Some redditors took the data from the Inside the Muscles – Best Ab Exercises article and put it into some useful charts.
The Winners by mean and peak activity for each muscle part
Rectus Abdominis
Mean: Chin Up, Hanging Leg Raise, Ab Wheel
Peak: Chin Up, Hanging Leg Raise, Swiss Ball Crunch
Internal Oblique
Mean: Ab Wheel from Feet, Ab Wheel from Knees, Bodysaw
Peak: Ab Wheel from Feet, Bodysaw, Tornado Ball Slam
External Oblique
Mean: Ab Wheel from Feet, Hanging Leg Raise, Bodysaw
Peak: Turkish Get Up, Hanging Leg Raise, Bodysaw
Erector Spinae
Mean: Kneeling Cable Lift, Landmine, Reverse Hyper
Peak: Kneeling Cable Lift, Tornado Ball Slam, Lumbar Extension
Sorted by activation (click to enlarge)
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| Best Abs Exercises sorted by Muscle Activatio |
As a ratio of average (click to enlarge)
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| Best Abs Exercises sorted by Ratio of Average |
Actual value (click to enlarge)
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| Best Abs Exercises sorted by Actual Value |
Really interesting. It's too bad gymnastic exercises like planche, front lever, back lever, flag, L-sit, freestanding ring handstands, etc weren't up there. I'd like to see how they compare to the exercises used here.