an exercise apparatus for strengthening the abdominal muscles , upper legs , and back comprises a large engagement surface and a pair of handles angled away from a body to provide stability . the portable exercise apparatus utilizes a slide member slidably positioned in a channel of a yoke and biased in one direction by an elastic cord . a base , which is positioned at one end of the slide , is placed against the abdomen or the buttocks while the user pulls the yoke towards the abdomen or buttocks by grasping the handles mounted astride the slide . the user contracts the abdominal or buttocks muscles while pulling the hands toward the abdomen or buttocks to hold the apparatus stationary . strengthening of the abdominal or buttocks muscles is achieved by moving the abdomen or buttocks against the biasing force of the elastic cord .