Nearly every person who works out wants to develop a defined six-pack. Yet, very few actually achieve the goal. Part of the reason is that people put too much emphasis on exercise and not enough on nutrition. While diet is key to washboard abs, the right exercises done the right way will help develop a strong and tight midsection.
The ab rollout with an ab roller (ab wheel) is an effective core exercise. However, not everyone has access to this core training equipment. Here are ten very effective ab rollout alternatives you can do at your home or gym.
Ab Rollout Muscles Worked
The main muscles worked in the ab rollout are:
1. Rectus abdominis
The rectus abdominis, or abs, is a flat muscle that originates on the pubic bone of the pelvis and inserts onto the front of the ribs. When the abs contract, they pull the origin and insertion points together to produce spinal flexion or forward curving of the spine.
An effective total abs workout will address every function of the abs. Contrary to what many people think, the abs do much more than just curl up the trunk. They also pull your torso back to perform the opposite motion of crunching up, extending back. The abs also control torso stability by preventing unwanted lateral movement. In addition, they prevent rotation when we want to stay in a grounded, static position.
2. Obliques
The obliques consist of internal and external muscles on each side of the midsection. Only the external obliques are visible, and that too when you have a low body fat percentage. The main function of the obliques is flexion of the spine (side bending), along with torso rotation.
When you do the ab rollout, your obliques help keep your body stable. Plus, performing the ab rollout at an angle puts more tension on the obliques.
3. Erector spinae
The erector spinae consists of two sheaths of muscle that run up and down the spine. It acts like a pair of bridge support cables to support the spine and as a counterbalance to the abs, which brings the torso toward the lower body. They allow you to extend your back in an arched position.
When you’re doing the ab rollout, you stretch out and contract the erector spinae muscles.
4. Latisimus dorsi
The lats are a fan-shaped muscle that runs diagonally from the base of the humerus (upper arm) down to the mid and lower spine. When you do the ab rollout, you stretch out your lats to full extension, and then you contract your lats as you pull back.
5. Deltoids
The deltoid is a three-headed muscle consisting of the anterior (front), medial (side), and posterior (rear) deltoids. The job of the front delt is to extend the upper arm forward and inward.
The deltoids work in unison with the lats to extend the roller out and pull it back in. This works the front delts through its full range of motion.
10 Best Ab Rollout Alternatives
Here are the 10 best ab wheel alternatives that should be a part of your training arsenal:
1. TRX Kneeling Rollout
The kneeling rollout is a great ab move that gives you an awesome stretch through the entire front wall of your stomach. In the gym, you’ll see people doing this exercise with a cable machine. The suspension trainer is better because of the instability factor requiring you to balance your body as you perform the move.
Doing this move while holding both handles is quite difficult as it requires a great deal of stability control. You may wish to begin by holding the two handles together in your hand to make just one grip.
How to do it:
- Set up the TRX straps to an overhead anchor and adjust the straps so that the handles are at waist level when you are kneeling.
- Sit directly under the anchor and grab the handles with an overhand grip with your arms straight at your sides. Maintain an upright torso with a neutral spine.
- Keeping your core tight, lean forward to roll your body forward until your arms are at a 45-degree angle to the floor.
- Draw your arms back to your sides.
[sc name=”style-summary2″ ]
Pro tip: Pause for a two-second count in the fully extended position to increase time under tension.
[/sc]
Benefits of the TRX kneeling rollout:
- Instability increases effectiveness.
- Complete extension and contraction of abs.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
In this exercise:
- Target Muscle Group: Abdominals
- Secondary Muscles: Obliques, Lats, and Deltoids
- Type: Hypertrophy
- Mechanics: Compound
- Equipment: TRX suspension trainer
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Best Rep Range: 8-15
[/sc]
2. TRX Pendulum
The TRX Pendulum is a great exercise to work your core, especially your obliques.
How to do it:
- Position yourself in front of the suspension trainer, facing away from it in a tabletop position.
- Insert your feet in the handles.
- Shuffle away from the anchor point so that your body is in a straight line through your shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles.
- Now, move your legs from side to side in a pendulum motion. Be sure to keep your legs straight as you do this. Your core should be nice and tight as you try to bring your legs as far as possible to each side.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
Pro tip: Maintain control, keeping your core tight at all times to avoid losing your balance.
[/sc]
Benefits of the TRX Pendulum:
- Targets the obliques.
