Six packs are great! No, we aren’t talking about the ones that come in a metal can. We are talking about one of the most signature parts of a well-trained and fit body, your abdominal muscles, which turn into a visible six pack when you are in pristine athletic shape.
The six pack is desired by many people for many different reasons. Some might be inspired by their favorite actor or actress, while others simply want to impress the opposite sex. Whatever you reason is, getting to that goal can be somewhat tough.
The number one go to solution to get yourself in shape and start working on that perfect six pack is to join a gym and start that uphill climb. And when we say its uphill, we mean it. Getting to a six pack isn’t easy. But what if working out at the gym just isn’t your thing?
There are plenty of reasons why you might want to skip the gym, like monthly fees, other people who might be doing more looking than working out, or perhaps you just aren’t a social person. If any of these things apply to you, there is another option: at home ab workout machines!
There are hundreds of different types of ab workout machines out there which are designed to get your abs to the ever desired six-pack as soon as possible. The reality is that there might be a few too many of these machines out there. While having options and many different choice is excellent, at the same time it can become confusing rather quickly. This can cause you to end up buying multiple different types of ab exercise machines and wasting money for no reason.
Luckily, we are here to help you get through this often arduous process with relative ease. We have looked at some of the different types of ab machines out there and found what we think are the best ones for your ultimate six-pack goal. First, we will list a few different types of ab workout machines and then we will talk more in-depth about actual products that are out there.
But before we start, it is important to know that just working out your abs won’t get you to your six-pack goal quickly. You also have to work out the rest of your body while maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. Your ultimate goal is to consume fewer calories than you’re burn during your exercise routine while still maintaining a proper diet that can offer enough fuel, nutrients, minerals, and vitamins which are needed for the development of a healthy body.
So while we can suggest the best ab machines on the market, they won’t do you any good if it’s the only thing you do to get those perfect abs. However, incorporating ab exercises with one of the listed machines into your daily workout routine is certainly one of the best ways to get to your final goal.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at some of these excellent ab workout machine types and specific products.
Different Types of Ab Machines
Abdominal Mat
This one is a no brainer and is an absolute must if you are planning to use gravity as your ab workout partner. These mats offer the perfect amount of cushioning to prevent pain from your body coming in contact with the hard floors of your home when you do typical exercises that involve lying on the floor.
Sit-ups, leg raises, and many other different ab exercises are a lot less painful with the addition of a floor ab mat. No home gym is complete without at least one floor ab mat, it is simply a necessity.
Medicine Balls
At first glance, throwing a ball around is a piece of cake. But then you realize this ball weighs a few pounds and is designed to make you hurt. Thousands of professional athletes around the world turn to the medicine ball as their source of power.
They are an excellent tool for very intense workouts and can be used in a variety of different workout types, not just for working out your abs. Medicine balls are actually really great for workout couples, and this way you both can enjoy the exercise together.
The Ab Wheel
It might seem a bit strange, but attaching two handles to a wheel and then using it to get your abs into shape is actually working out pretty well for many people. The most commonly used workout with an ab wheel is the rollout and the roll in.
You simply use the wheel as support when rolling your body out from a bent on-knees position and then roll up with the ab wheel back to the original position. It is NOT as easy as it sounds. The best part about using the ab wheel is that you can target different areas of your abs by incorporating roll out directionally to the left or to the right.
Targeted Abdominal Trainer
These machines are usually designed to target a specific muscle groups, in this case the abs. They don’t generally do much else for the rest of your muscles.
Although usually these types of machines look like they are out of some gimmicky infomercial and don’t seem like they are simple to use, the reality is that there are quite a few of these types of ab workout machines that are perfect for people who are just starting out.
A Bench
It’s amazing all the different types of exercises that you can do with the help of a simple bench. The best part is that you can easily use your at-home bench to work out your abs. The bench is considered to be one of the most versatile pieces of gym equipment. Many people overlook just how useful having a bench at home really is.
You can use it to do ab crunches as well as hip raises, sit-ups, and many other ab exercises. Add some weight and you are opening up a brand new world of possibilities. So while the bench by itself offers just the basics when it comes to directly targeting of your abs, at the same time it offers a lot more on the grand scale of what you can use it to accomplish.
