The Gold's Gym Ab Roller is an in-home abdominal training device. The Ab Roller will not melt body fat off of your stomach area -- you need to follow a complete exercise and nutrition program to lose weight and lean down, but you can do several different styles of crunches with the Ab Roller to strengthen different areas of your core.
Identification
The Gold's Gym Ab Roller consists of a curved, metal frame with a padded headrest and foam handles. Relax your head on the headrest and hold the metal frame above your head. As you curl up, the device rolls with you, supporting your head and neck throughout the movement. On the back of the headrest is a spring. If you are a beginner, use the spring to provide a boost as you begin the crunch.
Crunches
In a study that pitted the Ab Roller against six other commercial abdominal machines, reported in the February 2006 "Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy," the subjects performed the basic crunch on the Ab Roller. Electromyography equipment measured the activity in the rectus abdominis, which is the main ab muscle. The Ab Roller rated fourth out of seven devices.
When doing the basic crunch on the Gold's Gym Ab Roller, place your feet flat on the floor and rest your hands against the metal frame. Do not push with your hands, because this minimizes the work your abdominal muscles do.
Oblique Crunches
You can also use the Gold's Gym Ab Roller to target your obliques, or side abs. Start in the basic crunch position and then drop your knees to one side. Keep your legs in this position as you crunch. When you finish with all the repetitions on one side, drop your knees to the other side and repeat. As with the regular crunch, keep your head on the headrest and do not push with your hands.
Advanced Crunches
You can do several advanced crunch exercises on the Gold's Gym Ab Roller. Instead of relaxing your feet on the floor, hold them a few inches off the floor as you do a standard crunch. Straighten your legs and hold them at a 45-degree angle to the floor for a more challenging exercise. You can also pull your knees into your chest as you crunch up, performing a double crunch on the Ab Roller.
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