- Instability activates core stabilizers.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
In this exercise:
- Target Muscle Group: Abdominals
- Secondary Muscles: Obliques, Lats, and Deltoids
- Type: Hypertrophy
- Mechanics: Isolation
- Equipment: TRX suspension trainer
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Best Rep Range: 8-15
[/sc]
3. V-Crunch
This advanced crunch variation targets both the upper and lower abdominals. It also works to strengthen the lower back.
How to do it:
- Lie on the floor with your legs extended straight and arms by your sides.
- Lift your legs until they are almost at a 90-degree angle with your upper body.
- Bring your arms toward your feet while performing a crunch.
- Pause and contract at the top.
- Return to the starting position with a slow and controlled motion.
- Repeat.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
Pro tip: Keep your lower back pressed into the floor as you draw your hands toward your feet.
[/sc]
Benefits of the straight leg crunch:
- Pause and contract your abs at the top.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
In this exercise:
- Target Muscle Group: Abdominals
- Secondary Muscles: Obliques
- Type: Hypertrophy
- Mechanics: Isolation
- Equipment: Bodyweight
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Best Rep Range: 8-15
[/sc]
4. Exercise Ball Crunch
The exercise ball adds instability to the crunching movement, making the exercise more difficult, and recruits the intercostals and obliques as stabilizer muscles.
How to do it:
- Lie on the stability ball with your knees bent at 90 degrees and feet hip-width apart.
- Your low and mid back should be placed on the ball, while your upper back and shoulders should be off the ball.
- Place your hands at the back of your head. Keep your chin up.
- Perform a crunch by contracting your abs.
- Pause at the top, inhale and slowly return to the start position.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
Pro tip: Do not interlock your fingers behind your head. Doing so will stress the spine.
[/sc]
Benefits of the Swiss Ball Crunch:
- Isolates the abs, allowing for a full contraction.
- The exercise ball adds the element of instability to work the stabilizer muscles.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
In this exercise:
- Target Muscle Group: Abdominals
- Secondary Muscles: Obliques
- Type: Hypertrophy
- Mechanics: Isolation
- Equipment: Exercise ball
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Best Rep Range: 8-15
[/sc]
5. Hanging Leg Raise
The hanging leg raise targets the lower abdominals. It also develops hip flexor strength and works the deltoids and lats.
How to do it:
- Hang from a pull-up bar with a shoulder-width grip and your feet together.
- Tuck in your chin and tense your abs.
- Hinge at the hips and pull your shoulder blades back as you bring your legs (knee slightly bent but locked) up to hip level. In this position, your legs should form a 90-degree angle to your torso.
- Lower and repeat.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
Pro tip: Not swinging your body to lift your legs will ensure you maintain constant tension on your abs.
[/sc]
Benefits of the hanging leg raise:
- Awesome abdominal contraction and extension
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
In this exercise:
- Target Muscle Group: Abdominals
- Secondary Muscles: Hip flexors
- Type: Hypertrophy
- Mechanics: Isolation
- Equipment: Pull-up bar
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Best Rep Range: 8-15
[/sc]
6. Knee Tuck with Sliders
The knee tuck with sliders requires your core to work hard to keep your legs sliding up and down.
How to do it:
- Start in a high plank position with a pair of sliders under your toes and knees under your chest.
- Slide your feet so your legs are fully extended, and your body is in a straight line from head to toe.
- Return to the starting position.
- Repeat for recommended reps.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
Pro tip: Do this exercise on a slick floor such as polished hardwood to allow for ease of movement.
[/sc]
Benefits of the knee tuck with sliders:
- Full ab contraction and extension.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
In this exercise:
- Target Muscle Group: Abdominals
- Secondary Muscles: Hip flexors
- Type: Hypertrophy
- Mechanics: Isolation
- Equipment: Sliders
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Best Rep Range: 8-15
[/sc]
7. Cable Crunch
The cable crunch places constant tension on the abs to deliver an intense burn along the entire abdominal wall. This exercise also makes it easy to increase resistance.
How to do it:
- Set the pulley at its highest position and attach a rope handle.
- Kneel down facing the machine.
- Take a step back and grab the rope handle.
- Hold the rope handles against your shoulders so the anchor point is behind your head.
- Crunch down to bring your hands to your knees.
- Pause and contract at the bottom.
- Return to the starting position.
- Repeat for recommended reps.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
Pro tip: Increase the weight and lower the reps with each set.
