If you want to get ripped abs—and fast—you’ll need to work out your abs. Sure, you could try diet and exercise, but without some targeted, ab-specific training, you won’t get so far.
Ab machines come in all shapes and sizes, but even if you’re an expert at spotting the best ones, figuring out which one to buy can be tricky since there are so many options. Therefore, we collected 15 of the best home ab machines so you can work out without leaving your house. They’re also all available at major retailers like Amazon and Target.
Best rated abdominal exercise equipment by type comparison
Equipment | Key Benefits | Minimum fitness level required | Rating | Learn more |
Sit up benches  | We can adjust the level of resistance by altering the slant board, more effective sit ups and crunches. | Beginner | ||
Ab Rollers  | It gives a total core workout but works the whole body—compact and cheap. | Intermediate | ||
Roman chair  | Back extension exercises work the lower back, glutes, and hams, improving posture and avoiding low back pain. | Intermediate | ||
Power tower  | Do the best bodyweight exercises. The vertical knee raise station is great for abs. | Beginner | ||
Stability ball  | Fitness balls are great for core training but are also good for any exercises. They are also inexpensive and compact. | Beginner | ||
Balance Trainer  | This equipment improves core strength and balance, and it's really fun to use. | Beginner | ||
Medicine Ball  | The medicine ball is an incredibly versatile piece of home exercise equipment that can be used for all sorts of strength training exercises. | Intermediate | ||
Gliding Discs  | Exercise discs are versatile & lightweight fitness equipment. Increase your flexibility, strength, & endurance. | Beginner | ||
Resistance bands  | Use resistance bands instead of traditional weight lifting equipment. | Beginner |
- Best rated abdominal exercise equipment by type comparison
- Best Sit Up Bench: XMark Adjustable Decline Ab Workout Bench
- The Best Ab Roller: Lifeline Power Wheel
- Best Back Extension Bench: Marcy Roman Chair
- Best Pull Up Dip Station with VKR: Sportsroyals Power Tower
- Best Fitness Ball: Trideer Exercise Ball
- Best Balance Trainer: Nalanda Wobble Balance Board
- Best Weighted Ball: Amazon Basics Medicine Ball
- Best Gliding Discs: Elite Sportz Sliders
- Best Rubber Bands: Fit Simplify Resistance Exercise Bands
- Core Max Ab Machine
- Fitlaya Fitness Core & Abdominal Trainer
- Power Guidance Ab Exercise Mat
Best Sit Up Bench: XMark Adjustable Decline Ab Workout Bench
The benefits of doing sit-ups on a bench are the same as doing them on the floor, with a few exceptions. The most obvious benefit is that a bench allows you to do your sit-ups while keeping your back in a neutral position. This prevents you from unintentionally arching or slouching.
Also, adjustable sit-up benches let us choose from various board angles. That means we can use progressively more or less resistance to suit our fitness level.
Why get the Xmark Ab bench instead of other benches?
The Best Ab Roller: Lifeline Power Wheel
An ab wheel is a simple tool for strengthening your core. It consists of a wheel-like device with handles on each end, which you can roll out and back for an abs workout. Some people buy an ab wheel because they don’t have a lot of room, so they can exercise in front of the TV.
Why go with Lifeline Power Wheel?
Best Back Extension Bench: Marcy Roman Chair
The hyperextension bench is a piece of strength training equipment that can help you strengthen your lower back, gluteus maximus, upper back, and deltoid strength. It is popular with those looking to increase their performance in sports, including football, rugby, powerlifting, and bodybuilding. Additionally, it is also popular with those looking to improve their posture or achieve better overall health.
Why do we like the Marcy Roman chair?
Best Pull Up Dip Station with VKR: Sportsroyals Power Tower
This workout equipment is a combination of a dip machine and a pull-up bar. The unit is one of the most versatile pieces of fitness equipment you will ever find, and it is an excellent addition to any home or commercial gym.
It also comes with a vertical knee raise station (VKR) which lets us do various knee and lig lifts. Leg raises are great for building both lower-body strength and core stability. Performing a leg raise with good form requires you to engage your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, abdominals, and lower back.
Why choose Sportsroyals Power Tower over others?
Best Fitness Ball: Trideer Exercise Ball
Stability balls—also known as exercise balls, fitness balls, and Swiss balls—are large, round, inflatable balls that you can use in your daily exercise routine. They work well for workouts that focus on strengthening your core muscles and improving balance, flexibility, and coordination.
Stability balls will help with pilates, yoga, abs, and back exercises. We can do hundreds of low-impact exercises using them. You can also use it as an office ball chair for better posture and to avoid back pain.
Why do we recommend the Trideer Swiss ball?
Best Balance Trainer: Nalanda Wobble Balance Board
The balance trainer is exercise equipment used to provide an excellent workout to your core and leg muscles. If you use this piece of equipment, you’ll find that your balance is greatly improved, you’ll feel more flexible, and you’ll be more vital to do those everyday things you do. In general, balance trainers are the best way to get more coordinated.
