Ab rollers can be key in targeting ab muscles, as well as lesser-used core muscles. At the most basic level, the ab roller motion requires you to roll out on the roller from a quadruped position into a knee plank, and then roll back using your core to power through it all. Some athletes love ab rollers because they provide an awesome workout and target multiple muscles all at once. But since they require practice and stability to use properly, many people shy away from them and opt for more basic sit-ups or planks instead. Once you overcome the intimidation factor though, these devices can help you work deep muscles you may not be able to reach with just your bodyweight.
The core is a lot more complex than what many give it credit for. For example, a lot of beginners think the core is just the rectus abdominis (abs), but it’s actually the whole musculature of the torso. Ab rollers force you to move through a range of motion that requires multiple core muscles to engage, promoting a strong, neutral torso. They may appear simple in design, but not every ab roller is created equal. We’ve tested and reviewed some of the best ab rollers on the market for multiple purposes, and put them right here on this list for you to use on your own personal hunt.
Best Ab Rollers
- Best Ab Roller Overall: Rogue Ab Wheel
- Best Ab Roller for Beginners: Fitnessery Ab Roller
- Best Ab Roller Pair: Amazon Basics Exercise Fitness Ab Rollers
- Best Ab Roller Kit: EnterSports Ab Roller Wheel
- Best Non-Slip Ab Roller: Perfect Fitness Ab Carver Pro Roller
Best Ab Roller Overall
Sometimes all you need to make a solid ab roller is high quality manufacturing. Simple but effective, this pick’s durability goes beyond what you would typically find in a basic sporting goods store ab roller.
Rogue Ab Wheel
The Rogue Ab Wheel has a nickel-plated steel shaft and durable rubber tire tread that aid with stability and grip on most surfaces. The wheel’s edges are slightly rounded, which challenges you to hold steady on rollouts and avoid turns to better engage your core. While more durable than basic plastic rollers, this pick is still compact, lightweight, and portable.
The Rogue Ab Wheel is compact, lightweight and portable, and has a nickel-plated steel shaft and rubber tire tread that provides solid stability and grip.
Its 1.25” diameter and rubber handles provide texture for a steady grip, allowing you to focus on working your core, hip flexors, back, shoulders, thighs, and more.
Who Should Buy The Rogue Ab Wheel
- Athletes looking to level up from a more basic plastic ab roller.
- Users who want a sturdy nickel-plated steel shaft and rubber wheel.
- Anyone who wants a durable ab roller that can stand the test of time.
Who Shouldn’t Buy The Rogue Ab Wheel
- Customers looking for a cost-effective ab roller — this one is more expensive than most.
- Anyone looking for a large ab wheel may want to check out other options on this list.
While a little pricier than your average ab roller, the Rogue Ab Wheel is made of high-quality steel and rubber that is built to challenge your core and last throughout years of usage.
Best Ab Roller for Beginners
When you’re just starting out, you’re going to want a roller that’s simple, stable, and easy to use — and it wouldn’t hurt if it came with an instruction manual. This pick nails it with all of these aspects and also dishes out durability that doesn’t usually come with rollers in this price range.
Fitnessery Ab Roller
The Fitnessery Ab Roller is not only a high-quality roller at a low price point, but it also comes with an e-book of workouts you can do with your ab roller, so newbies aren’t left wondering how to use the device.
This is a high-quality roller at a low price point, and also comes with an e-book of workouts you can do with your ab roller. It's made of durable stainless steel and non-slip rubber and PVC, and comes with a lifetime money back guarantee.
It’s also space efficient with a maximal width of 11 inches, which is small in comparison to the average 15-inch rollers on the market — but its wheel is thicker than most, which is great for first-time users. It’s made of durable stainless steel and non-slip rubber and PVC, and comes with a lifetime money-back guarantee, which is a great fallback perk for those just starting out.
Who Should Buy The Fitnessery Ab Roller
- Beginners who prefer an ab roller that comes with an exercise guide e-book.
- Anyone who wants a roller with a steel shaft and textured wheel for stability and grip.
- Those who want a compact wheel they can store easily when it’s not in use.
- Folks who are looking for a reasonably priced ab roller.
Who Shouldn’t Buy The Fitnessery Ab Roller
- Anyone looking for a seamless rollout — the rollout does not feel as smooth on this roller as it does on some other rollers.
- Those who want more of a challenge will want to look for a thinner wheel for more side-to-side difficulty.
The Fitnessery Ab Roller is a solid choice for novices who need the extra guidance of an e-book, as well as anyone who just wants a solid roller at a low price point.
Best Ab Roller Pair
The benefit of using a pair of ab rollers is that having a roller in each hand allows your arms to be spread wider, which in turn, activates more of your core. This lightweight pick can help advance your core exercise routine.
Amazon Basics Exercise Fitness Ab Rollers
Though straightforward, this pair of Amazon Basic Exercise Fitness Ab Rollers can challenge your stability even more than a single ab roller can. Simply roll your arms wider as you roll out for more of a challenge, and once your strength improves even more, you can advance your rollouts further to just using one arm at a time.
