Has anyone ever had good results using any of the plethera of ab-gadget-thingys? I do Cathe ab work on a regular basis but was wondering if anyone has tried a gadget that works well too. I'm not looking for miracle stories, just good advice on possibly adding another piece of equipment to my cache. I really do have a bad neck and don't usually have neck problems after ab work, but sometimes I do. Any ideas? Thanks, Alexis
Ab thingys!
- Thread starter Alexis52
- Start date
The little wheels with the handles on the sides are good. They're only about $10-15, and you get a great core workout rolling in and out. I sub this work for the ab work in SS when they go back and forth on the ball. For me it's much harder.
Many of those other gismos seem designed to help support the head or keep you in alignment for doing standard crunches, and I think the more stabilizing you do yourself, the better it is for your core.
--Ann
Many of those other gismos seem designed to help support the head or keep you in alignment for doing standard crunches, and I think the more stabilizing you do yourself, the better it is for your core.
--Ann
Hi! Three of the best pieces of equipment I have are ab slings, a power wheel, and my stability ball. The ab slings are loops you put your arms that hang from a pull up bar. I do hanging leg raises with them. With out the loops, I couldn't do enough leg raises to fatigue my abs before my arms gave out. These keep me going.
The power wheel looks sort of like a unicycle. It is a single wheel with pedals you lock your feet in. You can't pedal like a bike. I do pikes and alligator walks. It came with a short video and I can only do a few of the exercises.
The stability ball is probably very familiar to you if you do Cathe.
None of these were terribly expensive. The loops were about $30 and the power wheel about $40-45. If you have a wood or tile floor you could put a towel under your feet while in a push up position. Then you "walk" your arms forward. That is an inexpensive way to do one of the power wheel exercises. Pikes can also be done on the ball ala Cathe. I would not purchase the $100 plus ab loops that are advertised in the magazines since a knock off is available in the $30 range. But you do need some sort of pull up bar to use them. I hope this helps.
The power wheel looks sort of like a unicycle. It is a single wheel with pedals you lock your feet in. You can't pedal like a bike. I do pikes and alligator walks. It came with a short video and I can only do a few of the exercises.
The stability ball is probably very familiar to you if you do Cathe.
None of these were terribly expensive. The loops were about $30 and the power wheel about $40-45. If you have a wood or tile floor you could put a towel under your feet while in a push up position. Then you "walk" your arms forward. That is an inexpensive way to do one of the power wheel exercises. Pikes can also be done on the ball ala Cathe. I would not purchase the $100 plus ab loops that are advertised in the magazines since a knock off is available in the $30 range. But you do need some sort of pull up bar to use them. I hope this helps.
Mckmain
Cathlete
I used to have one....can't remember what it was called. I know you layed the small of your back on it...and held onto the handles and used your ab muscles to pull you up. I used it for awhile, but seriously I have had better results with the Stability ball. I can really feel the ab and core work with it....whatever works....
...Carole
...Carole
kathryn
Cathlete
I think a stability ball works as well as, if not better than, most ab gadgets. For neck support, you can try strengthening the neck muslces (lie on a stability ball face down, with head bent down, then lift to parallel; lie face up, with head tilted back and lift chin up). You can also support your neck with a towel: lie on a towel, about 6 inches down from the top. Grasp the corners of the towel and as you do crunches, etc., support your head in the towel as you lift the corners of the towel when your upper torso goes up.
Thanks Kathryn! Been talking to some friends who say the stability ball is the way to go also. My neck is fairly strong but I have two fused discs and a titanium plate. One of the discs didn't fuse very well so it may cause problems in the future (requiring surgery again). That's why I'm so interested in protecting my neck! I want to keep it strong AND not injure it. Alexis