As a trainer, I’ve often been asked, “What’s the best six pack abs exercise?” This is a tough one, because while there are certainly exercises that are more effective than others, there is no single, end-all best move. With the abs—because they are such a large and versatile muscle group—a variety of flexion and stabilization work is key to improving all around strength and tone.

If you’re looking for a simple yet effective at home abs exercise, give the bicycle crunch a try. More effective than a standard crunch because it targets the obliques as well as the rectus abdominis, it also allows you to work the upper, middle, and lower fibers of your abs all at once. Bicycle crunches can be effective at almost any pace; so mix up faster and slower repetitions within a single set to keep your muscles guessing.

A couple of things to keep in mind when performing bicycle crunches: first, you’ll want to keep your arms bent, with fingers resting behind your head for light support. Do not use your hands to pull your head up, or from one side to the other. This will result in a much less effective six pack abs exercise, and probably quite a bit of unnecessary neck strain. Also, try to turn your whole torso—head included—as you twist up toward each side. If you try to always be looking at the elbow moving toward the ground, you’ll be successful in this, and make the exercise more effective than it otherwise would be.

Medicine ball crunches with a partner are another of my personal favorite six pack abs exercises. Adding weight and intensity (by having to throw, reach, and catch the ball, all while keeping up a tempo with regular crunches) makes your abs muscles work harder than crunches alone. We know that the best way to increase size and improve tone with any other muscle group is to work it against resistance; and the abs are no exception. If you’re looking for stronger functional and better looking abs, a heavier challenge is the way to go.

Along the same lines, there are a number of cable exercises that really target and work all of your abdominal muscles. Wood chops are an abs-specific exercise; but any other strength training move you perform with cables can easily be turned into a six pack exercise just by thinking about keeping your abs working and contracted. Cable chest presses or flies, for example, aren’t necessarily abdominal exercises; but they can certainly give your abs a great workout with a little extra concentration.

So there you have it. There are a number of abs-specific exercises—weighted or non-weighted; flexion or stabilization based—that you can use to help strengthen and tone your midsection. But abdominal strengthening should never be limited to isolation exercises alone. With a bit of concentration and extra mental effort, you can turn a lifting move for almost any part of the body into a great six pack abs exercise. So stand up straight, suck in your gut, and get to work. Your six pack is just waiting to be shown off.