Tornado Ball Slam 13.018.0

89.4187.0

28.753.1

77.8189.0

50 lb Turkish Get Up 31.0133.0

37.9138.0

38.5191.0

40.7139.0

BW Straight Leg Sit Up 78.2122.0

28.245.7

57.789.6

1.73.1

BW Hanging Leg Raise 124.0300.0

30.292.8

76.3163.0

4.26.9


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100 lb Crunch 55.383.2

28.845.2

40.780.5

9.523.0

50 lb Swiss Ball Crunch 102.0231.0

22.855.6

47.195.8

4.011.0

100 lb Side Bend 35.180.1

15.633.2

69.9108.0

41.060.8

BW Dragon Flag 56.1102.0

27.859.0

28.771.4

7.346.7

200 lb Farmer's Walk 13.234.0

8.919.5

5.915.6

24.841.2

Overhand SledgehammerSwing

34.871.6

20.341.6

43.277.7

27.764.3

Rotational SledgehammerSwing

12.246.8

17.760.2

14.729.6

28.752.1

BW Hand Walk Out 47.279.1

17.340.1

44.886.1

7.127.3

275 lb Parallel Squat 25.0103.0

8.216.0

8.417.2

75.5109.0

225 lb Front Squat 14.459.7

16.633.1

7.216.1

69.3140.0


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225 lb Good Morning 14.058.5

4.89.7

5.612.5

46.494.6

275 lb Zercher Squat 15.744.5

18.236.7

11.725.8

62.982.0

405 lb Deadlift 31.097.3

13.132.3

12.428.6

52.573.9

405 lb Hip Thrust 23.664.4

10.756.4

14.231.9

42.5122.0

60 lb Lumbar Extension 16.038.9

7.416.7

23.133.9

81.4172.0

10 lb Weighted Bird Dog 11.222.0

4.06.8

14.625.4

52.4112.0

100 lb 45 Degree Hyper 25.781.5

9.941.9

3.810.8

60.0132.0

100 lb Back Extension 28.484.3

18.849.9

5.710.4

63.7139.0

185 lb Bulgarian Squat 27.774.8

6.28.8

8.317.5

60.2107.0

90 lb Pendulum QuadrupedHip Extension

29.2119.0

5.06.9

9.115.2

56.9112.0


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BW Chin Up 249.0461.0

40.460.7

32.361.7

14.136.9

90 lb Chin Up 162.0301.0

51.173.6

42.165.1

14.229.8

135 lb Barbell Curl 18.592.7

19.136.2

10.018.4

71.4111.0

100 lb Cable TricepExtension

70.2148.0

32.562.8

34.171.7

8.313.6

100 lb Pullover 34.670.5

28.951.5

31.4102.0

19.075.2

BW Push Up 7.120.3

8.913.8

16.424.2

3.410.9

275 lb Bench Press (witharch)

2.94.7

9.125.0

8.018.8

50.393.5

45 lb Barbell Push Sit Up 19.436.9

18.548.4

63.6121.0

7.210.5

180 lb Reverse Hyper 3.511.1

9.438.2

6.511.5

98.6141.0

BW Reverse Hyper 2.532.4

4.116.2

10.614.9

78.8159.0


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270 lb Reverse Hyper 7.227.5

13.953.6

13.033.2

95.2150.0

The Winners

Based on this experiment, here are the top three exercises in termsof mean and peak activity for each muscle part:Rectus AbdominisMean: Chin Up, Hanging Leg Raise, Ab WheelPeak: Chin Up, Hanging Leg Raise, Swiss Ball CrunchInternal ObliqueMean: Ab Wheel from Feet, Ab Wheel from Knees, BodysawPeak: Ab Wheel from Feet, Bodysaw, Tornado Ball SlamExternal ObliqueMean: Ab Wheel from Feet, Hanging Leg Raise, BodysawPeak: Turkish Get Up, Hanging Leg Raise, BodysawErector SpinaeMean: Kneeling Cable Lift, Landmine, Reverse HyperPeak: Kneeling Cable Lift, Tornado Ball Slam, Lumbar Extension


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Can We Isolate the Upper vs. Lower Rectus Abdominis?

Since I could only test four muscles at a time, I opted to go with thelower rectus abdominis, external obliques, internal obliques, anderector spinae.Last year I conducted a test where I placed electrodes on the upperand lower rectus abdominis and the study proved beyond a shadowof a doubt that it is indeed possible to place more tension on theupper or lower rectus abdominis depending on the type of abexercise you perform. For example, shoulder-to-hip flexion (thinkcrunch) movements hit the upper abs harder than they work thelower abs, whereas hip-to-shoulder flexion (think leg raise)movements hit the lower abs harder.Below is an example from last year's study that illustrates thisphenomenon. Please note that the MVC for this experiment wasobtained by simply flexing the abs as hard as possible from astanding position, which explains the relatively large percentages.