Amazon Basic Exercise Fitness Ab Rollers will challenge your stability more than a single ab roller — just roll your arms wider as you roll out for more of a boost.
Each roller measures 7.9” x 15.8” x 5.7” inches and weighs 2.6 pounds, so you can bring them with you in a gym bag or just throw them in an equipment closet in your home gym when your workout ends. This pair is fairly inexpensive, and its black and blue polypropylene and nitrile butadiene rubber build will look great and last for a long time to come.
Who Should Buy The Amazon Basics Exercise Fitness Ab Rollers
- Athletes who want to progress their ab roller workouts to a more challenging level.
- Anyone who wants to try working one arm at a time.
- Users who are looking for a cost-effective roller option.
Who Shouldn’t Buy The Amazon Basics Exercise Fitness Ab Rollers
- Beginners who just want to try their hand at using one ab roller without advancing to two just yet.
- Anyone who wants an ab roller with treaded grip on the wheel will want to look at other options on this list.
While an ab roller pair may not be for everyone, it’s a great option for users who want to advance their routine or try using one arm at a time — plus, this particular pair looks sleek, too, with its bright blue and transparent rubber wheels.
Best Ab Roller Kit
While ab rollers are great for core work, they can also be used for other resistance training if you have the right tools. This particular ab roller pick comes with six different tools you can use with or without your ab roller.
EnterSports Ab Roller Wheel
The EnterSports Ab Roller Wheel is a great standalone tool you can use to work your core, but pair it with resistance bands or push-ups and you can get a full-body workout, as well. Luckily, this ab roller comes with two resistance bands, two push-up handlebars, and a knee pad to elevate your session.
This ab roller comes with two resistance bands, two push-up handlebars, and a knee pad that you can use with or without your ab roller to elevate any workout session.
While all of these tools can be used to advance the core work you are already doing with your roller, if you hook the resistance band under your feet and around the ab roller, and hold the roller by the handles, you can also work your upper body with curls or lower body with resistance band squats. This all comes at an extremely reasonable price for all six products — if you’re looking to build out your home gym with a bunch of equipment in one go, this is a great pick for you.
Who Should Buy The EnterSports Ab Roller Wheel
- Anyone who is looking for more than just an ab roller to build out their home gym.
- Athletes who want to advance their ab roller workouts with resistance bands or push-up handlebars.
- Customers looking for a good bit of equipment at a reasonable price.
Who Shouldn’t Buy The EnterSports Ab Roller Wheel
- Users who just want to buy a straightforward ab roller without any extra frills.
- Anyone who already have resistance bands may not need the ones that come with this wheel
For a reasonable cost, you can get an ab roller, two resistance bands, push-up handlebars, and a knee pad all in one — if you’re working toward having a full set of gym equipment at home, this is a great way to check multiple boxes at once.
Best Non-Slip Ab Roller
If you’re the type who’s concerned about catching the tile the wrong way and slipping mid-rollout while you’re using your ab roller, this pick is for you. With a wider wheel and additional resistance and assistance during movement, this roller provides optimal stability while in motion.
Perfect Fitness Ab Carver Pro Roller
Unlike normal ab rollers, the Perfect Fitness Ab Carver Pro Roller has a couple of unique construction traits that help with stability. There’s an internal spring that provides additional resistance as you roll out, and assistance as you roll back, making slipping virtually impossible.
This ab roller has an internal spring that provides additional resistance as you roll out, and assistance as you roll back, and it comes with a wide wheel for extra stability.
Additionally, the wheel is designed with ergonomic friendly handles and a wide wheel so you have more coverage on the ground as you roll, increasing stability. Plus, this pick comes with a knee pad and a downloadable 21-day workout plan for guidance.
Who Should Buy The Perfect Fitness Ab Carver Pro Roller
- Anyone who wants a wider wheel for more stability on the ground.
- Athletes who want an internal spring that provides more resistance and assistance during motion.
- Those who want a roller that comes with a knee pad and/or workout plan.
Who Shouldn’t Buy The Perfect Fitness Ab Carver Pro Roller
- Customers looking for a cost-effective ab roller option.
- Folks who want a compact roller they can bring on the go with them.
Though larger than some other ab rollers, the wide wheel on this roller allows for more stability, and the internal spring adds resistance on the rollout and assistance on the way back up for a thorough and safe workout.
Benefits of Ab Rollers
These deceptively simple but brutally effective pieces of equipment have fairly straightforward benefits. They’re used to enhance the strength and stability of abdominal muscles, which is their main focus, but ab rollers may also help develop the upper body muscles of the chest, shoulder, triceps, and even back by stabilizing you throughout the range of motion.
[Read More: The Best Upper Body Exercises and Workouts]
Improving your abdominal stability can possibly aid in athletic performance, bracing for heavy lifting, and everyday life, making these very useful yet affordable pieces of equipment. Progressing the difficulty is rather easy with just a weight plate or weighted vest. You can also make the movement easier by using bands for assistance or rolling on your knees instead of planked.
How We Chose the Best Ab Rollers
Though there are many similar ab rollers on the market, there are small nuances that help differentiate between rollers. For this reason, we carefully curate our top picks by assessing two characteristics: construction and performance.
