Beginner's Fitness Programs

You don’t need an exercise machine to build your abdominal muscles, but for a beginner, certain exercise machines may be helpful to prevent injuries. Many beginners get back pain (and neck pain) while doing popular abdominal workouts because they don’t yet have strong enough abdominal muscles to support the lower back. Some abdominal exercise equipment will prevent that.

If you have access to a gym, the best abdominal exercise equipment is a captain’s chair in which you rest your back and elbows while raising and lowering your knees. This is very safe for your back, and you won’t get any neck pain. It is top-rated by the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University. You can buy a captain’s chair for your home starting around $200, but it may not be as steady as the gym version.

For home use, an exercise ball is the one of the best abdominal exercise tools you can get. It costs less than $40, and you can use it in many different workouts. You can do a wide variety of abdominal exercises with the ball, but you should start with basic crunch and oblique exercises. Because of the flexibility of the ball, it fully supports your back when laying on it and you won’t have pain.

If you have access to a gym, it should have an abs machine in which you push forward with your chest against a pad to get a crunch motion. This is another machine that is safe for your lower back, but definitely not for home use. You can get one, but a cheap one is useless. Instead, I recommend a stretch band. You can do exactly the same workout and more. You can find a stretch band for about $10, and most of them last a long time.

Because of his infomercial, Ab Roller (Body by Jake) is one of the most popular of home abdominal exercise equipment. It prevents neck pain, and possibly lower back pain (if you use it correctly) but it was ranked lowest by the San Diego State University study for effectiveness. If you already have one (or you can get it from someone for free), it is a good machine to start with, but if you are looking for a new abs machine, buy the exercise ball.

Another popular abdominal exercise machine is Ab Slider (or Ab Tracker) with which you hold handles on a wheel and roll back and forth. I don’t recommend this one for beginners, as I observed some people get shoulder pain, and the San Diego State University study also rated it low for effectiveness. Note: if you are strong, this ab machine can be very effective in developing core strength, but you need very strong and coordinated muscles in order for it to work.

Don’t buy an abdominal crunch bench (declining bench) for home use. It is not safe for beginners, and you can get a better abdominal workout without the bench. If you have access to a gym, you may want to try it in the future, but not at the beginning. I also don’t recommend buying the foot harness in which you put your feet while doing an abdominal workout. Some people claim it gives them a better workout, but I don’t think so. You can do a workout that is as good as, if not better, without it.

In conclusion, if you have access to a gym, try the captain’s chair (First ask staff how to use it correctly.) and for home use, get an exercise ball. Again, you don’t need them – you can still do a great abdominal workout on your own.

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