Gear
If you want to strengthen your abs, get ready for a ton of optional accessories. There are loads of core exercises which use accessories which are designed to make your ab exercises easier or harder (depending on accessory) plus more effective. With so many choices, it can be tough to figure out what you really need to hit your fitness goals and get a strong core.
But don’t worry, you’re in the right place for some guidance. We’ve put together a list of the best core exercise equipment out there. From small accessories like sliders and ab wheels to bigger gear like decline benches, we’ve got you covered.
The Best Core Workout Equipment
Below is a list of equipment which can help enhance your core workouts from cardio to strength training.
These are:
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Suspension Trainers
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Ab Rollers
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Stability Balls
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Core Sliders
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Decline Bench
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Bosu Balance Ball
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Power Rowers
Suspension Trainers
Suspension trainers assist users in regular exercises to build strength, lose weight, and tone up. They're great for people of all fitness levels and provide an excellent workout for your core and abs. A suspension trainer is made up of ropes and straps that use your body weight and gravity to help you perform various exercises while being suspended.
If you're new to suspension training, you might wonder about its benefits. Here are six reasons why we think suspension training is an excellent addition to your weekly workout routine.
Can Be Done at Home
One of the best things about suspension training is that you can do it at home. No need for expensive gym memberships, and you don't need a lot of space. The equipment can be attached to a door without any permanent mountings and taken down in seconds, allowing you to work out anytime in the comfort of your home.
Great for Core Conditioning
Suspension training offers a wide range of exercises that target almost every part of your body. It's especially good for core conditioning, helping keep your spine aligned and improving posture, circulation, and your nervous system. Strong core workouts also support strength and athletic development in your arms, legs, hips, shoulders, chest, and upper back.
Easily Portable for Travel
Suspension training gear is highly portable, so you can take it with you when you travel. The bands fit into a suitcase, and since suspension training is popular worldwide, you can often find groups or equipment in gyms wherever you go.
Pushes Your Limits
A simple exercise like a push-up becomes more challenging and effective when done with a suspension trainer. The added difficulty of balancing and controlling your body while suspended pushes your workout further, enhancing your results.
Burns Fat More Efficiently
Suspension training is great for burning fat because it engages multiple core muscle groups simultaneously, maximizing calorie burn. Whole-body movements increase your heart rate, improving cardiovascular health and burning fat more efficiently than traditional split-type workouts.
Adjustable for All Fitness Levels
You don't have to be an athlete to benefit from suspension training. The exercises are easily adjustable for all fitness levels, making them safer, more effective, and more enjoyable. Combine suspension training with cardio exercises for a well-rounded weekly routine.
In summary
Suspension Trainers emphasises core engagement throughout each exercise. As the body remains suspended, the core muscles stabilise and control movement synergistically, including the abdominals, obliques, and lower back.
Ab rollers and core wheels are straightforward yet effective pieces of exercise equipment that can greatly enhance your ab workouts and overall fitness. Here’s why you should consider adding an ab roller to your routine:
Boosted Core Strength
Using an ab roller primarily improves core strength. It works all the muscles in your core, including your rectus abdominis, obliques, and lower back. Regular use helps you build a stronger, more stable core, enhancing your performance in various sports and activities.
Enhanced Muscle Activation
An ab roller engages more muscle fibers than traditional ab exercises like crunches or sit-ups. This increased muscle activation can help you build more muscle mass and core strength.
Improved Posture
Strong core muscles are essential for good posture. Weak core muscles make it challenging to maintain proper posture throughout the day. Regularly using an ab roller strengthens your core, helping you maintain good posture and improving your overall health and well-being.
Better Balance & Stability
Training with an ab roller also enhances your balance and stability. The exercise requires you to engage your core to keep proper form and balance. Over time, this leads to improved balance and stability in your daily life.
Lower Risk of Injury
A strong core helps protect you from injuries by stabilizing your spine and preventing excessive twisting or bending that can cause back injuries. Incorporating an ab roller into your workouts builds a resilient core, reducing your risk of injury.
Convenient & Affordable
Ab rollers are convenient and affordable. Unlike bulky, expensive gym equipment, an ab roller is compact, portable, and inexpensive. It's a great option for improving core strength without a significant investment.
Versatile
The ab roller is highly versatile and can be used in many ways. You can target different areas of your core or include it in a full-body workout. With a bit of creativity, you can use the ab roller to perform a wide range of exercises to help you achieve your fitness goals.
In summary
By adding an ab roller to your workout routine can provide these benefits and take your fitness to the next level. Check out an independant view from Chris Carra which is the best Ab Roller on the market here.
Ab Rollers
Stability balls are a popular and versatile piece of fitness equipment used in gyms, homes, physical therapy sessions and even the workplace. Also known as exercise balls, swiss balls, physio balls, and balance balls, the purpose of the stability ball is to improve balance, muscle tone and core strength.
Stability balls are filled with air and come in a variety of sizes. They are lightweight, durable, and inexpensive — but are they really effective? Here are some of the benefits of incorporating stability balls into your exercise routine:
Improve flexibility
Use a stability ball to warm up and stretch your muscles before a workout. Improved flexibility can reduce risk of injury and keep your muscles and joints
Functional
Expand range of motion. Stability balls can be used to expand range of motion during certain exercises, such as crunches and sit-ups.
Strengthen core
When used properly, stability balls can strengthen the core (abdominal and lower back muscles). These muscles are used to perform daily activities. A strong core helps to protect the back and stabilise the whole body, including the spine, pelvis, hips and shoulders.
