activity in the various quadrants is
necessary to test the hypothesis put forth
Electromyographic
Analysis of Four Popular
Abdominal Exercises
Andrew W. Piering, BS
Alex P. Janowski, BS
Martin T. Moore, MS, ATC
Ann C. Snyder, PhD
William B. Wehrenberg, PhD
Abstract: This study was designed to
evaluate the effects offour specific sit-
up exercises on muscular activity ofthe
rectus abdominis. Pairs of surface
electrodes were placed unilaterally on
four quadrants of the rectus abdominis,
delimited by tendinous inscriptions, in
four male subjects. Electromyographic
(EMG) recordings were taken while the
subjects performed four different ab-
dominal exercises. Each abdominal ex-
ercise was hypothesized to have a
specific effect on one of the four quad-
rants of the rectus abdominis. The four
exercises analyzed were: I) long Kying
crunch, 2) bent knee crunch, 3) leg
raise, and 4) vertical leg crunch.
Analysis of the standardized EMG
recordings demonstrated no significant
differences in the mean muscle activity
between the four different quadrants, in
the mean muscle activity between the
four different exercises, and in interac-
tions between the exercises and the
quadrants of the rectus abdominis. We
conclude that none of the four ab-
Andrew W. Piering, Alex P. Janowski, and
William B. Wehrenberg are associated with
of the Department of Health Sciences at the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Mil-
waukee, WI 5321 1.
Martin T. Moore is a member of the Depart-
ment of Athletics at the University of Wis-
consin-Milwaukee.
Ann C. Snyder is a member of the Depart-
ment of Human Kinetics at the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
120 Volume 28 * Number 2 * 1993
dominal exercises studied are specific
for strengthening individual muscle
quadrants ofthe rectus abdominis.
In an attempt to enhance athletic
performance, scientists have
studied the relationship between
the effects of specific exercises, muscle
activity, and muscular development.
Several investigators have used
electromyography (EMG) in an attempt
to describe and evaluate the activity of
abdominal muscles during different
forms of exercise. In these studies, in-
creased electrical activity served as an
indicator of increased muscle ac-
tivity.4'7"14'2' To date, EMG evaluation
of the rectus abdominis muscle has been
limited to recording the activity of the
upper half (lateral to the linea alba and
superior to the umbilicus) and the lower
half (ipsilateral to the upper half and
below the umbilicus) of the
muscle,236"0'7 or recordings of the
whole muscle.8"2 The results of these
studies have suggested that certain sit-
ups affect the electrical activity of the
upper half differently than the lower
half.
EMG studies have not been under-
taken to describe and evaluate the ac-
tivity of the four quadrants of the rectus
abdominis, delimited by the tendinous
inscriptions perpendicular to the linea
alba (lineae transversae). These ten-
dinous inscriptions divide the upper half
into three quadrants, while the lower
half remains intact.9 Analysis of muscle
by trainers, conditioning coaches, and
popular fitness and conditioning publi-
cations that specific abdominal exer-
cises develop specific quadrants of the
rectus abdominis.13"16'20'22 The purpose
of the present study was to determine
the electrical (muscle) activity of the
four quadrants of the rectus abdominis
during four different sit-up exercises.
Materials and Methods
The study was reviewed and ap-
proved by the University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee Internal Review Board for
the use of human subjects. Four male
athletes of similar physical ability and
anthropometric characteristics per-
formed four different forms of ab-
dominal exercises. Subjects ranged
from 19 to 37 years of age and weighed
from 76 kg (167 lbs) to 92 kg (202 lbs).
Height ranged from 173 cm (69 in) to
190 cm (76 in).
The abdomen of each subject was
shaved and cleaned with alcohol prior
to electrode placement. We unilaterally
placed pairs of surface electrodes on the
four quadrants of the rectus abdominis
(Fig I). We placed the superior
electrode of the first pair 3 cm superior
to the first lateral tendinous inscription
on the right side of the rectus abdominis.
We placed a second electrode 2 cm
below the superior electrode. This
electrode pair measured EMG activity
in quadrant 1 or the upper quadrant of
the rectus abdominis. Placement of the
pairs of electrodes for the three lower
quadrants was standardized by palpat-
ing the tendinous inscriptions for each
quadrant and placing a pair of surface
electrodes equidistant between each
tendinous inscription (Fig 1). We took
unilateral recordings because it has
been reported that electrical activity
within the rectus abdominis muscle is
bilaterally equal.6 The muscle quad-
rants were labeled: 1) upper quadrant, 2)
upper middle quadrant, 3) lower middle
quadrant, and 4) lower quadrant.
We performed electromyographic
recordings using a DAS416 multichan-
nel digital data recorder, interfaced with
an IBM-compatible personal computer.
Software for signal acquisition and data
processing was developed by Technol- complete when the elbows contacted crunch, the legs were supported against
ogy Resource, Inc (Algonquin, Ill). the thighs. In exercise 3, the supine leg a wall perpendicular to the floor, plac-
Baseline recordings of the subjects at raise, the subject raised his legs off the ing the hips at 90' of flexion. The sub-
rest demonstrated integrated electrical floor while in a supine position, until 90' ject raised the upper body to a point at
activity in the rectus abdominis of 0. 15 of hip flexion was attained. The legs which the elbows came in contact with
mV. Therefore, an automatic trigger were then returned to the starting posi- the thighs. To control for varying
was established at 0.15 mV as the tion. In exercise 4, the vertical leg EMGs as a result of variable contraction
threshold for the onset of exercise ac-
tivity. Recording time of each ab-
dominal exercise was 3 seconds and was
controlled by an automatic timer. We
used four channels to obtain separate CHEST
recordings from each of the four quad-
rants of the rectus abdominis. Figure 2
illustrates a typical EMG recording
from the present study.
The four exercises analyzed were: 1)
long lying crunch, 2) bent knee crunch,
3) leg raise and 4) vertical leg crunch
QUADRANT1

