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Bodyweight Standing ab wheel roll-out progression?

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Harry Westgate

Harry Westgate

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Certified Instructor
Hello everyone,

I'm aware that this has been posted about before, so I shall try to keep this brief...

In the absence of a plank of wood/slope to roll up from the standing position with the wheel, would an effective progression alternative be to roll on the floor as far out as I can manage, e.g. until I touch a wall with the wheel, so long as I maintain tension and don't relax upon touching the wall? This to me seems like it could be considered like the equivalent of the box pistol for the ab wheel; increasing the range of motion more and more as I get stronger...

I'm aware that rolling up a slope makes sense as the best regression of this drill, but I'm trying to make the best out of what resources I have access to. Any thoughts/advice from those who have conquered this drill would be massively appreciated.

Thanks very much in advance,

Harry
 
I hang a band from a high anchor, get under it, and put it around your waist. It works well, gives you assistance at the bottom where you need it.
 
@Harry Westgate

Partial distance rollout to a wall works well for some - give it a try and let us know how it goes.

I assume you can already rep-out the wheel from a kneeling position.

-S-
 
I agree with Steve that partials to a wall work well.

I'd also recommend continuing to do full range reps from the knees. You can get a lot out of the kneeling position just by internal focus on tension. Try to make each kneeling rep as hard as possible, rather than just repping out.

Edit:
As for the bands, they are a pretty generic item these days and have lots of uses. I'm in the US and mine have all come from Jump Stretch (the originators) and elitefts.
 
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@Steve Freides yes, the kneeling roll-outs are very easy for me now. I'll try a combination of standing partials with high tension kneeling full ROM reps for a couple of weeks and keep you posted.

I'll be using an Easy Strength approach with these I think; give or take ten reps broken down into five reps or less as the last part of my workout.
 
Why not the opposite way? Start from the outstretched position and roll in. The more outstretched, the more difficult. I began this way, doing only the positive phase. Now I can do six or seven complete standing roll outs, but I always start outstretched.
 
Volmana said:
Why not the opposite way? Start from the outstretched position and roll in. The more outstretched, the more difficult. I began this way, doing only the positive phase. Now I can do six or seven complete standing roll outs, but I always start outstretched.
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It's an option but it's not necessary to train like that - it's harder the way you describe, so better to first be able to actually do a rep or three starting from standing, and then consider adding some "dead start" reps to your training.

-S-
 
@Harry Westgate I live in Alberta, Canada, so I go to my local Fitness Depot, or Fitness Town. They are warehouse type stores with just about anything you could want. I have spent thousands of dollars over the years, and am pretty kitted out.

I use bands of all sizes, and lengths a lot. Just about all bands are the same. I cannot say where to get them though, it's pretty easy for me to get them locally.
 
@Harry Westgate Have you already dared to attempt a standing rollout? From the sounds of it, you have been progressing nicely with your high volume one arm/one leg and one arm/feet together pushups.

Although this is not a perfect indicator of how well one can generate tension in the guts, particularly with as brutal as this skill is, reps as high as you've been taking them inevitably become more of a midsection worker than a press builder after a certain point--you may already be capable of at least one decent repetition now (may).

While I have never seen anyone perform a standing rollout and successfully roll back up again on the first time of asking, we have to start somewhere.
 
For full roll outs get a plank and rest it securely against a wall / box - start off at a large angle and roll 'up' it - as you progress decrease the angle until you're rolling along the ground. This way you can perform the whole roll out easier.
 
@J Petersen while I have been making solid progress with OAPUs, especially the feet together variety, and I understand what you mean about it becoming more of a core exercise, I have attempted a full standing roll-out, though unfortunately I ended up on my face... Haha.

@Geoff Chafe I'll bear the bands in mind, though for now I'll see how I get on doing partial reps and possibly get some bands if my progress stalls. :)

@Brozneo I'm aware of the progression you speak of, however due to limited resources at present I'm just looking for alternatives that work just as well/alternatives that I can do until a plank of wood with something to set it up on becomes available. :)
 
Partial ROM never worked for me. I lose all tension as soon as I suddenly hit the wall.

