An ab roller is a piece of equipment for stimulating abdominal muscle growth or endurance. Looking like a wheel with a short stick or bar through the middle, an ab roller relies on your body's weight for resistance, allowing you to roll back and forth or up and down, depending on your starting and finishing position.
Start Slowly
If you are new to using an ab roller, start with simple exercises as your muscles get used to the workout. Instead of starting from a full plank position, similar to a push-up with your toes on the floor, start from a kneeling position. The farther forward you roll, the more difficult it will be to roll yourself back or bring yourself up, so start using a forward range that lets you return to your beginning position without fatiguing you after only a few repetitions.
Work Your Obliques
In addition to working the muscles in the center of your core area, an ab roller can help you work your oblique muscles, located on the side of your stomach area. To do this, you'll begin rolling forward from your starting position, then begin to turn the wheel and roll to the left or right, returning from that position. You can perform all of your repetitions for one set by going to the left, then complete another set going to the right, or you can alternate left and right rolls.
Vary Your Position
Even after you have used an ab roller long enough to begin with your body weight off your knees and rolling forward until your arms are fully extended, vary your starting position to create a variety of exercises. In addition to starting from a kneeling position, you can start from the classic push-up position, with your full body's weight off the floor, on your toes. You can also start from a standing position, bending over at the waist to grasp the handles of the ab roller, then rolling forward until you are completely stretched out. Return to your starting, standing position.
Don't Use Gravity
An ab roller will let you move forward using your body's weight and gravity, rather than your core muscles. To get the maximum benefit from using an ab roller, roll forward slowly, using your abdominal muscles to brake you into your stop; this will prevent you from simply rolling forward because of your weight on the wheel. Hold your finish for as long as you can to create isometric muscle contractions for a more complete workout.
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