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Best Ab Exercise Equipment
Finding The Best Ab Exercise Equipment
If you lose body fat and build muscle, you'll certainly improve the look of your body. However, to really complete your physique you need to have defined abs. The abs are the centerpiece of the body, and they will catch the eye of the opposite sex if they are tight and defined. Without a doubt, nothing says that you exercise and eat right more than having a ripped midsection.
When you start working out, you won't get six pack abs overnight. It takes dedication to a diet and exercise plan to develop your abdominal muscles and get rid of any extra body fat that's covering them up. It may take some time, but it will be worth it when you reach your goal.
You can opt to train your abs at a gym, but there are many people who would rather exercise them at home. Those who would rather train their as at home should check out the best ab exercise equipment. When you have the right equipment to train your abs intensely, you'll put yourself in a position to get ripped abs quicker.
Crunch and Sit-Up Boards
Crunches and decline sit-ups are among the top exercises to do for the abdominal muscles. Because of this, crunch and slanted sit-up boards are among the best ab exercise equipment. If you have one of these benches, you can do crunches and sit-ups without having to lie on the floor.
A flat bench is great for doing crunches on. If you have a padded bench, you won't have to do crunch on a hard floor any longer. You can also lie on the bench and do leg raises. Another thing you can do is to sit at the edge of the bench and work your lower abs by lifting your knees towards your chest.
If you want to do sit-ups, it's best to do them with your body declined on a bench. This makes an adjustable slanted bench the best ab exercise equipment for performing sit-ups on. Depending on your level of abdominal strength you can adjust how much to decline your slanted bench. Wjem you perform sit-ups on a decline bench, you can add a twist to each side on alternating reps to work your midsection more.
Core Balls
When you want to find the best ab exercise equipment, you can't go wrong with a core ball. A core ball forces you to balance your body when you train your abs on it. This brings many small stabilizing muscles into play, so you'll get more out of your crunches when you perform them on a ball.
Performing crunches on a core ball will also allow you to stretch your abs out at the bottom of a rep because you can lower your upper body below where your abs are. This is something that you can't do when you perform crunches on a flat surface.
If you want, you can add some light resistance when you do crunches on a core ball. Hold a medicine ball or light dumbbell on your chest or over your body with your arms outstretched if you want to do this.
Ab Rollers
Ab rollers, or wheels, are also among the best ab exercise equipment. They can give your abs a different kind of workout than other abdominal training equipment. The vast majority of abdominal exercises have you pulling your upper body towards your lower body and vice versa while in a lying or seated position. When you use an ab roller, you get on your knees, grab the roller's handles, and roll the wheel forward until your body above the knees is is straight and almost touching the floor. Then you pull your body back into the starting position use the abs.
If you're used to doing crunches, sit-ups, and leg raises and don't feel sore in your abdominal area after you do them, you should try out an ab roller. This different kind of resistance will kick start your abs into further development.
Crunch Machines
You can purchase a crunch machine when you're looking for the best abdominal exercise equipment. With one of these machines, you can train your abs against different levels of resistance. Most crunch machines have you in a seated position with handles that you grab before you use your abdominal muscles to pull your upper body towrds your knees.
One great thing about crunch machines is that you can do drop sets to really burn your abs out. To do this, you need to go to failure on a set, then quickly decrease the weight and continue doing more reps until you can't do any more. You can do multiple drops for a very intense set.
Ab Harnesses and Leg Raise Benches
Hanging leg raises will work the lower abs nicely. However, if you just grip an overhead bar to do them, your grip may very well give out before your abs do. Having a pair of ab harnesses will help you avoid this as you will be able to put your upper arms in them so they support your body. You can then do leg raises until failure.
Leg raise/dip benches will also allow you to do leg raises in an upright position. Once again, the upper body will be supported so you can focus on training your abs.