Ab wheel

I do ab exercises in the gym 2 days a week, and that's the only 2 days i can manage in the gym & i hit em hard. But abs are a week point and I want to hit them the remaining 5 days at home. I have no equipment or much space at home.

I started reverse crunches but found i could 20. I tried some other bodyweight exercises but found them easy too. I bought an ab wheel / ab roller for christmas. And i am wondering if they can truly DEVELOP ab muscles - as in GROW them?

For example planks are isometric, they won't BUILD abs right? So are ab rollouts isometric too and should i pick some other exercise (and buy some simple equipment?)?

I'm looking at firming up my core and have heard mixed things about ab wheels. Are they worth the money / effort?

Hey so i recently got an ab wheel. Its just a cheap little thing i found on amazon. I was wondering if anyone has had any luck using them to develop abdominal strength? It seems to just target the upper abs.

I bought this (img: ) ab roller a few weeks back. It has curved handles, which I thought were to provide extra support for beginners (i.e. me).

I've used them about a dozen times so far, and after 5 reps, I cease feeling a workout in my abs and instead feel a workout in my shoulders, triceps and back. Additionally, I get a sharp discomfort in my left shoulder (I've had shoulder instability, or loose shoulder ligaments, since I was a child, to the point where I can pop them in and out) which cause me to be unable to get full extension on the roller, or go for more than 7 consecutive reps.

Initially I thought it was a matter of bad form. I attempted to follow numerous tutorials and guides, from going shallower at first to progressively deeper, maintaining a straight back, keeping core engaged, etc; no dice. No matter the form, the aforementioned problems persist.

I would really like to continue working on the ab roller, as I know it's a great full-body workout when done right. But I am afraid using this ab roller is exacerbating my loose/atrophied shoulder.

So: I was wondering whether the shape of the ab roller handles has any part in the lack of workout in core/discomfort in shoulder. Would anyone have knowledge of the difference between ab rollers with straight handles vs with curved handles?

TL;DR: Curved handled ab roller causes discomfort in unstable shoulder and doesn't work abs (works shoulder, triceps, back instead). Is this due to the curved handles (and my problem would be solved getting a straight handle ab roller), or am I someone who should abstain from using ab rollers in general, no matter the handle?

Even on my knees I cannot reach full extension on the ab wheel, I also feel it very heavily in my lower back rather than my abdominals. Im trying to keep my core tight but fail to pick myself up. Any tips?

So I can do ab wheel correctly without any problem. I am a beginner and I learned the correct form too. Problem is that I feel like I am not being able to do 10 reps simply because my upper body is weak. I do 5 or 6 reps and my arms start to feel sore. I am also tucking my waist inward but I still get pain in lower back when I go downward. I did had built strength from planc exercise previously. So what I muscles I need to strengthen first?

edit: as a side not, I also feel that lower back pain when I do leg raise.

I'm a 25 year old male and decided to start calisthenics whilst travelling. As a part of this plan I bought an ab wheel which I have been using for 2 months now.

My reps have improved from barley rolling out half a meter in front of me to full range of motion on my knees. I currently manage 3x10 reps at least twice a week and my strength has gradually improved the whole time.

However, I never really feel it in my abs. I keep my core tight for the whole range of motion but feel very little. The main area I feel it in is my shoulders, mainly the rea delts and lats when pulling back up. Is this simply just my weakest point at the moment and needs to catch up or is there more to it?

I've heard a lot about them, it seems every one loves them. Are they really worth it?

So I'm looking for a decent ab wheel on Amazon and I came across this cracking review. I'm easily amused:

I'm looking for something I can add to my home workout to work my core. I had been doing hanging leg raises but I heard these aren't great as your hip flexors will always do the majority of the work. Crunches/sit ups always feel really ineffective.

Has anyone here tried one? Anyone got any other recommendations?

Edit: for those of you confused about the correct form/technique watch this video.

Hopefully this is OK for a post, but mods if you need to, work your magic.

Basically, doing ab wheel as an accessory, and I can only get the wheel out past my head a few inches before I can't come back up anymore (on my knees). Should I just work up to full range of motion, or would oyu suggest other exercises and then come back to the wheel when my core is stronger? Been exercising seriously for about a month, just got done with the 5/3/1 beginner routine.

I'm starting to incorporate some core exercises on leg day, and I like the ab wheel a lot. If there were one other core exercise to combine it with, what would it be?

Thanks for your help.

I’m about to go to eating disorder treatment and decided it’s best to get rid of my fitness stuff for now. Everything is unopened. Does anyone want my Fitplan bands/membership and the ab wheel? Let me know!

Edit: Everything is claimed.

I think my abs might be overdeveloped or something because while I can't even do more than one pullup or 3 chinups I also haven't found an ab-only exercise I can't do. I don't have a bar, a wheel, etc. so I can't try ab exercises that use those although I will try the bar ones next time I go to a park. The only equipment I have is two 4.25kg dumbbells I don't even really use.

I'm also looking for something that doesn't require the use of the other muscles too much, so no dragon flag, front lever, human flag, etc.

I can plank for 1 minute and 53 seconds but I don't really feel it in my abs, it's either my delts or something in my upper back that gets tired. I can hold a for about 40 seconds and this time I feel it more in my abs but it's still my upper back/delts that tire out (or something in that zone, I'm not actually sure what muscle is but I feel it around there).

One exercise I find really challenging is that one where you wear socks so you can be able to slide on the floor, and you start in a long plank and drag yourself into a normal/short plank with your elbows. Then you push yourself back and do that for reps. my max is between 3 and 8 reps.

Another one that's really difficult is the . I can do 16 reps (8 on each side) in the same way he did it in that video.

:

0:29 Roleback pylo planks:

Jumping from the crouching position to the plank position was really awkward, but overall it just felt like a cardio exercise. Felt nothing in my abs.

1:15 Hand plant planks:

It was hard to find a place to do this in my house where my hands wouldn't slide off the surface I was pressing on or where my carpet under my feet wouldn't slide, but eventually I found a place to do it and it was pretty easy.

1:25 get up thrusts:

It was easy, felt it a bit in my abs, it would probably be harder if I had a heavier dumbbell.

1:28 eccentric slides:

My legs gave up after 8 reps but I felt almost nothing in my abs.

1:43 dragon thrust twists:

This is the only one where I could sort of say I wasn't able to do it because I did it with poor form. I could only do it if I did the twist really quick. However, the surface I was holding onto wasn't a pillar but the arm of the sofa which made it harder. Still, very hard on my abs and I will try perfecting it.

2:01 single leg spirals:

Extremely hard on my legs but felt absolutely nothing in my abs.

2:06 serpentine slides:

The movement was kinda awkward and my socks didn't slide well enough but overall it was relatively easy.

2:12 weighted windshield wipers:

It was okay, not too hard but not too easy either. Would be harder if I had a heavier dumbbell.

2:37 ascension twists:

It was hard but not very hard. I could do about 20-30 reps with my legs elevated on my couch (hip height).

2:54 dead man's planks:

Same as the previous one.

3:08 crucifix climbers:

Another leg exercise where I felt nothing in my abs.

3:12 360 knee-ins:

Another leg exercise where I felt nothing in my abs.

I'm not making this post to find good ab exercises to train my abs as I already found some that are pretty hard (long to short plank slide, dragon thrust twists, ascension twists, dead man's planks, hollow body windshield wipers). Instead, I want to find harder and harder ab exercises to constantly challenge myself because I love the feeling of "leveling up", working towards a movement for a period of time until you are finally able to do it. I also apologize if the post seemed too cocky, I wasn't trying to brag but to simply find new, not well-known, hard ab exercises.