Ab Wheel

[shouldbesad]

I have an ab wheel I got at Goodwill years ago. You know, one of those wheels with handles on each side that you get on your knees and roll out on the floor while holding onto. Is this thing safe? Effective?

Diane

 

[lainiefig]

It sounds kind of like doing roll-outs on the stability ball, so maybe it would be effective. I don't know about safety, though.

[font face="comic sans ms" font color=purple]***Lainie***
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[Boybert]

I use it at the gym and it is awesome. I can wheel out on a diagonal to hit the obliques, as well. Just make sure your knees are on a padded surface so you don't hurt them. Go out as far as your range of motion will comfortably allow you and then pull back in. I love this thing.


Debbie

I don't want to take a pill. Go to Africa, go follow some bushman around. He's being chased by a lion. That's stress. You're not going to find a pygmy on Paxil, I'll tell you that right now.
-Ellen Degeneres

 

[kathryn]

I think it's safe if the wheel is sturdy, and you don't push yourself beyond what you can get out of. For example, if you go for the 'flat-to-the-ground' position and have to twist and turn and pull to get out of it, you could pull a muscle.

It's a very basic device, but I think it is very effective, and you can challenge yourself more as your core gets stronger. (It is similar to ball roll-outs, and you can do a similar move with a barbell as well).

You can also hit the lower abs and hip flexors a bit more by rolling in and out with it on your feet (some have straps that you can put on your feet), doing pikes and knee-ins like Cathe does with the stability ball.