Will the ab wheel give you abs?

woman using ab roller

Are you lean? Then yes, it will give abs, sooner than you think.

Do you have fat on your tummy? Then, it won’t give you abs shortly.

Most people start to use the ab wheel because they think it will give them abs. Under the abs, we mean six-pack or a shaped, flat stomach, right?

They use the ab roller almost every day, but they see only a little change after a few months. The packs don’t come, and that belly fat is still there. Did they do something wrong? Did they misuse the wheel? Or what? 🤔

The fact is that they fall into the misconception that “If I do ab workout (all the time), I will build perfect abs.” 😒

Do they have stronger and maybe bigger abdominal muscles? Sure! Then, where are those packs?

The ab muscles are lying under a slab of belly fat!

That’s why they aren’t visible!

But I get the ab wheel to burn that fat as well! – you may think now.

No, it won’t help much to get rid of that fat. Here is why.

Why ab wheel doesn’t help you to get a lean stomach?

We have belly fat because our body fat level is high. If you check out the following picture, we can see that men who have a fat percentage under 20% have abs. And, under 15%, those packs look cool. Women need to be leaner than that.

Body fat percentage and abs [men & women] | Credit: crossfitinvictus.com

The question is: What should we do to burn that fat?

That is a vast topic, but the key is calorie deficiency. That means each day, you take in fewer calories (or burn more) than your body requires. Therefore, the body starts consuming the existing fat.

The most crucial step is to change your diet to control your daily calorie intake. The best is if you start by getting rid of those foods that are high in calories in the way of fat and sugar. So, no junk food and sweet fizzy drinks. Eat healthy foods instead, but still with a limit. Learn more.

The other step is to do activities that speed up your weight loss and burn many calories. These are compound exercises that activated multiple muscle groups at once. Such cardio workouts are running, full-body HIIT, walking, jogging, and so on. If the activity increases your heart rate for a prolonged time, it assists in burning fat.

And that is the problem with the ab roller. It doesn’t burn much fat. The rolling won’t give you abs because it doesn’t boost your heart rate and burns enough calories.

Then, what about the commercials showing men and women before and after using the ab wheel for a few weeks? How do they get such great results?

Those guys and girls pay far more attention to their diet than their ab workout. They know low body fat is the key to look perfectly.


Then, what is the ab roller workout good for?

After reading the previous sections, you may want to throw your roller out of the window, but don’t do it.â›” That device is the best ab exercise equipment ever. The ab roller effectiveness is inevitable.

Check out the ab wheel muscles worked picture below.

ab-wheel-muscles-worked

Can you see how many muscle groups of the trunk it strengthens?

Those are the core muscles that are very important for everyday life and sports performance. The wheel works not just the abs but also the obliques, erector spinae (lower back), lats, shoulders, and even the chest. Almost complete upper body training that builds functional strength.

The other reason to do an ab wheel workout is that it develops incredible strength and boost the size of the core muscles. This way, the muscles at the midsection area protrude, leading to a visually more defined stomach.


To conclude: How long does it take to get abs with the ab wheel?

That depends on how many weeks, months, or years it takes for you to lower your body fat level to about 15%. If you are already close to that level, you will see results for sure in a few weeks.

However, there is a more important benefit: you will have a strong core that is vital for a healthy physique.

Written by Imre

Imre has been working out for over 20 years. He likes all sorts of strength training and boxing. Since he's a busy father he works out only at home.