EXERCISE OF THE WEEK – AB WHEEL ROLLOUT

Most gym users aspire to having a strong core and a good set of abs, and for this reason, people often dedicate quite a bit of time to getting a washboard stomach, performing crunch after crunch and sit up after sit up – often with very little progress to show for it….other than a sore neck!

Using an Ab Wheel forces your core to recruit a lot of muscles and for this reason it’s one of the best ab / core exercises out there…even after 1 rep, you’ll feel the difference compared to a traditional sit up!

We love it so much that we always teach our fitness students roll out’s on our Diploma In Personal Training.

main joints involved:

• hip
• shoulder
• knee

main muscles used:

• iliacus
• iliopsoas
• latissimus dorsi
• obliques externus
• obliques internus
• pectoralis major
• rectus abdominis
• rectus femoris
• serratus anterior
• teres major
• triceps brachii

starting position:

On your knees, place your hands on the handles of the Ab Wheel with straight arms and keep the Ab Wheel along the center line of your body. Bend your torso forward at a 45 degree angle, with your back nice and straight.

movement action:

Inhale and brace your core, then slowly roll the wheel forwards (away from you) in a straight line and extend your arms forward, allowing your body and hips to drop until your chest is almost parallel with the floor (if you are new to working your core – rollout and extend to a comfortable depth).  Your body and hips move forward, but your knees remain stationary.

Slowly exhale and draw your arms and hips back simultaneously, rolling the wheel in a straight line back towards your body.

stabilize by:

• pulling your abdomen up and in
• keep shoulders back and down throughout the movement
• keep arms extended and wrists solid

avoid:

• rounding or arching your spine
• moving to quickly

We hope you enjoy trying our exercise of the week!