QUADRANT 2
I'j - TENDINOUS
INSCRIPTIONS
(Fig 3). The long lying crunch has been I
proposed to exercise the upper quadrant -
of the rectus abdominis, the bent knee
crunch the upper middle quadrant, the QUADRANT 3
leg raise the lower middle quadrant, and
the vertical leg crunch the lower quad-
rant.'6'22 The athletes were familiar with
the four exercises. However, they did
not engage in regular training sessions
of these sit-ups. Exercises 1,2, and 4
were of the "shoulder lift" variety,
similar to the form studied by Halpern
QUADRANT 4
/I
a

zz'L) NAVEL

and Bleck.8 In these exercises, the sub-

ject raises the head and shoulders to a |~~~~~I. * :f'' I l I U I I' I'I
height sufficient to allow the inferior l_ ~ I I~ I -I IK I I
border of the scapula to break contact
with the floor. Uniform range of motion
for each subject during the long lying
crunch (exercise 1) was ensured by
using a restraining rod. For the bent Quad. 1
Limits at
4YY)2L.JE4 M....

knee crunch (exercise 2) and the vertical 1.2988 MV

leg crunch (exercise 4), the range of upper
motion was complete when the Quad. 2
subject's elbows contacted the thighs. Limits at _
V1(I'
1.8433 MV
Exercise 3 was of the "leg lift" variety. upmid ....... , Xl; lx.
I .................................. .................. .............. ...
Quad. 3'
Execution of Exercise Limits at _ _ _ '
In exercise 1, the long lying crunch, 0.9387 MV
the subject started from the supine posi- lomid .... .... ....
;.l ;.l... l.
tion and raised his torso from the exer- Quad. 4
................ .................................

cise mat to a point where the sternum Limits at t'4 0.0610VM

1.9287 MV ''' I"j-.
came in contact with the restraining lower ; SAWM2200
device. Exercise 2, the bent knee Test 2 From 1.1000 Sec. to 3.2700 Sec. Horizontal tics at 0.2170 Sec.
crunch, was performed in the same T CURSOR: 1.10000 Sec. SPREAD= 2 sams 0.00100 Sec TIME Mk= 0.00050 Sec.
manner as the long lying crunch, except
that the lower legs were elevated by a
standard exercise bench (51 cm in I sX X . -If-k
IZ
it- a >-
Gv} > . x K II
. tb < k S I--------
height), placing the subject's hips in 45'
of flexion. The range of motion was

