The ab roller is one of the best core fitness development tools out there. It’s under-rated, and you don’t have to be an elite athlete to build a core of granite using one! However, with so many products available, it can be a challenge finding one that checks off all the boxes when it comes to durability and practicality.
So, to help narrow down your options, we’re going look at some of the best ab rollers for home, why you should care about them, including our top choice so that you can save time and money when selecting your ab roller.
Let’s dive right in!
Best Ab Roller: Product Reviews and Comparison Chart
Comparison Chart
Perfect Fitness Ab Carver Pro Roller Wheel With Built In Spring Resistance, At Home Core Workout Equipment
Sports Research Ab Wheel Roller with Knee Pad | Sturdy 3″ Wheel for Core Workouts in The Gym or at Home
Lifeline Power Wheel for At Home Full Body Functional Fitness Strength including Abs & Core, Lower Body and Upper Body with Foot Straps for More Workout Options , Black
Perfect Fitness
Ab Carver Wheel
The Fitness Ab Carver is one of the earliest examples of this chunky ab roller wheel design. It inspired many of the designs we’ve been seeing today: thicker wheels and more unusual-looking handles.
This comes with prestige, but also with a well-developed sense of quality and customer service. This product has a great track record and, while it is weighty like others on this list, it’s also very durable.
The balance of these qualities makes this one of the best fitness ab rollers we found currently available. There are the occasional quality assurance issues, but the reliability and quality of the Ab Carver is phenomenal when compared to most other rollers out there. This product does exactly what it’s designed to; it rolls on the ground and doesn’t break through extensive use and abuse.
This is a great ab roller wheel and – while a bit more on the expensive side – is a seriously great piece of kit. The pay-off is quality and reliability, which are key things to look for when choosing your ab wheel.
Pros
- Good durability and build quality, especially compared to alternatives
- OG in the field with a good reputation and design philosophy
- Chunky, rounded design but without the issues seen above
- Ergonomic handles for comfort during use
Cons
- Ergonomic handles aren’t for everyone
Key Takeaway
Being the first to use this kind of design isn’t always a perk, but the ab ripper is a great example of ab rollers for home fitness. It’s still large and possibly not the best ab roller for a gym bag but a perfect ab roller for core workouts at home.
GYMENIST Abdominal Exercise Ab Wheel Roller
This is the kind of product design that is most often associated with the fitness ab roller. It’s designed around simplicity in mind for performing ab exercises. The result is a non-chunky and compact design, which is much more portable and easy to store than others on this list. This is the minimalist, but it does what you need, no gimmicks, and no flashy design choices.
This roller wheel is a great economic choice but that doesn’t mean compromising on the quality or functionality. This is the absolute foundational quality you should be looking for in an ab roller and anything diverging from this design needs to be really well-implemented to be worthwhile.
Pros
- Simple and brutally-effective
- Does what it says on the tin; it rolls on the floor and doesn’t fall apart!
- Durability, reliability, and economy are all top-notch
- Affordable
- Other color option available
Cons
- Lacks some of the features (such as rounded edges and ergonomic handles) of other products on this list
Key Takeaway
This is a fantastic choice if you’ve used a simple ab roller at the gym and want to replicate that at home. It offers all the functionality and simplicity of a normal ab roller, allowing you to replicate all the best results when focusing on your core fitness at home.
This is the best ab roller for those looking for simplicity and results on a budget. It’s a brutally effective tool that skips out on the additional features in an attempt to triple down on the roller fundamentals.
Perfect Fitness – PRO LINE
This product tries to take a new spin on a classic design idea. Pun not intended, but certainly relevant.
It’s got great ergonomic handles and the roller wheel itself looks like it’s built of very robust materials, and with decent overall production using carbon steel inside the driving mechanism. It adds a lot of fancy design to the classic build but doesn’t provide a ton of functional changes.
In many ways, it looks very unique. The design and aesthetics don’t match up to a solid improvement in features or performance, however, it can support individuals of up to 300lbs, which is quite high. It’s solid, but this does come with increased weight.
Pros
- The thicker design will often mean smoother rolling
- Curved sides make for easier offset rolling
- Ergonomic grips can be useful for comfort
- Supports individuals of up to 300lbs
Cons
- The quality assurance isn’t consistent
- Heavy and unwieldy, making it a poor gym bag choice
Key Takeaway
Just consider this ab wheel probably isn’t going to be very gym bag-friendly due to its weight. Overall, this seems to be a strong and effective product for anyone looking for a heavy-duty product for their home gym and cares about rolling in style!
#4
Sports Research
Ab Wheel Roller
The design of this ab wheel is simple and is made with a significant amount of industry-standard choices, including the thick wheel, though with straight handles which can be useful if you’re adding bands to your roller in future. The 3” wheel also has a rubber grip pad, which makes it ideal for use on smooth and slippery floors.
What we liked most about this product was that it is fairly light-weight, which allows for easy transportation in a gym bag when on the go. It also comes with a rubber knee pad cushion, which makes a great bonus when performing ab exercises on solid surfaces.
Pros
- Ergonomic handles for better support and comfort
- Large design with rounded wheel-edges
- Comes with a rubber knee pad cushion as a bonus
Cons
- Price is higher than the product justifies compared to market alternatives
- Handles don’t fit very easily, may fall out, and require a hammer otherwise!
Key Takeaway
This is another example of the prevailing design style. It’s a great choice for anyone who desires to take their fitness gear on the go and is looking to perform ab exercises on a hard solid surface, which is what this ab roller seems to be designed for given its rubber grip wheel and the bonus cushioned knee pad included with the wheel roller.
