Although it is possible to work your abdominal muscles with your own body weight and specific abdominal crunch exercises, there are several types of exercise equipment that can help you tone and strengthen your abdominal muscles. Whether you are working your abdominal muscles in your living room or in a gym, use exercise equipment that will help you meet your goals.
Benefits
Using exercise equipment to tone your abdominal muscles may help you keep your body in the correct position. Exercise equipment allows you to increase the difficulty of the abdominal exercises as you change settings or position yourself differently, according to the American Council on Exercise. Performing the exercises correctly targets the region effectively, making the best use of your time and effort. Additionally, when you combine your diligent abdominal workouts with regular heart-raising cardiovascular exercises, you can lose weight, excess fat and often reduce your overall waist size.
Captain's Chair
If you have a multi-gym at home or work out in the gym, you most likely have access to a captain's chair. The American Council on Exercise ranked the simple captain's chair exercise as the second most effective abdominal exercise for your rectus muscles and first for engagement of your oblique abdominal muscles. Step up onto the foot rests of the chair. Wrap your hands around the handles, keeping your wrists and forearms flat on the cushioned arm rests. Engage your abdominal muscles while moving your feet off the foot rests. Press your back firmly against the cushioned back rest. Lift your legs away from the captain's chair, bending your knees as you lift. Pause at the top of your lift, and slowly straighten your legs back to their starting position. Repeat eight to 10 times.
Stability Ball
The large stability ball is an ideal piece of exercise equipment for performing abdominal exercises. Inexpensive, adaptable and effective, the stability ball allows you to perform a wide variety of abdominal exercises helping you avoid boredom while targeting different muscle groups. Perform traditional and oblique crunches on the stability ball. Expand the the exercises by beginning the crunch with your back more arched over the ball and your head closer to the ground once you are able to easily perform 20 traditional crunches. Lay flat on your back on the floor, and squeeze the ball tightly between your knees and lower your legs. Place your arms away from your sides for stability and lift the ball toward your head with your legs.
Incline Weight Bench
An incline weight bench is not just for lifting barbells and dumbbells. The incline feature of the bench makes it ideal for challenging abdominal exercises. Straddle the bench with your chest facing the foot supports. Bring your feet onto the bench, and secure them under the foot support. Slowly lay back onto the bench. Adjust your body until your knees are slightly bent. Place your hands on the back of your head so your fingers are touching but not laced together. Engage your abdominal muscles and raise your upper body off the incline bench. If you are just beginning this exercise, lift just a few inches off the bench until you are strong enough to lift your upper body further.
Member Comments