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The 7 Best Core Exercises For a Flat Stomach: ACE Ranks Bicycle Crunches Top For Abs
Posted: Dec 12, 2025 in In the News
This article originally appeared on World Day on December 21, 2025.
Your alarm rings 10 days before New Year’s. Instagram feeds flood with transformation promises. You want visible abs but don’t know where to start. The American Council on Exercise studied 13 ab exercises and ranked them by muscle activation. Bicycle crunches topped the list, engaging obliques and deep core more effectively than standard crunches. These 7 exercises target all three abdominal layers in under 10 minutes daily. But here’s what fitness ads won’t tell you: core exercises build strength and definition, yet visible abs require fat loss through diet and cardio. This isn’t spot reduction. It’s strategic muscle building paired with calorie deficit...
Research from the American Council on Exercise confirms exercises engaging all three layers simultaneously deliver superior core strength and injury prevention during compound lifts. Bicycle crunches ranked highest because they activate upper abs during the crunch motion, obliques during rotation, and transverse muscles maintaining stability. Side planks emphasize anti-lateral flexion, training obliques and deep stabilizers to resist side bending...
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