I worked up to it using hanging rings. The higher the rings are, the steeper your body angle is at the end. Keep lowering the rings down until they almost brush the floor. At that point, it's about as hard as the wheel rollout.

It's full ROM and very progressive. Worked well for me.
 
305pelusa said:
Partial ROM never worked for me. I lose all tension as soon as I suddenly hit the wall.

I worked up to it using hanging rings. The higher the rings are, the steeper your body angle is at the end. Keep lowering the rings down until they almost brush the floor. At that point, it's about as hard as the wheel rollout.

It's full ROM and very progressive. Worked well for me.
Click to expand...

I actually do ring "fallouts" much more often than I use the wheel. A great exercise in it's own right, and you can hit all kinds of angles from arms out in front to arms out to the sides that you can't do with a wheel. The big advantages of the wheel are that you can use it almost anywhere and the wheel itself is very inexpensive.
 
+1 to 305pelusa's advice (I'm a little irritated that I didn't think to mention it myself...).

When it's my day to lead group PT, I adorn the gym's TRX rig with about a dozen sets of rings, and among the handful of drills I'll have everyone perform would be what we're describing. For the new folks, I have everyone take a practice set in the beginning so they can figure out what range they can work with for the prescribed number of reps. It accommodates trainees of all levels nicely.

As my people have heard me say any number of times, I refuse to waste anyone's time with crunches.
 
It would be great if someone could post a video of the ring rollout we've been talking about here, and thanks in advance.

-S-
 
Steve Freides said:
It would be great if someone could post a video of the ring rollout we've been talking about here, and thanks in advance.

-S-
Click to expand...
Yeah sure. Here's an example:


To elaborate a bit, there are two stages of progression. First, with feet right below where the rings hang, you do your ring roll-out. As you get better, you increase the length of the rings until they almost brush the floor at the bottom. This is what the video above shows. He stands right below the rings, has lengthened the rings such that they're by the floor at the start, and does his roll-outs.

Do NOT stop there though. The second stage is that, while keeping the rings at that length, you slowly step away from the rings. As some point, you'll start your ring roll-outs far enough (about a body's worth of distance away from where the rings hang), such that at the finishing position of the roll-out (body totally stretched out), the rings are completely perpendicular to the floor.

Once you can do that second one, it is about as hard as a true wheel roll-out. Most people stop after they've worked up to the rings lowered to the floor, but don't continue the progression by stepping away. This means the movement is significantly easier because in the finishing position, your body will still be angled (check the video). So we continue to progress this by stepping away so in the outstretched position, we get maximal torque on the shoulders (90 degrees).

Brad Johnson wrote an article about them a long time ago in Dragondoor. His explanation of the "two variables" to play with here is good. The exercise is a bit more complex than it initially seems, but progression happens very quickly if you make the steps small enough.

Progressions to the Standing Evil Wheel

Worth a read.
 
I do barbell roll outs. I like to find multiple uses for my tools, and I don't have to buy something else. I have moved from kneeling to standing rollouts by attaching one end of a band around a low anchor point(power rack), and one end around the barbell. I slowly roll out as far as I can, with shoulders packed, and anterior pelvic tilt, pause for 3-5 seconds, then slowly back to standing.

The band helps pull me back to standing. I progress by adding reps, sets, move feet closer to anchor point, and/or lighter bands. I plan on keeping the reps from 3-6 with a pause in the bottom.

I need to focus more on torso strength, so I have been adding weighted planks, full contact twists, barbell rollouts, hanging leg raises, or weighted sit-ups to the end of my training sessions. Cycling in one exercise per day, with some grip work.
 
Hi,
short question in between. I do have an ab-wheel...what is a good way to start using it? When (seperate days, before or after get ups...)? How often?
Any tipps/recommendations for tutorials on the net?
Thanks for your advice in advance:)
 
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