One of the best things about exercising at home is that it is extremely convenient and saves a lot of time. However, sometimes it is missing some of the equipment that makes a gym so effective. However, one inexpensive piece of equipment that is a great addition to any home gym is an ab bench.

The abdominal bench is excellent because it is an adjustable piece of equipment that can be adapted to almost any body type. And you can adjust the angle of the bench to work your abs from a variety of positions and create a more intense ab workout… Plus, variety is just plain fun.

Here are some things to help you get the most out of a bank.

First, before starting your workout, it’s best to warm up. Do some light cardio, like biking or running, to warm up your muscles. Then do some light stretching.

Once you are fully warmed up, the next step is to set the angle of your sit up board. For the most part, the greater the angle of the sit-up board, the more difficult your workout will be.

A person with strong abs will want to take advantage of a greater angle. Someone relatively new to the exercise will want the angle to be zero… or flat.

Now that you’ve established the angle, step on your sit-up bench. Start by contracting your abs, not forcefully, and pull your navel in toward your spine. Stand up using your abs.

Don’t move your arms to assist and don’t lean your head forward to build momentum. You want to focus on using your abs to get the job done. Do 3 sets of 20 repetitions of this exercise.

Once you’ve completed the above exercise, move into the position to focus on your lower abs. You do this by placing your head where your feet were anchored and holding onto the post or bench. Again, pull your belly button in toward your spine before beginning the movement. Then, pull your knees in toward your chest making sure not to rock with the movements. Focus on letting your abs do the work.

As you get stronger, you can consider adding weight. For the first exercise, the crunch, you can hold a weight across your chest. For the lower abs exercise, you can add ankle weights to make it more challenging.