7 Best Ab Machines – 2017 Reviews And Top Picks
Building a decent set of abdominal muscles for the summer season doesn’t happen overnight, but it can happen.
All it requires is hard work and the right equipment to get you there. Unfortunately, a good quality ab machine is few and far between, with some doing little more than working up a sweat. Fortunately we have put in extensive research establish what the best ab machines available on the market today REALLY are.
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During our research we found that the Perfect Fitness Ab Carver Pro is the best option available, offering both versatility and quality to provide an excellent abdominal workout, getting trainees of any experience level ready for summer!
As mentioned first up we have the Perfect Fitness Ab Carver Pro. This ab machine is a slight variation on the traditional ab wheel, in which it is made with a kinetic engine that ads additional resistance to your abdominal workout. This provides more stability to the movement, increase core stabilization and abdominal muscle activation.
Next up we have the Finether Ab Cruncher, a rail based ab machine that offers a safe and effective way to train the abdominals. It provides resistance to the abdominals during a reverse crunch like exercise, while also incorporating the muscle of the upper and lower body.
The XMark 12 Position Ergonomic Adjustable Ab Bench is a traditional abdominal exercise tool that allows you to perform crunches at differing decline levels, effectively altering the difficulty. This bench in particular offers 12 positions, and extremely sturdy construction, making it an extremely safe option.
The Body-Solid cam Series Ab Machine comes at a slightly higher price point, but offers a point of difference in that it allows you to train both the abdominal muscles AND the erectors of the spine. This makes it ideal for building complete core strength.
The Ab Coaster Max provides a unique ab training option in which the abdominals are required to produce force in a natural arc like motion. The Ab Coaster Max is made with heavy duty steel, and can hold up to 300 lbs making it extremely safe and durable.
The Wonder Core Smart Fitness provides a unique core training method at an affordable price. This machine incorporates muscles of the upper body as well as the abdominals, giving you a simple and effective workout. It is compact, sturdy, and offers a broad range of resistances making it suitable for people of various training levels.
The Ab Wow Ab Roller is similar to the Perfect fitness Ab Carver in that it takes a traditional core training method, and changes it slightly (for the better I might add). This core trainer comes with attachable bands so you can increase the resistance of the exercise, making it suitable for trainees of all levels.
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Reviews Of The Best Ab Machines
Amongst the more ‘high tech’ ab machines that we have in this review, the Ab carver Pro provides a simple and effective way to train the abdominal muscles. It is similar to a traditional ab wheel (with the same broad exercise variability), but with few good quality modifications!
Firstly, it is built with a kinetic engine that uses a carbon spring to provide resistance as you roll out, and assistance as you roll in. This makes it suitable for individuals of all fitness levels.
Secondly, the ab carver pro comes with an ultra-wide (and extremely durable) wheel that allows you to roll in multiple directions. This increases core activation in a number of positions, increase involvement of all the abdominal muscles.
Finally, this ab wheel stresses the abdominal muscles without requiring spinal movement, which makes it an extremely safe and effective option, suitable for people with and without low back issues.
Things We Liked:
- Extremely solid and durable construction
- Versatile piece of equipment
- Simple to use
- Affordable
Things We Didn’t Like:
- My not be suitable for absolute beginners
The Finether Ab Cruncher is an extremely safe and sturdy ab machine that is perfect for both men and women, as the user’s bodyweight is what provides the resistance (in conjunction with additional resistance if required). It is made with a strong steel frame that can support up to 264 pounds, making it a safe and durable option, which comes at an extremely competitive price.
This ab machine is particularly easy to operate. It is made with a low friction rail system that allows you to perform resisted reverse crunches, while placing demand on the muscles of the upper and lower body.
This machine comes with a further 6 levels of resistance, allowing you to progress and make the exercise more challenging as your core becomes stronger. This makes it extremely versatile, and suitable for individuals of all fitness levels.
Furthermore, this machine comes with a display that provides information on your workout so you can keep track of your progress easily.
Things We Liked:
- Sturdy construction
- Variable Resistance
- Affordable
- Folds for easy storage
Things We Didn’t Like:
- LCD Screen Requires Batteries
- Single movement may get repetitive
The XMark adjustable bench is a traditional decline bench that allows for a HUGE number of abdominal exercises. Additionally it comes with 12 adjustable levels that increase and decrease the difficulty of the exercises. These two factors alone make it an extremely versatile piece of equipment suitable for individuals of all training levels.
Additionally, it has ergonomically placed leg rollers that reduce stress through the lower back while performing abdominal exercises, making it a very safe option.
Although coming in at a higher price point, this bench is extremely stable and durable with a 14 gauge steel frame and 2.5 inch thick cushion padding. This bench offers an extremely comfortable option that will last!
