Traditional exercises do not have a significant impact on abdominal peak force in healthy young adults.

The abdominals are vital to activities of daily living, for the prevention of lumbar pathologies, and during sport performance. The purpose of this study was to determine if training without external resistance was a sufficient overload to improve abdominal strength as defined by peak force. Seventy-one healthy men and women (age 19-40 years) participated in the 11-week study.