If you're like me, you've taken one look at the ab wheel at the gym and gone running back to your mat. For such a small piece of equipment, the ab wheel is intimidating, and with good reason. Eric and Ryan Johnson, the NSCA-certified trainers behind Homage Fitness [1], told POPSUGAR that although the ab wheel first rose to fame through cheesy infomercials, "out of the endless amounts of 'As Seen on TV' abdominal products out there, the ab wheel is the best piece of equipment, hands down."
Unlike exercises like sit-ups and crunches, they explained, the ab wheel trains your abs to resist the motion of your spine extending. "When done correctly, by not allowing your lower back to extend or belly button sag towards the floor, the core is working to stabilise the spine," Eric and Ryan said. They use ab wheel exercises as challenging progressions from the plank; once your plank variations [2] start feeling too run-of-the-mill, use an ab wheel to spice things up.
Be warned, ab wheel rollouts are tough; you'll probably be shaking the first few times you try them. But Eric and Ryan gave POPSUGAR four exercises to help you work your way up to a full rollout. Add a few reps of the easiest form, the ab wheel rollout from your knees, to your core workout [4]. As that gets easier, start to tackle the rest of the variations, which get progressively harder.
Keep reading to see exactly how to do each exercise, and remember to take your time progressing from each one. Ab wheel exercises are challenging, and you'll get the most benefit if you fully master the form of each variation before moving on.
Ab Wheel Rollout From Knees
"This is a staple of our core training as a progression from the plank," Eric and Ryan told POPSUGAR.
- On your knees, hold the ab wheel directly below your shoulders.
- Roll the ab wheel forward slowly, engaging your core as you do. Roll forward until your arms are fully outstretched and your back is flat.
- Use your core to pull your arms back in, rolling slowly back to the starting position.
- This completes one rep.
Elevated Ab Wheel Rollout From Knees
For this ab wheel variation, which takes a step up in difficulty, you'll simply elevate your knees on a raised surface, such as a mat. "This increases the range of motion of the ab wheel rollout and in return, creates a more challenging position to stabilize and resist extension," Eric and Ryan told POPSUGAR.
- Kneel on your knees on a raised surface, such as stacked mats, holding the ab wheel directly beneath your shoulders.
- Roll the ab wheel forward slowly, engaging your core as you do. Roll forward until your arms are fully outstretched and your back is flat.
- Use your core to pull your arms back in, rolling slowly back to the starting position.
- This completes one rep.
Ab Wheel Marches
After conquering the first two exercises, Eric and Ryan recommended this elevated plank march on the ab wheel to get your lower body involved as well. It's challenging for both your abs and your balance.
- Get into a high plank position with both hands on the ab wheel and your arms directly below your shoulders.
- Lift your left leg slowly, keeping your foot flexed and core engaged so your back doesn't sag.
- Set your left leg back down, and repeat with your right leg.
- This completes one rep.
Standing Ab Wheel Rollout
Eric and Ryan called the standing ab wheel rollout "the king of all ab wheel exercises." It's very challenging, so they recommended a slight modification: from a standing position, roll out into a full extension against a barrier, which will allow you to come to a stop. Then, drop to your knees and roll back.
- Set a barrier, such as a block or barbell, on the ground.
- From a standing position, bend from your hips to set the ab wheel on the ground, slightly bending your knees.
- Roll out the ab wheel slowly, going as far as you can without allowing your back to dip. Engage your abs the whole time to stabilize.
- Once you hit the barrier, drop to your knees. Slowly roll the ab wheel back.
- This completes one rep.