Exercise Upper Rectus AbdominisActivity

Lower Rectus AbdominisActivity


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50 lb Weighted Swiss BallCrunch

438.0 mean %1205.0 peak %

136.0 mean %248.0 peak %

Lying Leg Throw 224.0 mean %474.0 peak %

273.0 mean %595.0 peak %

Advantages and Disadvantages

Some exercises have inherent advantages in terms of EMG activitywhile other exercises have inherent disadvantages.For example, weighted uni-planar isolation core exercises with highlevels of stability almost always equate to high levels of muscleactivation. Case in point: the weighted crunch. How could it notactivate a ton of rectus abdominis musculature? You're lying onyour back on a stable floor while isolating sagittal plane trunkflexion.On the flip side, total-body multiplanar integrated core exerciseswith a degree of instability sometimes equate to lower levels ofactivation. Case in point: half-kneeling cable chops and lifts. Theselifts are integrated diagonal patterns based on PNF principles thatteach the core how to produce quality movement that isn't specificto any single muscle.


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Although these total-body multiplain exercises don't necessarilyelicit high levels of core EMG activation, they're very worthwhilebecause they correctly train the stabilization and force transferringfunction of the core (as Gray Cook has touted for ages).A lot of guys need to get away from rectus abdominis dominance(trunk flexion, posterior pelvic tilting) in order to allow for the innercore unit to effectively perform its task of stabilizing the spineduring movement.Also, the external oblique activity of every rotational exercise was ata disadvantage because I placed the electrodes on the same side aseach other for each muscle tested. So I tested right-side externaloblique activity along with right-side internal oblique activity.Although both sides of the internal and external obliques are activeduring rotational exercises in each direction of rotation (right andleft), the external obliques are known to be more active in oppositeside rotation while the internal obliques are known to be moreactive in same side rotation.For example, a half-kneeling cable chop to the right would activatemore left-side external oblique and right-side internal oblique. SinceI tested both right-side internal and external oblique for each


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rotational exercise and failed to test the activity going in theopposite direction, external oblique activity may not be trulyrepresented for rotational exercises in this experiment. However,past research that I have conducted indicates that the differenceisn't as pronounced as one would think.Isometric core exercises have a distinct advantage for mean activitybecause there are no periods of reduced muscular activity at thestart or end of the repetition. The muscles are highly activated rightat the start until the end of the set.On the contrary, an exercise like the Turkish Get Up is at adisadvantage in terms of mean activity because the lift is socomplex and has so many phases that there are periods wherecertain muscles aren't working very hard, which reduces the levelsof mean activation.

Confirmations

The good ol' ab wheel

We've always known that crunches and hanging leg raises work aton of rectus abdominis muscle. Anyone who's performed a couple


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of sets of ab wheel rollouts can attest to the intense levels of rectusabdominis activity that are necessary to prevent the lumbar spinefrom extending throughout the exercise—and the soreness theyproduce the following day or two.

The bodysaw is similar to the ab wheel rollout in that it's ananti-extension core exercise that involves increasing the lever armthroughout the movement to place more tension on the core.Kettlebellers were right?!

The kettlebell community has praised the core-activating benefits of


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the Turkish Get Up (TGU) for many years. It's taken quite a while forsome strength coaches to catch on but nowadays most coachesare having their athletes perform the TGU in their warm-ups. TheTGU was the only exercise in this experiment that had over 100%peak activation in all four core muscles that were tested. Good jobkettlebellers!A final confirmation is the reverse hyper. Louie Simmons has beentouting its lumbar-targeting abilities for ages. He too was right—it'sone hell of an erector spinae exercise.

Surprises

A hardcore plank?

A while back a colleague of mine named Joe Sansalone taught mehow to do an RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) plank. Basically, hehad me get into my normal plank position and then madeadjustments. First, he had me place my elbows slightly further outin front of me and closer together to increase the lever arm lengthand reduce the width of the base of support. He then had meforcefully lock out my knees by contracting my quads.


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Finally, he had me contract my glutes as hard as possible to thepoint where my pelvis posteriorly rotated. These adjustments leftme quivering like a school girl. I highly recommend experimentingwith this new variation as it blows away the core activation of anormal plank. (In fact, I suggest you stop reading right now, dropdown to the floor, and try it for yourself.) Chalk up another one forthe kettlebellers! (See video at right.)Chin-ups for core strength?

