Celebrity Trainer: The 3 Best Abs Exercises for Women

If you want to maximize your gym time, start doing these effective moves.

While sit-ups have been a long-standing staple in the realm of fitness exercises, they often get dismissed due to their potential for back strain and excessive focus on hip flexors rather than the abs. Thankfully, a host of other effective abs exercises can take center stage, providing superior benefits where crunches and sit-ups fall short.

Choosing the most effective abs exercise can be quite a dilemma, akin to making trainers pick their favorite child. But we asked them to do just that: if they could only ever incorporate one abs exercise into their routine, which one would it be? The following paragraphs reveal their top selections, which are guaranteed to transform your abs workout. Remember, these aren't random picks but the absolute favorites of seasoned fitness professionals.

Forearm Plank

Planks are incredibly versatile exercises that target not just your rectus abdominis (your "six-pack" muscles), but also your erector spinae (the muscles running down your back), glutes, quads, and deltoids, according to Racelle Reed, a training development manager at Pure Barre. This makes planks much more than just an ab workout. Stan Dutton, Head Coach for Ladder, adds that exercises like planks have been scientifically shown to promote lower back health.

Instructions for a forearm plank:

Deadlift

Dumbbell deadlifts are an all-around amazing workout. They're often associated with remarkable posterior-chain muscles, but they're also one of the most effective abdominal exercises for women. According to Cat Kom, founder of Studio SWEAT OnDemand, "When performed correctly, the deadlift is among the top exercise routines that not only strengthens and firms your core, but your entire body". This workout targets a wide range of muscle groups, including hamstrings, quads, back, shoulders, traps, glutes, and abs.

Ab Wheel Rollout

Regarded as one of the most effective products advertised on television, the ab wheel holds a significant place when it comes to core building exercises. "The ab wheel is an exceptional tool for developing a robust core," states Mary Nnamani, a professional trainer at Blink Fitness. "It triggers more muscle activity in your abs and obliques compared to any machine or floor abs exercises." Unlike traditional crunches and sit-ups, "it bolsters your abs and back while maintaining a neutral spine position," says Chris Matsui, C.S.C.S., head of Fusion Performance Training in NYC. "This is crucial since many of us are typically hunching over our desks all day." Below is the method to perform an ab wheel rollout:

TRX Reverse Crunch

For beginners, Joe Dowell, C.S.C.S. loves planks and Pallof presses on the cable machine. For people who are at a more advanced fitness level, he favors this hurts-so-good TRX move as one of the best abs exercises for women.

How to do a TRX reverse crunch:

Hollow Tuck Hold

"I like the hollow tuck hold more than a plank, especially for someone who doesn't know how to do a proper plank," says David Chesworth, fitness director at Hilton Head Health. "It's tough to do this one improperly without feeling it directly in the abs." (