The Ab Rocker is an abdominal machine that works your abs less than floor crunches do. This information was discovered through a study of abdominal exercises with and without machines conducted at San Diego State University, which was published in the May/June 2001 issue of "Ace Fitness Matters." Doing crunches with the Ab Rocker was shown to be 74 percent as effective in working the oblique muscles of the stomach as doing crunches on the floor; so if crunches aren't your thing, an Ab Rocker is an easy-to-use alternative.
Step 1
Place your head on the head cradle with your body face up. Press your shoulder blades into the floor and relax your neck muscles. Allow zero tension in your neck when using the Ab Rocker. Hold your arms up as if you are waving "hi" to your feet, and put your palms on the inside top portion of the metal frame. Grasp the padding with your arms in the same position.
Step 2
Tilt your pelvis up and pull your belly button in, using your abdominal muscles. Your lower back should flatten out. Keep your lower back in contact with the floor at all times. Bend your knees, and put your feet hip-width apart and close to your buttocks on the floor. This should help your lower back stay down.
Step 3
Rock your upper body forward slowly and with minimal arm pressure. Bring the head cradle and your shoulders completely off the floor. Move slowly so your abdominals get a chance to do as much of the work as possible. Hold yourself off of the ground for three seconds.
Step 4
Roll your body back to the floor as slowly as you can. Keep your lower back down, even when lying flat. This completes one crunch on the Ab Rocker. Do three sets of 20 or more repetitions until your abdominal muscles feel fatigued.
Tips and Warnings
- Ab exercises should make your abdominal muscles sore within a day or two of your workout. Increase your repetitions or sets if you are not getting sore. Or, slow down your movements and concentrate harder on using your abs instead of letting the curved frame of the machine account for most of the work. Although the upper body always does the same thing because that is the way the machine is designed, you can experiment with different leg positions. Alternately, place your legs straight; bend your legs with your feet together in a butterfly position; or hold them straight in the air. If you like the design of the Ab Rocker, the Ab Roller functions the same way but scored higher in the San Diego State study.
Things You'll Need
- Ab Rocker
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