Ab Roller Review - Is the Ab Roller Worth It? 

The Ab Roller is an abdominal exercise piece of equipment that comes in many shapes and is manufactured by many companies. However, the concept is the same even if there are variations in design or name.

You workout with this machine in the following way: you place your head on the padded cushion which is supposed to help you support your neck and keep it straight and hold the handle bar with both hands. On some models there are pads for the arms (see picture) or specific handles for the hands. In others, there is only the circular handle (see example below).

However, apart from personal comfort, these variations don't affect your workout.

Once you have your head on the cushion and you're holding the handle bar, you simply do regular crunches by raising your upper body and squeezing in your abs. You can also work the obliques by turning your upper body sideways on the floor and then performing the crunch.

The crunch is basically the only exercise you can perform on this machine.

Some companies advertise their ab rollers as machines in which you can also do stomach exercises in which you raise your legs like leg lifts. This is ridiculous since in those exercises, you place your head firmly on the floor so there's no added benefit in placing it on the cushion of the Ab Roller.

Ab Roller Price

The price of each Ab Roller differs between models and manufacturers. On this webpage I'll shortly review two products:

1. Ab Shaper Abdominal Roller 

Which costs about $45. This is a low level and affordable ab roller which comes without arm pads.

Reviews of the Ab Shaper Abdominal Roller are mixed as many people report that it's too light of weight and isn't made of quality material. However, it can work for you.

2. Ab Trainer Club Pro 

Which costs about $200 is a gym level ab roller but can also be bought for your home. It's expensive since it was made to last which is probably why it's reported that over 3,000 health centers have this model.

It can serve many different people and will likely serve you for a long time. It comes

This is the price range with a few more models in between.

Can The Ab Roller Really Get You Flat Abs

Let's make something perfectly clear: the Ab Roller Can't get you flat abs.

All the Ab Roller does is help you do crunches while supporting your neck. Nothing more. It can't get you flat abs simply because it can't help you to burn belly fat. No stomach exercise can.

Our body doesn't burn fat from specific body parts, but as a whole. Spot fat reduction is one of the biggest myths in the world. Our body burns fat as a single unit regardless of which body part we exercise. This is why it's better to focus on fat burning workouts than on stomach workouts which tend to burn little fat.

Until you get rid of the excess belly fat, you will never have flat abs regardless of how strong your muscles are since they'll be covered by a blanket of fat.

To burn fat you need to do the right kind of cardio workouts, full body weight training, and to eat a sensible, lean, and healthy diet.

Is the Ab Roller Worth It?

Even though the Ab Roller can't get you flat abs all by itself, it doesn't mean that it's not worth having. In fact, the Ab Roller is one of those machines which practically does what it claims: it supports your neck when you do crunches.

This is why this machine may be useful for you if you suffer from neck problems or if you're not used to doing stomach exercises. However, the Ab Roller is mainly good for beginners. It doesn't provide any greater stimulus than a regular crunch, so I expect that you won't be using it for too long.

Personally, I don't use the Ab Roller and have never used it since I tried it a while ago. I don't find it useful. But, if you feel that having it will get you to workout more or you're worried about hurting your neck, than by all means get one.

One word of advice: don't buy a used Ab Roller since it will likely be close to a complete wreck. 

In Conclusion

The Ab Roller is a short term product. In my opinion, unless you suffer from neck problems, you will not be using it for more than a few months. It is for beginners only.

If you really want to get flat abs, you need a more comprehensive solution that involves a complete nutrition and workout solution.