Probably the most shocking result of this entire experiment was thelevel of rectus abdominis activity elicited by a bodyweight chin-up!It beat out any other abdominal exercise, weighted exercises andall, in mean and peak rectus abdominis activity.Chin-ups are ultimate "anti-extension" exercise for the low back.Some lifters let their lower back arch excessively, which is not onlyunsafe, but sub-optimal. If they brace their lower back and keep astraight line from their shoulders to knees, the core musculaturehas to work very hard to prevent the low back from extending.Another surprise was that using extra weight on chin-ups via a dipbelt didn't increase rectus abdominis activity—it lowered it. If you'reaiming to get a great core workout via chin ups, I recommend


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performing slow, controlled repetitions while focusing on keepingthe hips and spine perfectly neutral throughout the set.Another surprise is that sagittal plane anti-extension core exerciseswere the leaders in external oblique and internal oblique activity.Most individuals assume that frontal plane lateral flexion (think sidebend), lateral stabilization (think side plank) core exercises, ortransverse plane rotary (think woodchop) core exercises activatethe obliques the best.This is simply not true. If you look at the directions of the fibers,especially the external obliques, you'll notice that many have almosta vertical line of pull which lends support to the data.I was extremely surprised to see the results for the erector spinae.First, spinal rotation exercises were the leaders in erector spinaeactivity. It appears that even when rotating at the thoracic spine,the lumbar erectors have to work overtime to stabilize the spine.Louie Simmons has mentioned that using the grappler (like alandmine) will strengthen one's deadlift, and now we have someclear data as to why this would happen.More on the erector spinae: I was shocked to see such high levels ofactivation from the Bulgarian squat. I assumed that the reduced


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load in comparison to that used in a bilateral squat would greatlyreduce the erector spinae activity, but it appears that that notionmay not be true. The erector spinae activity was indeed reduced butnot by as much as I'd assumed.Another shocking finding was the low back activity of a heavybarbell curl. The barbell curl appears to be an excellent total bodylift when you factor in the upper back and biceps activity seen inthe third part (https://www.t-nation.com/training/inside-the-muscles-best-back-and-biceps-exercises) of this article series.Now you have some data to justify isolating your biceps via barbellcurls and no longer have to tell people, "I do them because JimWendler told me to."Very surprising was the fact that back squats, front squats, andmeasly plate squats activated more lumbar erector muscle thandeadlifts, good mornings, and Zercher squats. I would have neverguessed that. Arnold always felt that back squats were his bestlower back exercise; it looks like he might have been right.Finally, I was amazed that certain exercises that cause me to feel adeep burn in my core such as cable triceps extensions, dumbbellpullovers, and bodyweight push-ups didn't elicit much core


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activation. I would have guessed that these exercises would haveturned out higher levels for sure.

What If?

During experiments like these, one is often left with much curiosity.How exactly would all of the exercises fared had I placed theelectrodes in different areas. For example, what if I had positionedthe electrodes on the upper rectus abdominis as opposed to thelower rectus abdominis? How about the thoracic extensors asopposed to the lumbar extensors?Stuart McGill has stated in Low Back Disorders: Evidence BasedPrevention and Rehabilitation that the thoracic extensors areactually the most efficient lumbar extensors since they have thelargest moment arms and their tendons pass over the lumbarregion thereby giving them extreme mechanical advantages.To back this up, In Musculoskeletal Interventions: Techniques forTherapeutic Exercise, the authors state that the proportion ofcontribution during round-back lifting breaks down to 20 percentfor the multifidi, 30 percent for the lumbar erectors, and 50 percentfor the thoracic extensors.


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Had I tested the thoracic extensor activity of the same exercises inthe chart above, I have a hard time seeing how any exercise couldbeat out the deadlift and good morning in muscle activation.What if I had tested opposite directions in rotational movements?Would the activity in the external obliques been significantly higher?What if I had been able to test the multifidi, quadrati lumborum, andtransverse abdominis? Wouldn't that have been an extensive study?Oh well!All in all, it was still an extremely productive experiment, and there'salways time for more testing down the road. Clearly more researchis needed, as it's impossible to anticipate everything prior to anexperiment, no matter how prepared and organized you seem.

The Best Damn Core Workout

Based on the results of this experiment, I bet the following would beone kick-ass workout that'd target the abdominals, obliques, andlower back. Enjoy!

Turkish Get Up


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Chin Up, Hanging Leg Raise, or Weighted Swiss Ball CrunchAb Wheel Rollout, Bodysaw, or RKC PlankKneeling Cable Lift, Tornado Ball Slam, Landmine, or Reverse Hyper

05/17/10

(/all-articles/authors/bret-contreras)Bret Contreras(/all-articles/authors/bret-contreras)Bret Contreras is considered by many to be theworld’s foremost expert on glute training. Hehas turbo-charged the fitness industry byintroducing effective new exercises and training

methods for optimal glute development.Follow Bret Contreras on Twitter (https://twitter.com/bretcontreras)


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best ab exercises by activation

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