I got this thing today, but I'm confused as to how you use it; it's basically a bar with wheels on it, and you're meant to lean forwards with it and pull it back to tone your abdominal muscles, but I don't know what posture I should take to use it. ie. should I be crouched on the balls of my feets, or just on my knees? Any help would be great I'm stuck.
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How do I use an Exercise Wheel?
- Thread starter Yorkiebassist
- Start date
I think I know what you're talking about. Breaks lotsa noses?
the thing i'm thinking of has one wheel, but something w/ more than one could be intended for the same purpose. Certainly someone can help us out.
the thing i'm thinking of has one wheel, but something w/ more than one could be intended for the same purpose. Certainly someone can help us out.
i would say just go on your knees, but maybe when you get super good at it, you could try to do it from a standing position.
Well, I've never used one, but I know what you're talking about. Thinking about it. I would say the most effective way to work your abs would be to roll forward on the tips of your toes all the way out and then roll back then roll to the sides and back(for your obliques)
Similar to a pushup in starting position, only, moving forward and left and right to keep your abs more active.
I guess you *could* do it on your knees, but I can't imagine that being very useful, a pushup on your knees isn't very useful either.
Similar to a pushup in starting position, only, moving forward and left and right to keep your abs more active.
I guess you *could* do it on your knees, but I can't imagine that being very useful, a pushup on your knees isn't very useful either.
Ahhh, ok thanks. It hurts like hell on your feet but I guess that's my untoned muscles being made to work for once!
It's effective, but it's also very easy to hurt your back, since there is little power that holds you back except for your abs. If you can work with it that's good for you, but I stay away from because I don't want to injure myself.
Yorkiebassist said:
Just be careful, like vorago said. If it's hurting your back, you're doing it wrong.
Really, I don't think you need a fancy wheel thing to work your abs effectively I just do a variety of crunches and pushups, my abs are great.
It doesn't hirt my back, my back is immensely strong(months of rowing have seen to that). It's my stomach that it kills. Are you definetly meant to start on the flats of your feet and slowly move onto the balls of your feet? It just seems I could end up falling flat on my face(but as said, kneeling does absolutely no good). Also, what is a crunch exactly? I often do 100 sit ups as part of my work out regime, but I'm still not sure what a crunch is.
Yorkiebassist said:
That doesn't really make sense. If you can do 100 sit-ups, you should be able to support your weight with your abs.
Well, unless you're doing 100 sit-ups incorrectly, where you are relying on your back more than your abs.
Crunches are superior to sit-ups because they work solely on your abs, with a lower chance of straining your back and neck. Basically, a crunch is like a sit-up, except, instead of going all the way up, you only go up about a foot. You do them focusing solely on your abs, and it's basically the only ab workout you need. It's easy to strain your back or neck if you do them improperly(putting tension on back and neck) If your back is already super strong as you say, then that would be less of an issue, but it'd also be harder to tell if you're actually working your abs.
Try this:
Go into a push-up position on the balls of your toes, and keep your back straight, stay supporting yourself for a minute.
Another thing to try. Lie on your back, extend your legs out straight then lift them 6 inches from the ground(the lower the harder) with your abs. Can you hold that position for a minute?
If you can do either of those, then supporting your self on this wheel oughtn't be much harder.
Yorkiebassist said:
You should use some kind of small pillow to support your knees, but make sure it doesn't slip.
OK, shall try that. The thing is, you have to support your weight with your arms on the wheel too, and then mvoe forward with your body and arms, so it works the entire upper body. Oooo, one other thing, what is the correct way to do a push up? I always end up falling on my face....where should my arms be in relation to my body?(ie. far apart, directly underneath etc.)Wrong Robot said:
EDIT, just tried lifting my feet in the air, can do it but probably no for 1 minute(it hurts). Does this mean I haven't been doing sit ups right? I have to hook my feet under something when I do them so I don't slide about, is that wrong to do that, and if so what is the best method to stop yourself moving about while doing sit ups?
Yorkiebassist said:
push up: body as straight as possible, hands positioned under your shoulders, a bit wider (own preferation). Tighten your abs, go downwards until you touch the ground with your nose and go back up. Try not to "lock" your arms, ie don't straighten them completely but keep them a little bent. That way your muscles are under constant tension. Try to keep those abs tight, so you don't overuse your lower back. If you can't manage going as low as I said, start with smaller dips (sp) and work on from there. My brother has been doing push ups every day now for some weeks, and the first time he fell flat on his face. Now he's doing 12 a day with his arms bent almost 90°.
First rule; if you feel sharp pain => stop! Don't continue exercising thinking the pain will go away because that way you only make things worse.
Happy exercising!
You should feel a difference pretty soon, but don't forget, if there's too much fat on your belly you won't see any muscles, no matter how many situps you do.
As with most exercising, you'll see an almost immediate spike of 'improvement' within the first couple weeks. However, this will be followed by maybe a month or more of imperceptible improvement. I think the key with working out, that a lot of people neglect is that, you don't always see or feel the effects, but that doesn't mean they are not happening. A lot of people get discouraged prematurely and give up because it's not easy, or it's not happening fast enough, if you don't do that, then you'll be fine.
An interesting thing about the abs is that it's one of hte only(if not the only) muscle group that you can actually work everyday without the need to have rest days. I'm not 100% sure why that is, and it might be old knowledge, but, from what I understand, that is the case.
I wager it'd be different if you were putting weights on your chest or otherwise using equipment to unnaturally augment the workout, but if you're just doing internal body exercises, you can apparently abs 7 days a week. Unlike every other muscle group that usually requires 2-3 days a week with off days to recover.
An interesting thing about the abs is that it's one of hte only(if not the only) muscle group that you can actually work everyday without the need to have rest days. I'm not 100% sure why that is, and it might be old knowledge, but, from what I understand, that is the case.
I wager it'd be different if you were putting weights on your chest or otherwise using equipment to unnaturally augment the workout, but if you're just doing internal body exercises, you can apparently abs 7 days a week. Unlike every other muscle group that usually requires 2-3 days a week with off days to recover.
Hmm, strange, I find that my abs hurt when I go to re-exercise day afetr day, whereas my arms(that I exercise everyday) don't. Mebbe I'm just weird?Wrong Robot said:
As for sit ups, I tried doing some without my feet anchored under anything, and I find them really hard....is it normal to need to anchor your feet?
