Three of the most common flat ab exercises are the bicycle, leg raises on the captain chair and various types of crunches. The abdominal section of the body is made up of four major muscles including the transverse abdominals, the internal obliques, the external obliques and the rectus abdominals. These muscles work together to support the body’s trunk and to allow the trunk to move. They also play a vital role in a person’s posture. Unfortunately, this abdominal section is many times the most difficult part of the body to keep fit and trim. There are certain flat ab exercises that can be done to target the ab area and help create a flat stomach.
The bicycle is one of the flat ab exercises that can easily be done in the gym, or at the home. The exercise begins with the person lying flat on the ground. A mat can be placed underneath to provide more comfort. The hands can be used to help raise the waist off of the ground and the legs should be held up vertically. The legs should then be used to rotate in a bicycle motion and this exercise should be continued in one to three sets of fifteen repetitions as part of a complete ab workout.
A captain’s chair is a piece of fitness equipment that includes padded arms and allows the legs to swing freely. This equipment is a popular item found in most fitness centers and gyms. There is a wide range of flat ab exercises that can be completed on the captain’s chair, but the one that is best used as a flat ab exercise is the leg raise. This is accomplished by placing the arms on the arm rest and allowing the legs to hang straight down. The legs should then be bent and pulled up to waist level and held for five seconds and then slowly let down back into the hanging position. This exercise should be done in one to three sets of fifteen repetitions.
Another great flat ab exercise is any one of the various crunches that can be done. These exercises are geared toward creating a flat stomach. The basic crunch is done by lying down with one’s back on the floor. The legs can either be bent at the knees or left straight and the hands are placed behind the head. The head is then raised to about a forty-five degree angle and a pull should be felt in the muscles of the stomach area and then the head and shoulder are brought back down toward the floor. Many variations of the crunch are done as flat ab exercises like the vertical leg or the reverse crunch.
