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Ab Roller

The ab roller trains your abs to keep your lower back from sagging while your arms reach out.

Strength Training

What this exercise does

The ab roller trains your abs to keep your lower back from sagging while your arms reach out. It is one of the hardest core exercises, so it earns its Advanced label. The skill is control, not distance.

At a glance

Body part
Abs / Core
Muscles worked
Abs, Core (anti-extension)
Experience
Advanced

How to do it

  1. Kneel on a mat with the roller on the floor under your shoulders. Hold the handles with both hands.
  2. Tuck your tailbone slightly and tighten your belly as if bracing for a light poke.
  3. Roll forward slowly, only as far as you can keep your back flat. A short roll is a good roll.
  4. Pause, then pull the roller back with your abs, not by throwing your hips back.
  5. Do 5 to 8 slow rolls. Rest, and repeat once if you feel steady.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the lower back arch or sag as you roll out.
  • Rolling too far, too soon. Start with a hand-width and add distance over weeks.
  • Using your hips and momentum to come back.

Make it easier or harder

Make it easier

Roll the wheel against a wall: kneel facing it and roll until the wheel touches, then return. The wall limits how far you can go.

Make it harder

Roll out further, or try it from a standing position only after months of solid kneeling rolls.

Keep it safe

Skip this one if your lower back or shoulders complain during or after it. A plank or dead bug builds the same skill with far less strain.

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