Ab RollerMuscles Worked
The ab roller works your abs, the whole rectus abdominis plus the obliques, as they stop your lower back from sagging while you roll out, and your shoulders help control the reach. It is an anti-extension move: the challenge is holding your torso rigid, not crunching.
How to do it
- Kneel on a mat with the wheel on the floor under your shoulders, holding a handle in each hand.
- Brace your abs and tuck your pelvis slightly so your back is flat or a little rounded.
- Roll the wheel forward slowly, letting your hips and arms extend together as your body lengthens toward the floor.
- Stop at the point where your lower back starts to arch or your hips begin to sag.
- Pull the wheel back toward your knees using your abs, rather than shoving your hips back first.
Form tips
- Keep your ribs pulled down toward your hips the whole time; an arching lower back means you have rolled too far.
- Build range gradually, starting with short rollouts or rolling toward a wall that stops the wheel.
- Move slowly in both directions so your abs, not momentum, control the wheel.
Why it made the list
No. 3 of 13
Best Ab Exercises
Extremely high EMG activation across entire rectus abdominis and obliques. One of the few exercises shown to outperform crunches in studies.
More ab exercises
See it on your own body map
Log your Ab Roller sets in KasMaker and watch your abs and shoulders fill in on the map, weighted by how much you did. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
