“Improving in leg raises will cause the biggest impact on ab development.” –Rusty Moore

I’m tired of seeing ads for ridiculous abs equipment.

Whether it’s those ab rockers that supposedly help you do crunches more effectively or those ludicrous belts that claim to work your core without you doing anything, there are so many scams out there it’s not even funny. I could go on about this, but I’m not even going to bother. Instead, I’ll just point out a couple of things. First, when it comes to getting a defined midsection, the type of abs exercises you do are of secondary importance to your diet and overall fitness regimen… by far. Next, when you do work your abs, you don’t really need any equipment to get an awesome workout, especially not the gimmicky ones you see on late night TV. Having said that, I do have a couple of suggestions for the best exercise equipment for abs and the best exercises for abs which will actually help you get results.

The first piece of equipment isn’t even an abs-specific contraption.

What is it? A simple pull up bar. I’m talking specifically about the kind that attaches to your door, but really any bar that you can hang from will do. You can pick up one of these almost anywhere for less than $20. I must say for the price, this is probably one of the best investments I’ve ever made for my fitness. Not only can you do pull ups, which are great abs exercises themselves, but you can do all kinds of hanging leg raises. These do much more to work your abs than crunches and they are especially effective in targeting the lower abs.

Here are some tips I’d like to share to get the most out of your hanging leg raises:
• Focus on using your abs. With each repetition, work hard to use only your core when executing the movement. Even though they are called leg raises, remember they are an abs exercise so try to only use your midsection to perform the raise and just let your legs go along for the ride.
• Go slow. You get the most out of this exercise if you are slow and methodical. If you find yourself swinging back and forth and using your legs as momentum, you aren’t doing it right. This may take some practice. When I first started out doing these, I swung a lot more. As you build up core strength you’ll be able to carry these out much more effectively.
• Go to failure. If you follow the first two tips, it shouldn’t take that many repetitions for your abs to wear out. A few sets of these to failure with proper form and your abs will be sore the next day, guaranteed. Over time, you’ll be able to work your way up to more reps and then more difficult variations.

One of my abs routines consists of a few sets of different variations of hanging leg raises. I’ve found the variations extremely useful for providing a challenging ab workout because once you get used to standard hanging leg raises, they become much easier. If you are interested in adding hanging leg raises to your routine, the best resource available is Rusty Moore’s free abs course called Abs Blueprint. In this program, he has outlined several preset abs routines centered around hanging leg raises that you can choose from based on your level of expertise and your goals. If you are a beginner, you’ll want to start with the basic hanging leg raise, but as you get more advanced you can get a little creative.

Greg over at Kinobody Fitness Systems has an awesome video with a couple more advanced variations of leg raises that I like to use as part of my routine.

The second piece of abs equipment I’d recommend is even cheaper.

It’s the ab wheel, also called the ab roller. This is another piece of equipment that Rusty features in Abs Blueprint and another one that you can really benefit from if you use it correctly. Many people will dismiss the ab wheel because they don’t think it does anything. Well, if you use it like most people do, it probably won’t. However, like the leg raises, it’s all about the technique. If you do them right, you’ll feel the burn in the first couple of reps. In fact, just one set of these is plenty if you do it in conjunction with other abs exercises such as hanging leg raises. I like to do a set of the ab wheel as a “finishing exercise” after my hanging leg raises.

Here are some tips for using the ab wheel correctly:
• Begin with good starting posture. You want to start on your knees with your thighs perpendicular to the ground, your back rounded (not sagging), and your core tight like in a plank position. Brace your abs before each rep. This makes a big difference.
• Use your abs. Like the leg raises, this is an abs exercise. Don’t swing with your arms like you are using a dough roller in the kitchen. If this worked your abs, every pastry chef in the world would be ripped. Pretend like there is a string attached to the wheel from your belly button and slowly release the string with your core as you extend outwards. Your arms are simply going along for the ride. Then when you are fully extended, pull the string back in slowly only using your core and not your arms. This is what creates the burn in the exercise.
• Use your wrists to maximize extension. At the peak of your extension, curl your wrists outward while keeping your core engaged as much as possible to get maximum extension. When you pull the wheel back in, curl your wrists inward to get maximum contraction. This works your abs more.
• Alternate between straight and side to side. I like to do a set of 10 reps. On the first four, I extend straight out. On the next four, I extend out to the right and then to the left, alternating. Then on the last two, I extend straight out again.
• Go slow. This is an even slower exercise than hanging leg raises. A set of 10 reps should take well over a minute. If not, you’re going too fast.

Here’s one of the best instructional videos I’ve seen on how to use the ab wheel with correct form.

So there you have it. You don’t need any fancy gadgets to help you do crunches. Just a couple of pieces of basic exercise equipment to get the most effective abs workout you’ve ever had. The pull up bar and ab wheel are my votes for the best exercise equipment for abs out there. They are inexpensive and easy to use. If you want better abs, don’t fall for those stupid TV ads. Work to lower your body fat through diet and exercise and devote 10-15 minutes three times a week to the best exercises for abs such as hanging leg raises and the ab wheel. You will notice a difference.