The Rogue Ab Wheel is one of those ab rollers that make working out your abs seem easy. Rogue is an American company that makes a lot of gymnastic and Calisthenics Equipment. Their inventory goes from affordable gadgets to complete fitness stations at premium prices. Rogue’s products typically have an industrial or mechanical look to them, and the Rogue Ab Wheel is an example of that. With its broad “tire” like roller and handles that look like they’re from a bike, this ab roller looks amazing. In this review, we’ll check out if the Rogue Ab Wheel doesn’t just look the part but also plays the part. Time to get rolling.
You can also watch my Rogue Ab Wheel Review on YouTube:
🔑Key Takeways
- Excellent 32mm rubberised grips that suit both small and large hands.
- The wheel runs very smoothly and uniformly, even when pressure is applied.
- The wheel’s thickness is a good trade-off between stability and challenge.
- A bit pricey, but the quality is certainly there to justify the higher price point for an ab roller.
First Look at the Rogue Ab Wheel
The Rogue Ab Wheel looks nice, with plenty of rubber surfaces and a broad, profiled wheel. Sleek looks aside, the handles are 12cm each, which is great even if you have bigger hands. The rubber surface is knurled and feels nice to grip. With a 32mm girth, these handles match the dimensions of typical Callisthenics equipment, such as most push-up bars and parallettes.
The wheel is also made of rubber and is 7.6cm wide. This is wide enough to prevent you from flipping it over easily, but also provides enough instability to pose a challenge. The motorcycle-like rims complete the look, but the wheel also spins smoothly.
It looks nice, and the first impression also shows a lot of promise.
Exercising with the Rogue Ab Wheel
An ab roller is a simple tool, but you can get a surprising variety of workouts from it. We did some tests and workouts, but also tried some shenanigans to see how the Rogue Ab Wheel performs.
First off, the handles are really good. You’re putting your weight on two protruding handles, so the weak point will be where the handles meet the axle of the wheel. Often, this bends, or the grip shifts while you’re using it. The Rogue Ab Wheel performed very well here. We noticed no bending in the handles, even when doing push-ups. The handle is a one-piece design and also serves as the wheel’s axle. That explains the rigidity of the handle.
The handle covers also stayed in place during our workouts and challenges. The rubber has the right amount of give for comfort, and the knurled surface provides plenty of traction.
The wheel spins smoothly, providing equal traction and feedback throughout your exercise. We didn’t feel any rougher or smoother parts during roll-outs, and the movement feels very uniform.
The tread on the wheel best interacts with a hard surface. On soft surfaces, including gym mats, the rubber loses much of its traction and tends to skid left and right. The wheel works best on a hard floor. Our solution was to rest our knees on a soft surface while keeping the wheel on a hard surface, for example, by doing our exercises on the edge of the gym mat.
Another option would be to wear kneepads or place a yoga mat under your knees.
Progression Exercises
Ab rollers might look silly, but they do really work to exercise your abs, and you can get great results with them. The instability of the roller makes a full ab rollout very hard for the beginner, but also for the stronger athlete who isn’t used to using an ab roller. Ab roller exercises are the most effective when you can achieve a full rollout and really stretch those abs and core muscles.
For this, you need some progressive exercises. The first is to start on your knees. This makes the rollout exercise much easier. The next step is to do them with your legs wide apart, which also makes it a little easier.
Eventually, you’ll be able to do ab rollouts with your legs stretched and together. Other exercises to help you build the strength needed include isometric holds, which are almost like planches but done on your knees, holding the ab roller handles and keeping your body as straight (but off the floor) as you can.
The Rogue Ab Wheel handles all these exercises very well and can also be used for related exercises, such as push-ups on an unstable surface.
Pricing Overview of the Rogue Ab Wheel
The Rogue Ab Wheel costs €84,70 excluding shipping. Shipping is free if you choose 3 or more selected products.
Rogue Ab Wheel Conclusions
The Rogue Ab Wheel looks great and feels even better. The handles are the perfect thickness and have a nice surface. They’re also big enough even for large hands. The wheel rotates smoothly without any hiccups. The Rogue Ab Wheel also doesn’t bend, even when you’re doing push-ups on it. This is a great ab roller for training your core and abs, with fun progressions and exercises along the way.
Are there no downsides to mention? Yes, there is. The Rogue Ab Wheel costs almost 85 euros, which is on the pricey side for a simple tool. However, this is one of the best ab rollers, and the quality speaks for itself. If you want to use a roller like this to build some serious abs, I can recommend getting the Rogue Ab Wheel.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Rogue Ab Wheel
Here are a few more frequently asked questions about the Rogue Ab Wheel:
What is the best ab wheel to buy?
The best Ab Wheel or Ab Roller to buy is the Rogue Ab Wheel. It is the highest-quality, strongest Ab Wheel on the market and runs the smoothest. It is also the priciest.
Can you lose belly fat with an ab wheel?
An Ab Wheel trains your abdominal muscles but does not directly burn fat. Fat burning occurs when there is a caloric deficit. Indirectly, doing exercises with an Ab Wheel burns calories, but not specifically from the belly area. Ab Roller exercises are typically slow and rely on time under tension rather than repetitions. So, these types of exercises are not the most efficient for calorie burn.