Things We Liked:
- Sturdy construction
- 12 different levels
- High degree of versatility
Things We Didn’t Like:
- Expensive
- Quite space intensive
While the most expensive ab machine on this list, it does offer extremely high construction quality to create an ab machine that would fit in at any commercial gym facility around the world. This machine offers plate loaded resistance to create resistance for both the abdominal muscles and spinal erectors, making it a fantastic way to build total body core strength and stability.
This plate loading means the resistance can be adjusted to suit your individual fitness level. Furthermore, the machine itself allows 26 full adjustments, so it can be tailored to your body size and shape. This process increases safety, and improves the effectiveness of the machine.
Furthermore, it offers extremely durable construction made with a thick steel frame, and a strong vinyl covering. If that doesn’t reassure you it is going to last, this machine also comes with a lifetime warranty! One negative associated with its durable construction is that it can take a considerable amount of time to put together.
Things We Liked:
- Extremely solid construction
- Can be adjusted to you individually
- Plate loaded to offer varied resistance
Things We Didn’t Like:
- Large and space intensive
- Can be difficult to put together
- Some-what limited exercise selection
The Ab Coaster Max is another ab machine that comes in at a slightly higher price point, but with its sturdy and stable construction, you can see why. This machine in particular can support up to 300 ponds, making it suitable for men and women of all fitness levels.
This machine uses a natural arc and roller resistance to create a serious abdominal workout, in which the movement demands constant tension throughout its entire duration. Additionally, the exercises can be altered slightly to create extensive demand on both the abdominal flexors (6 pack muscles), and the harder to target obliques (side of the abdominals).
This machine is simple to construct, and even easier to use, and although it has been criticised for its repetitiveness, it is simple to construct, and provides a solid and effective ab workout.
Things We Liked:
- Extremely solid construction
- Can be altered to work abdominals and the obliques
- Simple to use
Things We Didn’t Like:
- Expensive
- limited exercise selection
The Wonder Core ab machine is a durable piece of equipment that comes at an affordable price point. This machine provides a quality abdominal workout, which can also double to work the upper and lower body, making it a versatile alternative to some of the other pieces of equipment on this list.
This machine is portable and extremely compact, making it suitable for home use, and can be adjusted to suit your individual body shape and size.
This machine has limited resistance, making it suitable for beginners, but less so for intermediate or advanced trainees. Its durability has also been questioned, with reports of damage occurring quite easily.
Things We Liked:
- Affordable
- Versatile piece of equipment
- Simple to use
- Compact
Things We Didn’t Like:
- Only suitable for beginners
- Questionable Durability
Then Ab WOW roller is similar to Ab Carver Pro, in that it has taken an effective traditional ab wheel and made some modifications for the better.
This roller is extremely durable, made with heavy duty steel and rubber, and will last you a lifetime (it literally comes with a lifetime guarantee!). It also comes with Eleatic resistance that can be attached via a foot strap. This elastic resistance can make the exercise more difficult, or easier, depending on how it is applied.
It provides a fantastic way to challenge the abdominal muscles without going through excessive spinal flexion, making it a safe and efficient option.
One negative that has been mentioned repeatedly, is that even despite the variable resistance, this exercise can be quite challenging for beginners, and as such may be more suitable for more advanced trainees.
Things We Liked:
- Affordable
- Simple to use
- Compact
- Durable construction
Things We Didn’t Like:
- May not be suitable for beginners
- More expensive than similar alternatives
What To Look For In An Ab Machine?
Like most things, this does come down to a number of factors. If you have a decent home gym, and a heap of room to spare, you might be more inclined to opt for a larger, more permanent ab machine.
Unfortunately, for most of us (myself included), this is not the case. As such, an ab machine needs to be small and compact, allowing us to use it at home, and take it to the gym if we feel the need. It needs to be durable, and needs to allow exercise progression, accommodating increasing levels of strength and fitness.
Increased versatility is a bonus, meaning that the exercises don’t get boring. This also ensures that we can work the entire core musculature.
Conclusion
Via: Amazon.com
As a result of our extensive review, we believe that Perfect Fitness Ab Carver Pro is the best ab machine available on the market today.
Not only is it actually the most affordable ab machine on this list, it is extremely durable and safe. It provides a unique and modern twist to the traditional ab wheel, making it suitable for individuals of all fitness levels, while also increasing its versatility.
It is small and compact, meaning it can be taken anywhere.
And finally, due to the nature of the resistance it provides, it teaches the abdominal muscles to stabilise the spine effectively. This not only increases core strength, but can lead to improved spinal health, reducing low back pain and risk of back injury.
