The abdominal wheel

The ABS Wheel roller is a tool that can give a new “life” to your core.

Yes, this martial arts tool isuseful, it is true there are other variants to make the ABS area work but this simple and cheap tool allows you to do a nice job so you have to use it.

There’s a spectacular video about how many pros of boxing use this tool including Floyd Mayweather among many, but whatever martial art you practice this exercise you have to do it.

Why would a martial artist train with a tool that looks so harmless and trivial made from a wheel about 30 cm in diameter with a pole in the middle?

To understand it the best thing to do is to try it possibly without flattening the face on the ground, but this is a Top exercise to strengthen the middle section of our body and improve the perception and mastery of your balance, essential skills for those who practice martial arts.

The abdominal and dorsal armband is very important for a martial arts and combat sports practitioner because in addition to allowing as I already told you the stabilization of your body allows the mobility of your trunk and protection from the blows of your internal organs.

This fitness tool allows you to perform the classic crunch to sculpt your low, high and oblique abs to achieve excellent results without forcing your back: it is effective for both toning muscles and burning fat.

An exercise for the abs then? But what abs? Well obvious that they do a good part of the work but also involve the buttocks, the hamstrings, the lumbars, triceps, deltoids and dorsal, will be the main muscles that the next day you will feel that they have worked.

At the end of the first series you will have already regretted underestimating that little wheel that you had always seen in specialized stores and unused in an angle of your gym.

It is recommended to experienced athletes, whose degree of difficulty is high and sometimes risky, the abs must already have a certain level of training. The AB Wheel is a complete abdominal exercise because it recalls and activates the entire anterior kinetic chain.

The roll-out with the special wheel called in English AB wheel or AB roller is a very intense exercise for the abs and somewhat underrated, which also involves the muscles of the chest and upper limbs.

Compared to crunch it does not solicit the back with repeated bends and /or twists and is suitable for an advanced athlete who now easily performs crunch.

Here it is presented in its easier version or kneeling, compared to the same exercise performed on your feet.

Compared to the roll out with barbell, the wheel introduces an additional difficulty since in the movement it is not as stable as the barbell.

Exercise is not recommended for those with back problems.

The benefits of training with AB Roller

The AB Roller wheel strengthens the abdominal muscles (high, low and oblique), the front and back of the shoulders, strengthens the arms and allows a complete movement of the upper body also strengthening the back (without, however, making them suffer unnecessary and harmful efforts), thus also acting on the lower back muscles.

It also serves to improve balance and endurance,burns fat and makes you lose weight but for you it should not be the most important thing but the functionality of movement.

Exercises with the wheel for abs

Starting position:

You kneel on a mat and grab the wheel with both hands holding your arms slightly bent.

If the mat is not soft enough, to protect the knees you can put under a towel.

Run:

Very slowly roll the wheel forward stretching out the body completely, without leaning on the floor.

Basically you have to unbalance forward with the whole body, curbing the fall with muscle tension.

You can touch the ground with the tip of your nose and then hold your abdomen in tension for a few moments before climbing up.

The head is on the axis with the back, so the look is towards the floor.

With a slow and controlled movement you then go back to the initial position, focusing the effort on the abdominal wall.

The main exercise to perform with the AB Roller therefore consists of two steps:

• First step: kneel on the floor, hold the handlebars of the abdominal wheel by placing it below the shoulders and move it slowly pushing it forward until you can hold the position. Your arms, shoulders, chest and abdomen extend: you will feel in tension the whole upper body. Throughout the operation, keep your back straight and your torso muscles contracted.
• Second step: Pull the handlebars towards your knees and bring it back to the starting position, making sure you always keep your back and arms straight and performing proper breathing.

A second variant is to insert the feet in the appropriate bands on the bars of the AB Roller and perform the movement this time keeping the arms still and recalling the legs.

Experience both possibilities, you will find how in reality the same muscles are called back differently.

Breathing

During the descent you breathe in.

Going up you exhale.

Tips

• The body must constantly form a straight line from the shoulders to the pelvis.
• Do not let the pelvis eventually give way in the movement.
• Don’t use your arms to get back to your starting position. Instead, use your abs to lift the body again.

The effectiveness of the exercise is determined by the great tension of the abs and muscle aches that you will feel even in the second step.

For a full workout, it will take four sets of repetitions until the two passes are exhausted at least a couple of times per training session.

Exercises can be performed with different variables:you can, for example, diversify the intensity by spreading at a slower pace or by repeating the two steps, alternating different rhythms.

Alternating with classic exercises on the ground or on the abdominal bench or the traction bar, the AB Roller will make you achieve great results in a couple of months.

attention!! If used incorrectly, it can cause hyperlordosis and deterioration of the intervertebeb discs,extending risks and damage to the shoulders as well. Therefore, it is recommended to use to the most experienced and athletically prepared.

The alternative to AB Roller might be the use of long weight bars but it’s not the same because the discs don’t run as well as the roller wheel.

The price ranges from a minimum of about 10 euros as the Physionics model to a maximum of about 130 euros as the 07361-100 model of Kettler.

Always high-end, Kettler’s basic 89 euro model comes with built-in headrest mounts to drain weight from the nape of the neck and has a built-in on-board computer that provides all the workout data, from the number of repeats to the calorie consumption.

The average price of a good model is around 25-30 euros.

There are two other models that are in high demand: Ultrasport AB roller, proposed on offer on Amazon at the discounted price of 42 of about 14 euros, and Fit Evolution AB Roller with resealable mat for sale for about 30 euros, which allows you to isolate your abdominal muscles during training without involving backstals and cervicals.

The best brands of AB roller are these but choose the one you prefer as long as you use it:

• Sportastisch, New
• Physionics
• Body Coach
• Gorilla Sports
• FA Sports Fit
• Ultrasport, New Year’s
• POWRX function
• Songmics, New100145
• Lixada, New
• Fit Evolution
• 66Fit
• High Power
• Kettler
• Hammer
• Diadora

There is no exercise that develops and strengthens your abs like this toll, so if you don’t have ab whell in your gym or personal equipment, get it as soon as possible.

Now good training with AB Roller.

Andrea