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Ab rollers are a killer way to spice up your workout and sculpt that dream core. Ab rollers are simple, relatively inexpensive, and easy on the spinal discs versus those archaic sit-ups that I’m sure we all hate. Who knew something so basic in its design can help you feel such a good burn? Given its simplicity, there are quite a lot to choose from, however, and it can be a bit of a headache to sift through all the options. Let Task & Purpose lend a hand.
Breaking a sweat should be for your workout, not your shopping, so let us guide you through the best ab rollers on the market today. Enter our guide which we’ve carefully curated using our blend of personal knowledge and consumer feedback to help you decide on the right product for your specific application.
- Best Overall: Core Masters CoreFlex4D Dynamic Core Trainer
- Best Value: Sprwhale Fitness Ab Roller
- Honorable Mention: Rogue Fitness Ab Wheel
- Best Resistance: Perfect Fitness Ab Carver Pro
- Best Portable: RBX Ab Roller Wheels
- Best Kit: EnterSports 6-In-1 Ab Wheel Roller Kit
Methodology
As journalists and service members who’ve made fitness part of our lifestyles, we at Task & Purpose must deliver the most informative yet honest reviews possible. From all sorts of cardio machines to trick bits of gear for getting your bulk on, we know our way around quality fitness equipment. I enjoy a good ab roller — even though they absolutely annihilate my scrawny self — and have used quite a few of various grades, and it was a pleasure to dive deep into these neat and peculiar models for you.
Sourcing a dozen ab rollers would’ve been a timely and costly affair for a single writer, so this guide was curated primarily research-driven and aided by previous experiences with ab rollers at gyms and at home. Most ab rollers were easily found on a central hub like Amazon, but deviating into the Google Sea highlighted unique standouts equally worth your attention. That said, Rogue Fitness and Core Masters were additional sources of consumer feedback and product insight.
The best ab rollers were capable of delivering diverse workouts with robust quality to survive harsh lives under the most dedicated fitness gurus. Rollers with little-to-no consumer feedback were ignored as we typically lean towards items with trusted, real-world backing. As always, readers are always encouraged to come and learn more about how Task & Purpose generally curates its buyer’s guides.
Best Overall
Core Masters CoreFlex4D Dynamic Core Trainer
Best Value
Sprwhale Fitness Ab Roller
Honorable Mention
Rogue Fitness Ab Wheel
Best Resistance
Perfect Fitness Ab Carver Pro
Best Portable
RBX Ab Roller Wheels
Best Kit
EnterSports 6-In-1 Ab Wheel Roller Kit
Our verdict on ab rollers
The unique CoreFlex4D ab roller takes the cake for its robust construction and comfortable ergonomics to please newcomers and experts alike. The Sprwhale Fitness product earns Best Value for delivering a durable, honest ab roller at an undeniable bargain. And Rogue Fitness deserves your attention for those seeking a top-tier, resilient ab roller to last into their retirement home years.
What to consider when buying an ab roller
Most ab rollers fall under one giant umbrella as they aim to accomplish the same task in the same manner. It can be hard to make distinctions between the different types unless you squint and take note of the tidbits that make each type special. Do you want a do-it-all doohickey with foot straps and outward handles, or do you want pure, distilled simplicity? Here are the key paths through which an ab roller can distinguish itself.
Types of ab rollers
Basic
For lack of a better term, these are your most common, most affordable types of ab rollers. They may implement metal into their design but are generally plastic with straight-out horizontal grips. Their wheels are often thin with squared-off contact patches that evoke memories of Radio Flyer wagons, but some may sport unique, conical designs for added versatility.
Nearly all the items you’ll find at gyms and stores will be this style of ab roller, meaning that if this is your jam, all you have left to do is pick a quality model and check out. However, the rudimentary design doesn’t always mean they’re cheap, and some premium models built to withstand a lifetime of hardcore exercises may command premium price tags.
Full-body/full-core exercise
These are the unique oddities with peculiar add-ons created to enhance the range of workouts they can perform significantly; the CoreFlex4D ab roller is a good example. Such products may utilize pads for resting arms or more outward-mounted grips for different positioning during various exercise routines. They can also sport a more rounded-off wheel that encourages twisting and leaning during some exercises. A few examples have even been noted to have straps near the handles for placing your feet to work your lower body.
These will often be built to handle the demands of the added exercises that they’ll help perform. As such, expect higher maximum weight capacities and perhaps even higher price tags. The simpler the design, such as those with just footrests, the less painful the price.
Portable
Portable ab rollers are the neat trinkets marketed as being capable of being brought to workplaces or vacation spots. Who decides to get a good core pump going at the office is anyone’s guess, but these will help you do it through some pretty clever methods. Many designs are your basic ab rollers but enhanced with detachable handles or more compact wheels for easy transporting. A more ingenious design such as RBX ab rollers takes things to a new level with two minuscule rollers for each hand.
