To find out the best core exercises for women

Carrying a child and giving birth does nothing for the core muscles.  It can destroy them if not tightened in preparation for the big event – pregnancy and childbirth.

Some ladies find it difficult to attend a gym so finding out the best exercises that can be performed with little to no bits of equipment is also useful information to know when strengthening the core.

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) sponsored a study a few years ago detailing what they considered to be the best core exercises.  Here are four of best.

The Bicycle Crunch

This was shown to be the best exercise for the stomach.  The study measured both the effect on the rectus abdomini and the obliques.

The ACE study found that this exercise yielded 148 percent more effect than a simple crunch on the rectus abdominus and a whopping 190 percent more effect on the obliques.

Captain's Chair

The Study found it to yield 112 percent more activity in the rectus abdominus than a simple crunch and a particularly excellent 210 percent more activity on the obliques.

The Reverse Crunch

This exercise has different effects on the two core areas targeted in the study.  

It was only 9 percent more effective than a simple crunch when considering the rectus abdominus so actually it is almost equivalent to a crunch for that area of the core.  On the other hand, when the obliques are looked at, the reverse crunch is significantly more effective (140 percent more, to be exact).

Crunch on exercise Ball

This is the fourth core exercise for women who want to strengthen their core muscles.

It was found by the ACE study to be 39 percent more effective on the rectus abdominus than a crunch without the ball and 47 percent more effective on the obliques.

These are four of the best exercises for the stomach.  Finding out the best core exercises for women is a great idea and will yield a world of results.