Is An Ab Roller Better Than Sit Ups?

When it comes to toning your ab muscles, the Ab Roller is no more effective than a standard situp. There are a couple factors to consider, however. For one, at the time of publication, the Ab Roller costs $19.99 and regular situps won't cost a penny. On the other hand, if you have problems with your neck or back, the Ab Roller may help you perform abdominal exercises that you otherwise might not be able to.

Traditional Situp

The traditional situp is performed by lying down on your back, with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Tighten your abdominals so that your back is flattened down. With your hands crossed in front of your chest or placed behind your head, slowly curl your torso up toward your knees and focus on trying to bring your rib cage to your pelvis, until you reach your knees. According to the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning," a situp is virtually no more effective at strengthening your abdominals than a crunch. Once you go past the motion of a crunch, which is about 45-degrees, the muscles of your hips are used to bring you up to a seated position.

Ab Roller Situp

According to the official website, AbRoller.com, the Ab Roller is supposed to support your spine and neck while you perform various crunch exercises. The website notes that your spine naturally flexes in a curved motion and the Ab Roller, with it's curved, rocker design, facilitates this movement. The Ab Roller is also supposed to refrain your body from pivoting, so that you can have perfect form as you do your crunch exercises, enabling you to get the most out of your abdominal workout.

Traditional Situp Versus Ab Roller

The American Council on Exercise commissioned a study that found the Ab Roller to be insignificantly more effective as the traditional abdominal crunch. Peter Francis, Ph.D, et. al., took 30 healthy men and women with varying athletic ability and tested the effectiveness of various abdominal exercises. The results of the study showed that the Ab Roller was 1 percent more affective in activating the obliques and 5 percent more affective in activating the rectus abdominus than in doing a traditional situp or crunch. However, anything less than a 25 percent difference was considered to be insignificant.

Conclusion

With there being very little difference in the effectiveness of the Ab Roller versus the situp in activating your abdominal muscles, your choice of which one is better will depend on your ability. If you have problems with your neck or back, you may not be able to do a situp without excessive strain. In this case, the Ab Roller may be better for you.