As for purchasing, they’re priced similarly to their fixed, slightly-bulkier counterparts and are reasonably easy to find on the online marketplace, albeit less common. While I couldn’t quite dig up concrete evidence, the small sizes and easily-detachable components raise concerns over longevity.
Key features of ab rollers
Handles
As simple as it sounds, these are what you grip onto as you go through the motions of activating your core. There’s not much to making a handle good or bad. Instead, it’s a matter of personal preference. Basic handles will be straight, no-frills plastic bars. Others may have dimples punched in them or some form of texturing for improved grip. A few may have foam inserts for resisting slippage when your knees are weak and palms are sweaty (from the workout, not Mom’s spaghetti).
Premium full-body ab rollers often have curved, outward-positioned handles with elbow pads where standard handles would go. This places the body in a more stable plank position for an even more effective workout. Some full-body rollers also sport foot straps or pedals for utilizing your lower body.
Wheels
This is the literal and metaphorical core that makes an ab roller an ab roller. How these are designed will have slight but noticeable effects on the product’s overall feel. While most ab rollers appear the same, some wheels may be installed with a much tighter fit, whereas lower-end products can wobble and rattle. Some may be cheap plastic with a prominent tread design that vibrates over hard floors. Others, such as Rogue Fitness rollers, may use a soft rubber or foam wheel that glides over most surfaces.
Some ab rollers may use wider wheels or even two wheels for better weight distribution and enhanced capacity, and unique products such as the Perfect Fitness ab roller feature built-in springs to create tension. This adds resistance for a more effective workout, although these types of wheels are far rarer.
Equipment bundles
Not unlike a previous guide on medicine balls, it must be noted that equipment bundles are hot ticket items on the online marketplace, and ab roller bundles are no exception. It doesn’t even have to be an Amazon-specific bundle, as some companies sell entire workout kits complete with resistance bands, push-up bars, and more.
These kits will mainly include knee pads and resistance bands at the very least, but some go so far as to include jump ropes and hand grippers. If medicine ball kits are geared towards strength training and bodybuilding, ab roller kits will be decked out for high-intensity aerobic and anaerobic routines.
Pricing of an ab roller
Most ab rollers are relatively inexpensive items, save for a few top-tier gym nut specials. Expect most ab rollers on the online marketplace to ring in between $30 and $40. Full-body and full-core models such as the CoreFlex4D quickly blitz past the $100 mark with higher-quality rollers, with more traditional designs such as the Rogue Fitness Ab Wheel slot right beneath at $75. Our Best Value Sprwhale Fitness product rings in at an easygoing $20.
Tips and tricks
As with something you do for decades upon decades, you pick up a few tips and tricks along the way in terms of selecting the right product, and/or using it. That’s the case with us and ab rollers. To help you bridge the information gap, here’s a selection of what we’ve learned along the way.
- To any service members bracing for a PT test, ab rollers will help but not fully substitute the muscle-memory advantage of practicing sit-ups. Use them as a supplement to your routine but not a replacement.
- For those who aren’t concerned with PT tests, inch towards ab rollers and other ab workouts that don’t strain your spine so much. Sit-ups put you at risk of a herniated spinal disc.
- Seek full-body or full-core ab rollers with the elbow pads if you’d like more comfort. They brace you in a plank position and take some strain off your wrists.
- Dorm dwellers or those in smaller houses and apartments will enjoy any portable ab roller or ab rollers with collapsible/removable handles due to their easy storage.
- It is acceptable to tuck your abs into a very slight, cat-like hunch as you roll in, as this will allow you to maintain a tightness in your core without over flexing your spine.
FAQs about ab rollers
You’ve got questions, Task & Purpose has answers.
Q: Are ab rollers effective?
A: Absolutely. As you go through the movements, you’re holding your position to work your core isometrically, almost akin to a plank. This method activates more muscle fibers as you’re utilizing most of, if not your entire core, to stabilize yourself.
Q: Is an ab roller bad for the back?
A: They’re quite the opposite. As you’re striving to maintain your flat or mostly-flat position throughout your movements, you’re not compressing your spinal discs and avoid risking a herniated disc. When done right, even a slight tuck as you roll in won’t be enough to over flex your spine.
Q: Can an ab roller get me a six-pack?
A: The best answer is maybe. Of course, like any solid routine, you can shave fat and build a brick wall of a gut, but that’s also heavily influenced by intensity, frequency, and diet. Don’t think of ab rollers as your endgame weapon but as an extra nifty tool at your disposal.
Q: Are ab rollers better than sit-ups?
A: Ab rollers deliver an effective workout as you’re utilizing your core to maintain position throughout the movements without stressing your lower spine. A study has shown that, while you’re merely stabilizing yourself, ab rollers activate more muscle fibers than basic sit-ups, as well.