Of course, you also have to do some cardio so you can decrease the fat in your belly. Not many people have trim stomachs, since obesity rates have reached stratospheric heights.

One study found that 54% of Americans were “abdominally obese” in 2012. It’s not all about men drinking beer either, since women’s midriffs gave expanded dramatically over the last decade or so.

So what are your options when it comes to abdominal machines and gadgets? Whether you’re looking to get a core training machine to build core strength or a stomach toning machine for a trim and great-looking belly, you can take a look at the following options:

1. Core Sliders

Core sliders are small disks that can slide across the floor. You usually step on these disks as you perform some exercises that can strengthen your abs.

From this starting point, you can do several abs exercises.Many of these abs exercises that strengthen your core start with the high planking position, which resemble a pushup position at the highest point with your arms extended fully. Your feet are on the core sliders.

a) Mountain climber

Slide one knee forward to your chest, then push the knee back to return to your original position. Then do the other knee.

b) Cross mountain climber

This is similar to the mountain climber, except that when you push up your right knee, you aim for your left shoulder.

c) Wide mountain climber

This time, you pull the right leg forward to the outside of your right arm, and then you return it back to the original position. Do the same with the left leg.

It’s a very simple (and affordable) piece of equipment. In fact, you can simulate it with just a pair of towels if your floor is smooth enough.

2. Stability Ball

A stability ball is also called an exercise ball or a Swiss ball, and it’s an inflatable rubber ball that measures anywhere from 21 to 25 inches in diameter. It can also help in toning your abs.

These are very common in Pilates and yoga studios. Perhaps you can go there to get some proper instruction on how to use it properly and safely.

But once you master it, you can join the many people who have bought one for home use. Having one for your own means that it’s always available whenever you want to use it, plus you won’t have to worry about other people’s hygiene.

The best stability balls are made from very durable rubber material. They also come in various colors.

3. Adjustable Sit Up Bench

Ab benches are quite versatile, since you can use them in a variety of ways. You can use them for your ab workouts, and then you can also set it up so you can use it for your free weights workouts.

The more recent versions of these benches can be adjusted in various ways, too. With this bench, you can do effective sit-ups more comfortably, so you don’t hurt your back like you may when you do sit-ups on your bare floor.

Some other benches can also allow you to do crunches, leg lifts, and also other decline workouts.

4. Rowing Machines

These rowing machines can be very beneficial, as you can burn calories very easily. You also don’t put as much stress on your knees, unlike with jogging with the repeated impact on your knee joint.

This is one machine that can help you work out your entire body, so that means you can exercise your abdominal muscles too. This can also build up muscles, and even help increase your stamina.

With a good rowing machine, it’s very difficult to injure yourself. But you do want to learn the proper rowing form to maximize the benefits you receive from all your efforts.

5. Pull Up Bars

These are also called chin up bars, and they’re not just for your arm muscles. This can help you focus on your abs and obliques too.

One type of pull-up bar needs only a door frame for the setup. Others are in tower form so that you can put it anywhere and you can also do more kinds of exercises.

If you’re focusing on your abs, you can do hanging knee and leg raises that can really help trim down your stomach.

6. Roman Chairs

The Roman Chair has become popular as a way to help people tone their abs. It also offers you an opportunity to also exercise your lower back.

It may not be the best idea to just focus on your abs and neglect your lower back. That can lead to lots of problems, such as bad posture and the ever-popular lower back pain.

So if you don’t want to complain to your boss about lower back pain, you may want to try this out. Lower back pain is the leading cause of disability in the world, and it ranks next to upper-respiratory infections as the most common cause of being absent from work.

So use the Roman Chair to strengthen your abs by sitting on the top pad, hooking the tops of your feet under the lower pad, and then raising and lowering your torso.

7. Kettlebells

The main advantage of using kettlebells is that you don’t just train your core muscles with it. You can also use it to develop the muscles in your shoulders, back, and legs.

You can get these in various weights, just like with barbells. Just make sure that with heavier weights, the handle can accommodate both your hands.

The main problem with kettlebells is that you can’t use it intuitively. You need a proper trainer.

Or you can also just watch the various kettlebell videos online. Then you can practice the moves without the kettlebell first so you don’t injure yourself.

Kettlebell exercises for the abs are best performed at the end of your workout. That’s because these exercises can leave your abs exhausted, and you will need your abs for the other exercises in your workout.

8. Ab Wheel

On the face of it, the ab wheel is a very simple piece of equipment. But it can be a bit challenging for newbies, although it should become easier with practice.

And you should practice with it, since it’s very effective for the abs. It also helps develop your back, arms, and shoulders.

One good reason for using this is that it’s very affordable. But it also offers continuous resistance, unlike sit-ups and crunches that only work on the muscles when you pull up your body.