Most people can tell you, off the top of their head, at least a couple of types of basic ab exercises, but they couldn't begin to advise you when the best time to perform them would be or how many of them should be performed at a time. Most people think in "the more the merrier" terms when it comes to these exercises. 100 sit-ups has to be better than 10, right? In most cases, this is actually wrong.

You can get great results from training with ab exercises, but you have to understand how they work so you can incorporate them into your overall training program effectively. The following simple guidelines will help you understand ab exercises better so you can use them more effectively:

The types of ab exercises you use and how you perform them depends upon your fitness goals. A professional athlete will have different goals than someone just trying to take off 10 pounds of baby weight, so they will have different requirements for their exercises (abs and otherwise). One shoe does not fit all in this case.

In general, it is best to work your abs in a very slow, deliberate manner so you can feel the isolation of the muscles. This will strengthen them so they function better in general.

Unless you're performing specific core movements within a circuit style format or using a program designed specially with core exercises for sport specific reasons, Ab exercises should be performed at the end of your workout or by themselves at a time you are not doing other workouts. This will keep the ab muscles strong to work at stabilizing and supporting the body during the other movements. You can then fatigue the abs by doing your ab specific movements at the very end.

You don't need to perform ab workouts every day of the week. This is overkill! As long as your ab exercises are challenging enough, you can do them 2 or 3 times a week and get great results.

There are three different muscle groups in the abdominal section of the body and your workouts should target all of them. Some exercises should focus on the upper abs while others focus on the lower abs or obliques. Learn what muscles different ab exercises tackle and mix them up so you target all the muscles in each challenging ab workout.

For general health and fitness you should train your muscles in the way they move actively during the course of daily life. For sports training you should train them to be efficient and strong with movements related to your sport.

If you take nothing else away from this, remember that the "more the merrier" thinking does not apply to ab exercises. 100 crunches is not better than 10 if the extra 90 are in poor form. You will see better results if you do your exercises with proper form, even if that means performing a lot less reps.

The ab exercises you perform, the number you perform, and when you do it may be very different from the program others follow. Exercise is an individual journey that you should explore for your own needs, not someone else's. Remember, this is not a competition or a race.