What makes Nalanada Wobble Board the best?
Best Weighted Ball: Amazon Basics Medicine Ball
A medicine ball is a weight that’s used in a variety of forms of exercise. We can use it to increase the intensity of a workout and be a great way to make even simple exercises like sit-ups or crunches harder.
Medicine balls are fantastic for core strength training. Core strength involves more than just abs and back muscles. It involves the muscles of the hips, glutes, and lower back. According to studies, core strength is the best predictor of injury prevention.
Why should you choose the Amazon Basics Medicine Ball?
Related: Medicine ball exercises for boxing
Best Gliding Discs: Elite Sportz Sliders
Gliding discs are lightweight, portable, and versatile fitness equipment. Sliders offer a lot of exercise benefits. They improve your flexibility, strength, and endurance. If you do a high-intensity ab exercise, like mountain climbers, gliders let you go harder for longer, and you’ll burn more calories. Furthermore, they create a slightly unstable surface, which challenges your core muscles.
Why do Elite Sportz Sliders stand out?
Best Rubber Bands: Fit Simplify Resistance Exercise Bands
While resistance bands were initially used by athletes seeking to increase their strength, many non-athletes now use them for flexibility and core strength. Resistance bands can be used as an alternative to traditional weight lifting equipment or in conjunction with it.
Resistance bands work by providing varying degrees of resistance based on the band’s amount of slack or tension. They are made of elastic materials, usually latex, and can be found in various sizes, usually based on the diameter of the band.
Resistance bands are especially useful for working the core muscles, including the abs, lower back, obliques, pelvis, and glutes.
Why should you get Fit Simplify Exercise Bands?
Core Max Ab Machine
Core Max Pro is a science-backed machine that helps you get lean and toned in just 8 minutes a day. With the help of this machine, you can strengthen your abs safely and conveniently.
Fitlaya Fitness Core & Abdominal Trainer
This ab machine has a unique steel curve track design and therefore involves more muscles to help you reach a higher level of ab workout.
The downside of this home exercise machine for abs is that it drives the movement, so the core doesn’t work as much.
Power Guidance Ab Exercise Mat
The abdominal mat targets the entire abdominal wall while offering a full range of motion. This helps you to train your abs, back, and obliques more effectively. Your abs will feel a nice stretch at the bottom, then a full contraction at the top when you do sit-ups, leg lifts, or crunches.
This ab mat is made of high-density foam that supports your lower back and provides a convenient position. It doesn’t slip or wobble, so you can focus on the workout rather than worrying about stabilizing your body.
This is cheap abs exercise equipment that is portable and compact.
How to choose the best ab workout machine for you?
What features are important?
When shopping for an exercise machine, what should you look for? It depends on your fitness level and how often you plan to use it. Most machines come with a set of instructions that will tell you how much weight it can handle and what height and body type is required to use it safely.
If you’re starting an exercise program, get something low-priced and easy to use. If you have a more advanced fitness level, you may want to opt for a more expensive and high-end machine with more resistance and weight capacity.
Understanding the different muscles involved
The most advanced exercise machines at your gym are designed to engage your core muscles. But what are those? And what is the best way to engage them? Targeting the core helps maintain the natural spinal curvature in your back and helps protect the back muscles and spine from injury. The core includes the abs, obliques, hams, glutes, back muscles, and pelvic floor muscles. Over time, core muscles may become weak due to lack of use. This can lead to lower back pain, bad posture, and injuries.
Abdominal muscles are part of your core muscles. The abdominal muscles are the most visible muscles of the abdomen. They are located in your midsection and help you bend forward, twist, and turn, and also help you stabilize your body when you stand or walk.
When searching for an ab machine, look for one that works your entire core, not just your abs. Such home exercise equipment is the ab wheel, VKR machine, and all the others that can be used for typical core exercises.
How versatile is the at-home ab workout equipment?
It is clear from the list above that some machines are only designed for one or two exercises, whereas others can be used in various ways. For example, the power tower gives full upper body training.
If you don’t have home exercise equipment yet, I recommend getting a multifunctional machine so you can train more than your abs. This way, you can save money and space.
What is the best workout equipment for abs?
I think the ab wheel is the best core exercise equipment because it works the whole trunk, and it’s easy to use. But it requires a good amount of core strength. So I wouldn’t recommend it for beginners.
The runner-up is the power tower since it includes workout stations to do various bodyweight exercises that almost always engage the abs.
The following equipment items are the medicine ball, stability ball, and resistance bands since they make basic ab exercises more challenging. With that, they improve the strength and size of the abdominal muscles.
Lastly, I love the Roman chair because it works the whole rear of the body, which is usually neglected.
Related: Best HIIT Machines for Home
To sum up
Choosing the best ab workout equipment for home can be a difficult decision. There are many different ab machines to choose from, both in terms of design and price. To make your decision easier, we’ve picked out the best ab machines for home right now. I hope you found the right equipment for you, but if not, feel free to ask your questions below.
