Despite their lack of high-tech features, abdominal exercise boards, also called slant boards, are brilliant in their simplicity. This "old-school" form of workout equipment facilitates abdominal exercise from and incline, decline or flat position. Altering the board's position either adds challenge to an easy abdominal exercise or provides assistance during more challenging exercises.
Decline Sit-Ups
Tight necks, back muscles and hip flexors interfere with optimal sit-up performance, but placing your head at the high end of an inclined abdominal board provides a viable solution. Incline the board and place it on the highest rung. Sit on the low end with your knees bent, your feet on the floor and your arms extended in front of you at shoulder height. Engage your abdominal muscles and slowly roll back until your head touches the board's upper end and then slowly roll back up to the starting position. Perform 15 repetitions.
Incline Sit-Ups and Oblique Curls
Sit-ups performed with your feet at the high end of the board challenge the abdominal muscles to work harder. Lay supine with your feet on the board's high end tucked under the foot pads. Extend your arms in front of you, engage your core and roll back until your head touches the lower end of the board. Perform 10 repetitions and then rotate your upper body to the right. Keep facing right as you roll back to the bottom of the board and then roll back up. Perform eight repetitions to the right and eight to the left. This exercise works the obliques, which run diagonally across the abdominal area.
Slant Board Reverse Curl and Leg Raise
The reverse curl, when performed with your head on the board's high end, causes the abdominals to work harder by making them work uphill. Lay supine with your head on the high end. Hold the foot pads to stabilize your body. Extend your legs toward the ceiling. Inhale to prepare. Exhale and engage your core muscles to lift your lower pelvis from the board. Inhale to return. Then, exhale and lower your legs toward the floor, keeping your lower back in contact with the board. If your back tends to arch, perform the exercise with your knees slightly bent.
Ball and Board Roll Out
The ball and board roll-out is a variation of the abdominal rolling machines sold on late night television. These exercises, performed in a prone position, engage the deeper core muscles to stabilize the spine. Using the slant board adds challenge to the exercise. Place an exercise mat in front of the board's lower end. Kneel on the mat, holding a medicine ball with the arms extended, and place the ball on the board. Inhale to prepare. Exhale and roll the ball up the board, keeping your spine in a straight line. Perform eight repetitions.
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