Exercise Comparison
Ab Roller vs Weighted Ball Side Bend
Side-by-Side
Muscle Analysis
Shared
Only in Ab Roller
Instructions
Ab Roller
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.
Weighted Ball Side Bend
To begin, lie down on an exercise ball with your left side of the torso (waist, hips and shoulder) pressed against the ball.
Your feet should be on the floor while your legs are crossed and hanging from the ball. Hold a weighted plate with your right hand directly to the right side of your head. Tip: Make sure the smooth side of the plate is resting against your head.
Place your left arm across your torso so that your palm is on your obliques. There should be a right angle between your left forearm and upper arm. This is the starting position.
Raise the side of your torso up by laterally flexing at the waist while exhaling.
Hold the contraction for a second and slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position while inhaling.
Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Switch sides and repeat the exercise.
Verdict
Both exercises target the abdominals. Ab Roller is a intermediate exercise using other, while Weighted Ball Side Bend is intermediate and uses exercise ball. Choose Ab Roller if you have access to other, or Weighted Ball Side Bend if you prefer exercise ball. Ab Roller is a compound movement working multiple joints, making it better for overall strength. Weighted Ball Side Bend isolates the target muscle for focused development.