Ab Roller vs Crunches

Hold the Ab Roller with both hands and kneel on the floor.

Now place the ab roller on the floor in front of you so that you are on all your hands and knees (as in a kneeling push up position). This will be your starting position.

Slowly roll the ab roller straight forward, stretching your body into a straight position. Tip: Go down as far as you can without touching the floor with your body. Breathe in during this portion of the movement.

After a pause at the stretched position, start pulling yourself back to the starting position as you breathe out. Tip: Go slowly and keep your abs tight at all times.

Lie flat on your back with your feet flat on the ground, or resting on a bench with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle. If you are resting your feet on a bench, place them three to four inches apart and point your toes inward so they touch.

Now place your hands lightly on either side of your head keeping your elbows in. Tip: Don't lock your fingers behind your head.

While pushing the small of your back down in the floor to better isolate your abdominal muscles, begin to roll your shoulders off the floor.

Continue to push down as hard as you can with your lower back as you contract your abdominals and exhale. Your shoulders should come up off the floor only about four inches, and your lower back should remain on the floor. At the top of the movement, contract your abdominals hard and keep the contraction for a second. Tip: Focus on slow, controlled movement - don't cheat yourself by using momentum.

After the one second contraction, begin to come down slowly again to the starting position as you inhale.

Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.