For most people, the gym is the best place to exercise in. The variety of equipment, an in-house trainer and the no-nonsense attitude makes for an effective training environment. However, unknown to many, the house, with the right equipment and motivation, makes the best place for resistance training. If you are planning to set a home-gym, the Ab Wheel should top your list.

Basics: The ab wheel is just a simple exercising tool but it can be complicated in its own way. When you look at it, all you see is a wheel with handles on each side. However when you give it a try, you notice that there is more to it than just a simple mechanical tool. There are tens of exercises that can be done all of them focusing on the key areas of the body. If effectively utilized, your body will build ample strength in your abs and also the muscles in the back.

Key muscles: Right from the comfort of your own home, you can strengthen your core muscles in ways no other tool can. An ab wheel exercises the lower torso, the stomach area, hip flexors, pelvis and the shoulders amongst other muscles. Even the most basic ab wheel exercises can have far reaching positive impact on your arms and shoulders.

Benefits: The benefits of ab wheel exercises are immense and they all contribute towards enhancing the endurance and core strength of an individual. Experts agree, that it helps maintain the spine in an optimal position in addition to the muscles being well toned and balanced. With such stable spine and muscles, the body is able to maintain a good posture and stability even at great speeds. These exercises also help the muscles to maintain a high level of coordination with the rest of the body organs.

Various muscles: Unlike weights which often focus on one part of the body, an ab roller effectively targets a number of muscles. Crunches for instance only strengthen the abdominal muscles and the sides. However, for the ab roller, if done appropriately, it is able to strengthen more than 20 muscles such as the stomach muscles, hip flexors, obliques and a wide range of others in the body.

Tougher on the body: If you find the ab roller easier on your body than crunches, then you are not doing the right thing. According to research, an ab roller results in the involvement of more muscles than several other exercises combined meaning that even the impact it has on the body is unlike that of any other exercise.

Improved balance: Exercising with an ab-roller improves your health and balance in a number of ways. Due to the amount of energy required by the body to pull through such an exercise, the body increases its stamina and the level of endurance. This means that it becomes easier for an individual to face other tough tasks. These exercises also help in prevention of diseases and in the maintenance of a healthy body. Constant dedication to the ab-roller reduces the risks towards injuries, eases anxiety and helps the body maintain better balance. Most importantly, it helps an individual maintain more strengthened muscles and strong bones and joints.