Improve balance
Simply sitting on a stability ball engages the stabiliser muscles in your core. Training on a ball forces your body to improve balance to complete the exercises, and can also be beneficial in keeping a healthy posture.
In summary
Using a Stability Ball can increase the range of motion and both contract and stretch the abs on every rep. Because the stability ball crunches are so effective, you can do fewer reps at a lower tempo if you focus on hard contractions to build a strong core
Stability Balls
Core Sliders
Sliders, or core sliders, are small, flat discs used in fitness routines to enhance workouts by requiring smooth, controlled movements that engage muscles through their entire range of motion. This not only intensifies exercises but also strengthens the core, which is crucial for overall health. They are ideal for those looking to break through fitness plateaus.
Benefits of Sliders:
Enhances Core Engagement
Core sliders uniquely target both deep stabilising and superficial abdominal muscles through fluid, gliding motions. This comprehensive engagement results in a more effective core workout, improving stability and strength. The instability created by sliders forces the core muscles to work harder, making exercises more intense and efficient.
Low-Impact on Joints
Sliders are low-impact, making them suitable for all ages and those with joint issues. The smooth motions reduce joint strain, providing a gentle yet effective workout. This is especially beneficial for individuals recovering from injuries or dealing with joint problems.
Versatile Workouts
Core sliders add versatility to workouts, increasing the variety of exercises for both the upper and lower body. They make traditional exercises like lunges, mountain climbers, hamstring curls, and push-ups more engaging by introducing instability, which enhances muscle adaptation and strength building.
Portable and Convenient
Core sliders are compact and portable, making them a convenient addition to any fitness routine. They can be easily stored in a gym bag or used at home, eliminating the need for bulky equipment. Whether you're at home, traveling, or at the gym, sliders provide a flexible and efficient way to maintain your fitness regimen.
In summary
Core sliders are a simple, convenient, and effective way to build core strength. Core sliders strengthen all parts of the abdominal region and can also increase the intensity of your workout.
Decline Bench
A decline situp bench positions your upper body at an angle lower than your hips and thighs. This setup forces your body to work harder, as you must overcome gravity and move through a greater range of motion.
Incorporating decline situps into your fitness routine is an effective way to enhance core strength, prevent injuries, and stabilise your body.
These benefits positively impact your fitness routine and daily activities, making it easier to twist, bend, and extend your body.
Benefits
Decline situps increase spinal flexion and target core muscles around the torso, thighs, and pelvis, such as the rectus abdominis, obliques, and rectus femoris.
They also strengthen the back, chest, and hip flexors, which are the inner hip muscles that lift the abdomen toward the thighs.
This movement allows your hips, lower back, and core to work together, enhancing balance, stability, and posture. These benefits help reduce lower back pain, prevent injuries, and make various movements easier.
Summary
Decline situps effectively target your core, back, and hip flexors. By lifting against gravity, your muscles work harder than they do with traditional situps. This exercise strengthens your core, enhancing your posture, balance, and stability. Consequently, you might find daily activities easier and more comfortable.
For the best results include decline situps in a well-rounded fitness routine that features a mix of strengthening exercises, aerobic activities, and stretching.
Bosu Ball
A Bosu ball is a fitness tool that resembles a stability ball cut in half. Its name stands for "both sides utilized" or "both sides up," providing a flat surface on one side and a dome-like surface on the other, allowing for versatile workouts. This design makes it perfect for adding stability to certain ab exercises.
Despite some skepticism from researchers, Bosu balls can enhance your workout by introducing a new challenge and increasing the effectiveness of the exercises. Additionally, incorporating Bosu ball ab workouts can enhance the effects of fat burners for weight loss.
Here are some examples of effective Bosu ball ab exercises.
Crunch
Mountain Climbers
Planks
Side Plank
Twisting Planks
Plank Leg Lift
Bird Dog
Dead Bug
See Core Workout Section for the movement for these ab exercises if you are unsure.
Summary
Bosu balls are often overlooked compared to more popular fitness tools like dumbbells. While using a Bosu ball alone might not seem very effective, its instability enables more challenging variations of upper and lower ab workouts, making it a great choice for those seeking to intensify their exercise routines.
Rowing Machines
Rowing offers excellent benefits for your abdominal muscles, particularly the core. During rowing, you activate a range of muscle groups including the legs, back, and arms, but the core muscles play a crucial role in stabilizing your body and generating power throughout each stroke.
Key core muscles engaged during rowing include:
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Rectus abdominis (front of the abdomen)
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Transverse abdominis (deep core muscles)
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Obliques (side of the abdomen)
These muscles work together to maintain torso stability, support the lower back, and control your movements during the rowing motion. This helps ensure proper posture and enhances overall rowing effectiveness.
Furthermore, rowing allows for adjustable resistance and intensity, enabling you to emphasize core engagement as needed. Additionally, the repetitive nature of rowing builds not only strength and power in your core but also enhances endurance and consistency, providing a thorough workout for your abdominal muscles.
Below, are the five reasons that rowing machines are great for your core, including:
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Rowing is a full-body workout
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Rowing improves your posture
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Rowing increases your endurance
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Rowing requires core stability for form and to generate power
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Rowing is a dynamic movement
Summary
Rowing machines engage your abs effectively when used with proper technique and core activation throughout each stage. However, if you aim for defined abs, it's essential to combine rowing with a well-structured plan. This plan should include strength training and a calorie deficit, focusing on a high-protein nutrition approach, especially if you have excess subcutaneous fat.
Core Strength
Find all your Core Strength Training information right here. We have a large selection of news, core workout and accessory examples to choose from. If you are looking for advice on gaining a flatter tummy, look no further.
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