Carve that Six Pack with an Ab Machine

Ab Benches

These benches are placed on an incline or adjusted so that the user will have to lie on the bench upside-down with feet secured on foot cradles or around a padded bar. Ab workouts will be a lot more intense when you do sit-ups on these. The bench can be adjusted to suit the resistance level of the sit-ups, the more inclined it is, the greater the resistance level and the more challenging the core workout will be.

Ab Balls

Ab balls are ab machines that have versatility in it. They are big inflated exercise balls that are used for different core workout exercises. You can sit on the ball doing sit-ups or crunches, lie across it, or support your upper body with it while your lower body is left to support itself. These ab balls are sometimes partnered with dumbbells so the user can exercise with added weight resistance.

Ab Twisters

Ab twisters force the user to crunch and turn at the same time, thus strengthening the abdominal muscles and the side muscles of the stomach or obliques. There are different designs of this particular machine, but the main purpose is to create a twisting motion while supporting the body’s weight. But you should be careful not to hurt your spine while performing exercises on this kind of ab machine as it can lead to slipped discs or other types of back discomfort. It’s better to ask the help of a fitness trainer or instructor to guide you in properly using the machine.

Ab Wheels

Ab wheels are as simple as an ab machine could get. It looks like a BMX bicycle wheel only that it’s smaller and has long horizontal bars for handles. Ab wheels are also called as ab rollers since it’s rolled on the floor or at a wall to make it work for your abs. The ab roller gives pretty intense resistance level to your abs that could wear you out when you’re just starting your ab workout.

Roman Chairs

This piece of equipment is a hybrid of the ab bench and is also known as the hyperextension bench. Roman chairs are not only for your core workout but can help your back as well as your legs for strength, stability, and back pain. It has two pads that are on unequal heights. The higher part is large enough to support your hip region, and the lower one is smaller to hook on for leverage of your legs. You can work on your core here by lying down on your back with legs being supported and do all sorts of exercises including sit-ups and crunches.

There are still a lot more ab machines out there. But always keep in mind that whatever kind of ab machine you buy for your home gym must be something that suits your daily workout routine and is flexible enough to be used for other exercises.

Targets all of your abdominal muscles

The best ab machine should be able to target all of your abdominal muscles, including oblique muscles for higher efficiency of the exercise. Your obliques are the group of muscles surrounding your abdominal muscles that make up your six-pack. An ab machine should target all the muscles in your abdominal area and not just on specific ones. You should be able to get as much as you paid for the machine. Do some research first before your hands dive into your pocket.

Comfortable

You must be comfortable in using the machine. It would be permanently in your home gym, and if it doesn’t make you comfortable chances are you’re going to ditch it. A perfect way of wasting money. If you could visit your local fitness centre or gym that would be better. You can try out the ab machine you’re eyeing on purchasing there and test drive it. See if it is suited for you. If not, you could contact us, and we’ll be sure to get the best ab machine for you.

Back Protection

Since working out your abs can be a little taxing to your back, especially your spine, you should ensure that the machine you purchase has back protection capabilities. Ab machines that can give you back pain is not a good fitness investment. It would be best to find ab machines that are ergonomic because they are designed to protect any part of your body that the exercise that it impacts on.

Expert Advice

Go to a fitness instructor or expert in your local gym to ask for the expert’s advice on what types of ab machines can best suit you. You could also reach us at our contact’s page and ask one of our fitness experts on the best ab machine for you.

Train your abs like a muscle

Most people think that toning your body is more on the frequency and less on the quality. But that’s not true. Your abdominal muscles are exactly like that, muscles. It also has its limits. So train it gradually to extend its limits, and not overuse it to avoid causing major trouble to your muscles. Do not forget to let your body rest. Let your muscles rebuild itself first so that you can gain more muscle mass for a more robust ab exercise,

Static holds for core stability

Muscles have slow-twitch and fast-twitch tissues that are activated by exercise. Holding yourself for a time on the machine uses both sets of fibres. You then improve the overall strength of your muscles that are used to stabilise your lower back and hips in one exercise.

Target your lower abs

The lower section of your abs is the hardest to hit when you do ab exercises, and only a handful of activities can target this area. So include in your core training specific exercises that target your lower abs since getting a six-pack means developing your 4-pack at the top and 2-pack at the bottom.

Get your diet right

Exercising on your ab machine alone cannot get you to your six-pack goal. You have to watch your diet and pack in protein and all the nutrients you can get to continue working out like a pro. In all of our endeavours in exercising, watching our diet is sometimes the last thing we think of. Allot time to research on how to get your diet right not just for core training, but for all the workouts you would want to do.