122 Volume 28 * Number 2 - 1993

velocity and duration of contraction, the
sit-ups were performed to a specific
cadence such that each exercise was
completed in 3 seconds. This time in- START FINISH
terval was controlled by an automatic
timer.
EX 1: LONG LYING CRUNCH
Data Analysis UPPER QUADRANT
The integrated EMG depends on a
variety of factors which vary across
quadrants of the rectus abdominis and
by subject (eg, electrode impedance, EX 2: BENT KNEE CRUNCH
UPPER MIDDLE QUADRANT
distance between electrodes, relation-
ship of electrodes to motor points,
amount and location of subcutaneous
fat, etc).' To control for these factors,
the data were standardized. This in- EX 3: LEG RAISE
oii
volved expressing the integrated EMG LOWER MIDDLE QUADRANT
value for each electrode pair (quadrant)
on each subject as a percentage of the
highest integrated EMG for the four ex-
ercises within that quadrant. For ex-
ample, in subject 1, the highest EMG EX 4: VERTICAL LEG CRUNCH
LOWER QUADRANT
value for quadrant 1 was 0.234 mV
during exercise 3, while the EMG for
quadrant I during exercise 2 was 0.189
mV. Therefore, the standardized score
in subject 1 for quadrant 1, exercise 3 is
100%, while in quadrant 1, exercise 2, __11III1*111III11
it is 81%. Standardized data obtained
during the four abdominal exercises
were analyzed using a two-factor
ANOVA (exercise by quadrant). The
treatment effects represented repeated
measures in the same subject. The
ANOVA was adjusted for this as 2 100
described by Winer.'9 Differences were 0
tested at p<.05 level of significance. All E
x 80 -I
data are expressed as mean ±SEM.

w 60
Results 0
Regardless of the exercise, each of
the four quadrants demonstrated similar NI 40
muscle activity as reflected by stand- a
ardized EMG recordings (F[3,48]=1.0, < 20
a
p=0.38; Fig 4). Likewise, regardless of z
the quadrant, each of the four exercises
elicited similar muscle activity
(F[3,48]=1.26, p=0.30). QUADRANT QUADRANT QUADRANT QUADRANT
There were no significant interac- 1 2 3 4
tions between the four abdominal exer- SIT-UP EXERCISE
cises and the muscle activity of the four
quadrants of the rectus abdominis ,- e__...
(F[9,48]=0.86, p=0.86). The fact that I_____1
spillover or cross talk from other I= =.
muscles is minimal in the rectus ab-
dominis5 leads us to conclude that the
i='N "..i

124 Volume 28 * Number 2 * 1993

exercises studied did not specifically
increase the muscle activity in a given
quadrant.
Discussion
Popular fitness publications have
suggested that specific abdominal exer-
cises will develop specific quadrants of
the rectus abdominis and that a regimen
to increase the strength of the rectus
abdominis should include several ab-
dominal exercises. If this proposal is
correct, then each specific exercise
should elicit increased muscle activity,
measured by EMG, in the specific target
quadrant.t4 Our data demonstrate that
for the four abdominal exercises
studied, the standardized muscle ac-
tivity in each quadrant was not sig-
nificantly different, regardless of the
exercise. For example, exercise 1, the
long lying crunch, hypothesized to in-
crease electrical activity in quadrant 1,
did not significantly increase quadrant I
standardized electrical activity more
than any of the other exercises. In addi-
tion, the fact that no specific quadrant
consistently exhibited more electrical
activity than any other quadrant sug-
gests that there is not a rank order in
quadrant participation during any of the
abdominal exercises.
Other investigators have noted dif-
ferences in muscle activity between the
upper and lower halves of the rectus
abdominis while performing specific
abdominal exercises. 3, 1`.18 This dif-
ference might result from the fact that
the other studies divided the muscle in
half and compared the electrical activity
between the upper and lower halves,
while we divided the muscle into its
anatomical units' and compared the
electrical activity across quadrants.
Retrospective comparisons are not ap-
propriate because the abdominis rectus
was divided using different criteria.
126 Volume 28 * Number 2 * 1993
Surface electrodes are a valid and
widely used technique for estimating
EMG activity.25t ".15.2 1 An alternative
would be the use of fine wire or needle
electrodes placed directly into the
muscle. Fine wire electrodes are used
primarily to detect the electrical activity
within muscles that are deep to the sur-
face of the body or if significant spill-
over or cross talk from other muscles is
present. These are not of major concem
for the rectus abdominis.5 Furthermore,
fine wire electrodes would interfere
with the mechanical contraction of the
muscle during the sit-up exercises."1
We conclude that the four abdominal
exercises studied are not specific for
strengthening individual muscle quad-
rants of the rectus abdominis. From a
clinical or conditioning perspective, we
suggest that one exercise would train the
rectus abdominis as well as another, and
a training regimen employing all the
exercises is not necessarily needed.
Yet, the possibility still exists that the
evaluation of other abdominal exercises
and the refinement of the exercises used
in the present study might lead to iden-
tification of appropriate exercises to
strengthen individual quadrants of the
rectus abdominis.
Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. B. Hart for assistance
with EMG readings, and D. Priest of
Technology Resource Inc, Milwaukee,
WI, for technical assistance in perform-
ing this experiment. Research sup-
ported by NIH award K04 DK01874 to
WBW.
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