Ab Machines We Recommend
Perfect Ab Carver Pro
If you ever purchased a new car and were eager to check out all the different bells and whistles that it has to offer, that exact feeling is what you might feel when you take a look at the Perfect Ab Carver Pro. This revolutionary device puts a huge spin onto the traditional ab wheel. First and foremost, the handles which are used in the Perfect Ab Carver Pro are designed in a specific way to reduce stress on your elbows.
Furthermore, those same handles are positioned just far enough from the center of the ball to offer the most focus possible on your abs. Another feature that was incorporated with this specific ab wheel is the Winding mechanism which provides resistance when you are lowering yourself down into your ab roll, although some have complained that dirt gets stuck rather easily in this mechanism and suggested to used it on non-skid surfaces.
Overall, this product offers plenty of benefits and is relatively affordable, just like most ab wheels are. If you dedicate some time and watch a few videos about how to use this ball, then we are positive you will reap plenty of benefits from this product.
Nayoya Abdominal Mat
Yeah, we know, this isn’t exactly workout “machinery”. But nonetheless, this workout mat is an important part of any at-home gym. Unlike other traditional abdominal mats, the Nayoya Abdominal Mat creators decided to step away from the whole flat mat idea and give their product some curves.
This mat is shaped in a perfect way to fit right under your lower back and offer you the best support when you are doing sit-ups or crunches. This same unique curve eliminates a lot of unnecessary pressure that often occurs when using other flat mats. The price is pretty good too, and you can expect to pay less than you would for an ab wheel.
Stamina Pro Ab/Hyper Bench
Sometimes we need a machine that can do more than just help us get our six-pack, and that is exactly what Stamina Pro Ab/Hyper Bench can do for you. While this bench offers plenty of different possibilities for ab exercises, it also opens a door to a plethora of other exercises that don’t just target your abs.
While most benches are somewhat generic and offer non-target exercise possibilities, this bench is targeted towards ab and lower back workouts. This doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do anything besides lower back and ab workout, it just means that the shape and design of the bench is unique is such a way as to offer more support when doing those specific types of exercises.
With toughness in mind and with your priorities at the forefront, there are some drawbacks to this bench. The number one complaint that we have is the price, which exceeds well above $100.
Another slightly inconvenient drawback is that you might need to bolt this bench down or put some weights on it to stop it from tipping over when you are in the middle of your workout routine. Otherwise, this piece of machinery is exactly what you need in your at-home gym.
Ab Doer Twist Abdominal Trainer
At first sight you might notice that this piece of equipment seems a bit complicated. When we took a look at this device, the first word that came to mind was “unique.” The second word that came to mind was “genius.”
While figuring out how this device works without any instruction might be an impossible task, we were happy to find out that it came with 3 instructional DVDs that offered exactly what we needed.
The machine uses brand new Torsion-Flex technology, which is designed to target muscles around your mid-section which are usually ignored during traditional ab exercises. Furthermore, the machine puts you into an anatomically correct posture, which reduces and minimizes harmful impact on the rest of your body.
An additional feature that makes using this machine a pleasure is the roller which is attached to the back of the machine. It successfully alleviates back pain while you are working out your abs. Lastly, the AB Doer Twist Abdominal Excercise Machine also has a capacity of about 300lbs which makes it a pretty durable machine.
The only drawback that we saw about this workout equipment is the price. It is by far one of the more expensive pieces of equipment we have listed today.
Valeo Medicine Ball
One of the most popular workout medicine balls on the market, the Valeo Medicine Ball has a ton of reputation behind its back, as well is a plethora of reviews. This ball comes in a few different weight sizes: four, six, eight, ten, and twelve pounds. It also comes in five different colors: blue, green, purple, yellow, and red.
This medicine ball is our primary choice because of its fantastic grip design on the outside which makes it easy to handle even when your hands start to sweat. Some did state that over time this grip wears off, but this takes a very long time, which considering the affordable price is not a big deal.
We found no downsides to having this piece of equipment in your at-home gym. Well, unless you don’t like that new tire smell…which does occur when you take the ball out of the box.
Ab Machines Review Summary
Every at-home gym needs a few key pieces of equipment depending which parts of your body you are planning on focusing on. If getting a six pack is your primary goal, then one of the products we listed above or even a combination of a few of these products is the perfect solution.
Choose what you think you will have the most fun with and what you think you will use every time you start a workout session. That is the secret to getting a six-pack in no time!
