Ab Mat

A crunch becomes a real sit-up

Flat side on the floor, curve pointing towards your glutes – your lower back rests on the raised part. There is a reason for that: your lumbar spine curves naturally, so a gap stays open between your lower back and the floor. Without a mat your back loses contact with the floor early, and from there your abs stop producing the movement – they only hold, and your hip flexors pull you through the rest. The Ab Mat fills that gap: your back has something to press against the whole way, and your abs work over a much longer range. The foam rubber cushions on top of that – high sit-up volumes on a hard gym floor get a lot more comfortable.

Working up to handstand push-ups – and plenty in between

Put the Ab Mat under your head and you shorten the way down: your hands stay on the floor, your head stops 7.5 cm earlier. That way you train the top part of the movement cleanly before you take it over the full distance. For full repetitions you want the Handstand Push Up Mat – it gives you one level surface for head and hands, and its firmness is built for exactly that. The Ab Mat brings you up to the movement, the full distance happens on the bigger mat. Beyond that it works as a seat riser for medicine ball work or takes over the job of the yoga block in your mobility block. The cover is black faux leather and the seam runs once around the mat – after training you wipe the surface down, done.