Your dad had an old-school ab wheel down in the basement-right next to his Bullworker, his wood-framed tennis racket, and the stash of Playboys he kept in his fake toolbox. Nobody ever used it, though, because the ab wheel isn’t a fitness gimmick. If you want shredded, rock-solid abs, it makes you work for them.
Core Stability
“If you don’t have stability in your abs, you’re going to get crushed when you try to squat heavy,” says Jay DeMayo, head strength and conditioning coach for the University of Richmond’s nationally ranked basketball program. “Ab wheel exercises are tough, but they’re the best way to develop the kind of core stability you need to get stronger.”
You’ll probably have to work your way up to performing ab wheel rollouts the right way—meaning you start in a standing position. But once you’re capable of using your abs to maneuver your body parallel to the floor and then back to a standing position, you’ll find yourself getting stronger in all your main lifts, especially your squats.
“The idea [to keep in mind] when you’re progressing with these,” says DeMayo, “is to start with your upper body higher up, then work your way down to the actual ab wheel, which is very low to the ground.”
Four-Step Progression
How to work your way to technically correct ab wheel rollouts.
1. SWISS BALL
Kneeling with your hands on a Swiss ball, brace your abs, push your hips out, and roll forward on the ball until you reach full extension.
2. TRX SUSPENSION STRAPS
While standing with handles at waist height, extend your body fully. Use your abs to return to the starting position.
3. BARBELL WITH 45-POUND PLATES
From your knees, brace your midsection and roll forward until your arms are fully extended, then return to the start.
4. AB WHEEL
Start by performing rollouts from your knees. When you can do 12-15 reps this way, try a full ab wheel rollout from a standing position.