[/sc]
Benefits of cable crunches:
- Constant tension and isolation of the abs.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
In this exercise:
- Target Muscle Group: Abdominals
- Secondary Muscles: Hip flexors
- Type: Hypertrophy
- Mechanics: Isolation
- Equipment: Cable pulley machine
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Best Rep Range: 10-30
[/sc]
8. Swiss Ball Pike
The Swiss ball pike is an advanced abdominal exercise that combines both isometric and dynamic contraction of the core muscles.
How to do it:
- Get into a high plank position.
- Place your feet on a Swiss ball.
- Draw in your knees until they are under your chest.
- Pause and contract your core at the top.
- Return to the starting position.
- Repeat for recommended reps.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
Pro tip: Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels throughout the motion, not lifting your hips or rounding your back.
[/sc]
Benefits of the Swiss ball pike:
- Isometric and dynamic ab contraction.
- The Swiss ball engages your stabilizers.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
In this exercise:
- Target Muscle Group: Abdominals
- Secondary Muscles: Hip flexors
- Type: Hypertrophy
- Mechanics: Compound
- Equipment: Swiss Ball
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Best Rep Range: 8-25
[/sc]
9. Plank Walkout
The plank walkout adds a dynamic element to the conventional isometric plank exercise to extend the abs through their full range of motion.
How to do it:
- Get down in a high plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders and palms on the floor. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart.
- Walk out with your left, then your right hand while keeping your feet in place. Take small steps until you can’t go any further.
- Walk your hands back to the start position.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
Pro tip: If you find this exercise too challenging, perform it on your knees.
[/sc]
Benefits of the plank walkout:
- Move the abs through their full range of motion.
- Improves posture.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
In this exercise:
- Target Muscle Group: Abdominals
- Secondary Muscles: Hip flexors
- Type: Hypertrophy
- Mechanics: Compound
- Equipment: None
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Best Rep Range: 8-15
[/sc]
10. Barbell Rollouts
The barbell rollout allows you to get a full ab extension while also having to balance against the instability of the bar rolling. This makes for a seriously challenging ab exercise.
How to do it:
- Kneel on the floor.
- Place a loaded barbell against your quads.
- Grab the barbell with a double overhand grip with your thumbs about six inches apart.
- Roll the bar out until your body is fully extended and your torso is parallel to the floor.
- Pull the bar back to the starting position.
- Repeat for recommended reps.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
Pro tip: Maintain a neutral spine throughout the exercise. Pause for a couple of seconds at the bottom.
[/sc]
Benefits of the barbell rollout:
- Improves anti-extension strength.
- Provides full ab extension and contraction.
[sc name=”style-summary-2nd” ]
In this exercise:
- Target Muscle Group: Abdominals
- Secondary Muscles: Hip flexors
- Type: Hypertrophy
- Mechanics: Compound
- Equipment: Barbell
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Best Rep Range: 8-15
[/sc]
FAQs
Is the ab rollout better than crunches?
If your goal is to work more muscles, then yes, the ab rollout is better than the crunch. Crunches isolate the abdominal wall, whereas the ab rollout engages not just the abs, but also the lats, obliques, and deltoids.
Can I get a six-pack from doing ab rollouts?
You cannot get a six-pack from doing ab rollouts in isolation. This exercise will strengthen your abs but will not remove the fat covering them. You need to maintain a caloric deficit to burn fat, meaning you have to consume fewer calories than you burn daily.
Can the ab rollout sprain your lower back?
The ab rollout will not sprain or otherwise harm your lower back as long as you use the correct exercise form and maintain a natural lower back arch.
[sc name=”style-blue-box2″ ]
More Alternative Exercises:
- Hanging Knee Raise Alternatives for Rock Hard Abs
- Best Cable Crunch Alternatives for Stronger, More Defined Abs
- Russian Twist Alternatives for a Rock-Hard Core
- Alternatives to the Must-Do Exercises
- Hyperextension Alternatives for A Powerful Posterior Chain
[/sc]
Wrapping Up
The ab rollout is an effective exercise to develop anti-extension strength and work the core. If you’ve got access to an ab roller, by all means, use it. But if you don’t, you now know ten awesome alternatives you can add to your ab training regimen.
Select two or three for your core workout, doing a total of 8-10 sets. Work your core two to three times per week for the best results.
You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and
YouTube for even more content.