Ab Wheel Rollout

Classic abdominal exercise to build strength and muscular density in the abs using an ab wheel.

Primary Muscle Abdominals
Secondary Muscle(s) None
Difficulty Intermediate
Also known as Wheel Rollout, Ab Roll
Equipment Ab Wheel

How to do Ab Wheel Rollouts

  1. Grip the ab wheel with the hands and start in a standing position with the wheel by your feet and arms and legs straight
  2. Slowly roll the wheel forward in a controlled manner, stretching out the torso as far as you can
  3. Stop when fully stretched and pause for a moment
  4. Return to the starting position and repeat.

Note:
  • Do not round the back in either direction. Try to keep the body straight. 
  • Keep the movement slow and deliberate.

Ab Wheel Rollout Guide

There are many useless pieces of abdominal equipment that simply don't work, but the ab wheel isn't one of them. This simple tool has been around for decades and is a highly effective means of developing abdominal strength and definition. It really tests your ability to maintain midsection tension throughout the movement.

Ab Wheel Rollout Progression Exercises

Performing the Ab Rollout from a standing position is a challenging exercise. Below we describe the progression exercises that will help you develop this strength skill; 

  1. Ab Wheel Knee Rollouts - begin by rolling out from a kneeling position rather than standing, which is an easier variation. If you can't rollout all the way, simply practice partial rollouts and increase the distance as you gain in strength. 
  2. Decline Roll-ups - By rolling up a declined bench or similar setup the difficulty of the exercise is decreased and this makes for a good transition to the standing rollout. As the movement becomes easier take a step back from the decline to increase the difficulty.  

Gymnatics rings can also be a useful tool when learning the rollout exercise as you can perform a similar movement but the higher the rings are raised the easier the exercise becomes. Lower the rings as your become stronger.  

Advanced Ab Wheel Rollouts

When standard ab wheel rollouts become easy and you can perform 20+ reps without a struggle you can practice more advanced variations to increase the intensity of the exercise;

  • Add resistance by wearing a weighted vest
  • Raised feed rollouts
  • Perform one-arm rollouts (you will need a special ab wheel for this that has a central grip and two wheels either side
  • One leg rollouts
  • Also see Ring Rollout for a similar exercise performed on gymnastics rings
Disclaimer

Always consult your GP before undertaking any form of weight loss, fitness or exercise.