Construction
The first characteristic we assess with ab rollers is their overall construction. More specifically, we look at three components that all need to be high quality to ensure durability and functionality in a roller: the wheel, the handles, and the shaft.
The summation of these three construction components can separate a great ab roller from one that will break down quickly. For example, you want a shaft that is made of steel, and designed to withstand continual stress to ensure there’s no bending. Also, wheels should have a sturdy construction and outer texture for grip. All of these details factor into our construction assessment, and therefore, no roller on this list comes poorly constructed.
Performance
The performance assessment of the ab roller helps us decide which groups of athletes would benefit most from each pick. From a macro view, all ab rollers will perform similarly, but tiny details make them better for certain types of athletes. For example, resistance wheels are ideal for advanced fitness enthusiasts who need a little extra resistance to work their core. These athletes can also benefit from kits that come with more equipment to incorporate into their workouts.
Larger wheels are best for beginners who are learning the movement, and easing into the full range of motion. But textured wheels are great for pretty much anyone because there is less slippage, and you can use them on virtually any surface. These are only a few ways we assess the performance of every ab roller, but you’ll find a variety of these characteristics on this list to ensure we have something for each type of athlete.
How Much Do Ab Rollers Cost?
Ab rollers are rather inexpensive pieces of equipment that provide a great benefit for anyone looking to improve their abdominal stability and strength. Compared to ab machines and other larger or more expensive ab devices, ab rollers may seem simple. That helps to keep the price down compared to other ab training tools.
| Best Ab Roller Overall | Rogue Ab Wheel | $75.00 |
| Best Ab Roller for Beginners | Fitnessery Ab Roller | $30.99 |
| Best Ab Roller Pair | Amazon Basics Exercise Fitness Ab Rollers | $29.99 |
| Best Ab Roller Kit | Entersports Ab Roller Wheel | $39.99 |
| Best Non-Slip Ab Roller | Perfect Fitness Ab Carver Pro Roller | $39.99 |
You can snag ab rollers for pretty cheap — as little as about $30, though they do go on sale sometimes, so you may be able to pick one up for even less. Some other more expensive ab rollers have upgraded features, like textured wheels for better grip, padded handles for comfort, and bearings for smoother rolling. They can cost up to around $75, though most are in the range of $40 to $50.
What to Consider Before Buying Ab Rollers
While ab rollers may seem fairly straightforward, you’ll still want to consider things like your personal workout routine and fitness level before deciding which ab roller to get. To understand what we mean, read on.
Workout Styles
Everyone’s fitness routine varies to some degree. Whether you love pilates and low-impact work, or you are sprinting on the treadmill and hitting those heavier weights, incorporating an ab roller into your routine can be beneficial. However, if you’re using your roller daily or on rough surfaces, you’ll obviously want one that is more durable. On the other hand, if you are using your ab roller only on occasion and on smooth surfaces, you can get away with a less expensive option that’s a little less durable.
You should also consider if you want accessories to come with your ab roller or not. Many ab rollers come with a knee sleeve or pad at the very least, and some even come with resistance training equipment. If your workout style will benefit from a kit, you’ll want to opt for that instead, as you will most definitely get more bang for your buck in that case.
Level
If you’re a beginner, you are going to want to hunt down a different ab roller than someone with more advanced technique. Beginners will want a larger wheel with good grip that helps with stabilization, while more advanced athletes may want something more narrow that challenges their core significantly. Before you just grab the best looking roller or the cheapest option, toss your fitness level into consideration and grab the roller that will help you progress the most.
Final Word
Ab rollers can be a great tool for building a strong and resilient core. From ab rollers that come in full kits, to ab roller pairs, there are plenty of functionalities to choose from on today’s market. What’s great about ab rollers is that truly every level athlete can find one that will work for them.
Like every piece of equipment though, it’s always wise to assess what you want and need most in your roller, and compare from there. And overall, let this list be your guide as you get rolling.
FAQs
What is the best ab roller on the market?
If you’re just starting out with ab rollers, we’d recommend one that’s got some grip cushions and tread to help with comfort and stability. More advanced folks may want to opt for rollers with bearings that allow for smoother rolling. That said, we’re big fans of the Rogue Ab Wheel. It may be more costly than the other rollers, but it’s made to last a long time with nickel-plated steel and a rubber treaded tire.
How much do ab rollers cost?
Ab rollers are fairly inexpensive, especially for how effective they can be. You can pick a basic roller up for around $30, though sometimes they’re even less than that. On the high end, ones with bearings, padded handles, or treaded wheels can cost anywhere from about $50 to $75.
Is an ab roller bad for the back?
Every exercise when done incorrectly can come with inherent risk, and the ab roller is no different. We suggest performing rolls at your own pace, judging your range of motion on your personal strength abilities. If you cannot achieve a full roll out right away, then start small and work toward it.
Can an ab roller get me a six-pack?
An ab roller, a balanced diet, and a consistent workout plan can all help you achieve more definition. Instead of thinking about one piece of equipment, think about the bigger picture and how a roller can be a tool to help you get there.