#5
Lifeline
Power Wheel (with Foot Attachment)
This is an interesting product; it’s a standard ab wheel design without any frills – except for the foot attachments and extended handles.
The foot attachments don’t come off, however, which makes this product clunky and awkward in the hands. This makes the Power Wheel far more unusual to use – though it does open up the possibility of performing rolling crunches and similar exercises.
This product is a great choice if you’re looking for exercise versatility, though the trade-off is discomfort in use for some customers. The bulk of the item does also make it harder to store – especially if you were thinking of putting it in your gym bag.
Overall, it’s setting out a very clear niche but doesn’t compete amazingly well on the basics.
Pros
- Foot attachments increase the variety of exercises you can perform
- Attachments ensure stability and reduce slipping during exercise
- The actual wheel design is good and well put-together
Cons
- The handles may be awkward to use due to foot-plate attachments
- Unwieldy and hard to store when on the go
Key Takeaway
This one certainly fills a strong niche – but if you’re not looking for the foot attachment, it underperforms compared to many competitors. However, this is a fantastic option if you’re looking for more than just your typical ab roller for at-home use and if you’re looking to get strong crunches and make some hip flexor gains!
#6
Amazon Basics Abdominal and Core Exercise Workout Roller Wheel
Speed Abs Complete Ab Roller
This is another chunky, “next-gen” ab roller that offers a similar approach to ergonomics and larger wheel design. It’s in large size when compared to most ab rollers on the market and has a comfortable ergonomic handle placement/design.
However, we found that this roller isn’t the best if you’re looking at long-term or excessive use and abuse. These are some concerns if you’re planning on putting many hours into your ab roller, however, this can be somewhat justified by the lower price point.
Also, the advertisements for this product on Amazon also reference absolutely ridiculous claims like “supercharging your metabolism with the ab roller” and other fitness buzzwords. The bottom line is that this ab roller wheel rolls on the floor, and that’s what matters.
Pros
- Ergonomic handles
- Larger size with curved wheel-edges
- Affordable
Cons
- Lower quality design compared to our other reviews
- Heavy and cumbersome which can make it inconvenient
Key Takeaway
This is a decent product but not as strong and durable as the previous ab wheel, on average. It’s in the same kind of chunky, rounded, ergonomic design and that can be pretty appealing. Again, it’s good for at-home use but not perfect for a gym bag.
Our Top Pick, And Why!
Our top choices for the best ab roller is the GYMENIST ab wheel for its simplicity and function or the Ab Carver Pro for its comprehensive quality design.
If you’re on a budget and want something simple for your gym bag, GYMENIST has got you covered. It offers simple, brutal effectiveness with no frills and a ton of value for money.
The Ab Carver Pro is a far more ‘premium’ product and does come with a higher price point. However, this pays off in the quality of the product and offers a top-quality ab workout at home!
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are The Benefits Of Using An Ab Roller?
Fitness Progressions
One of the reasons we love ab rollers is how they enable you to perform a wide variety of core exercises. Not only do they open up great core workouts at home, but also progressions: ways of starting with easier exercises and developing the strength and control to perform more challenging workouts.
The ab roller wheel is comparable to the push-up for the amount of versatility it can offer. It’s a way of adding serious benefits to bodyweight core workouts without crunches. Like the push-up, you can make it easier and more difficult, depending on your level of experience using your body.
Options
When it comes to your fitness, the variety of exercises you can perform with an ab roller is both simple and great. It’s a varied workout tool with a very simple idea of rolling forwards and backward.
Offset rolls are one of the most underrated core training tools, offering strength in the abdominal muscles, but also the obliques that control sideways movement. This will also contribute to anti-rotational strength in the core – keeping the spine safe when performing exercises.
Trains Limb Isolation
One of the things we love about the ab roller wheel is that it will also prove your ability to keep the core stable while the limbs are moving. This kind of movement is key to transferring core gains to other parts of your training and make the ab roller a fantastic choice.
All this and, crucially, it is cheap, takes up almost no space and can be used nearly anywhere with space.
How to Choose The Best Ab Roller
Durability
If it falls apart, you’ll fall on your face. Literally.
There’s nothing about an ab roller that matters more than durability and functionality. Good durability means peace of mind, and not having to buy another.
You will find that the majority of ab rollers are made of durable plastic. Solid materials such as stainless steel can also help with durability, however, it’s not necessary if the design using other materials supports higher weight capacities.
Wheels
A single wheel is okay, but dual wheels are usually better for reliability and offset rolling. They produce stability so you can worry about keeping your core in a good position when performing exercises, rather than making sure you don’t wobble off your wheel.
A well-balanced, two-wheel product is the ideal – and quality here matters as well!
Size And Storage
A good fitness ab roller may be useful at the gym or home if you perform core exercises at the end of workout sessions (like you know you should!).
Some of the larger rollers on the market may not be appropriate for a gym bag due to weight or size due to heavy materials such as stainless steel. If storage is important than you have to consider the choice of materials used, or it may be stuck at home – having the option is the important part.
Final Thoughts
The ab roller wheel is a great piece of exercise equipment either at home or at the gym during a workout. It’s a diverse and amazing option for your core and is one of the best ways to train your core with only a few sets per workout.
We’ve looked at some of the best ab rollers, some of the most interesting designs, and what they’re good for. If you’re looking for a fantastic home workout for your core, an ab roller alone is enough, and for the price, it’s one of the best bang-for-your-buck investments you could make when building your home gym, to when looking to take a piece of equipment with you when on the go.
Read also: 7 Best Workout Benches For Home