By the healthiergang writer , student in Physiotherapy.
From rollout
The Ab Rollout exercise is probably one of the most difficult exercises for the whole core. Not only does it test the stability of the abdominals, it also requires good strength throughout the rest of the upper body from the shoulders to the lats.
This exercise allows you to train the stabilization function of the abdominal muscles, the task that most affects this muscle group. This function is expressed in the anti-extension function of the lumbar area and, to a lesser extent, also in an anti-rotation function.
It is rare to see a subject who can correctly perform the full variation of this exercise.
By complete variant we mean the one in which you start from standing and bring your body parallel to the floor until you bring the tool over your head.
The tool with which you perform this exercise does not necessarily have to be the Ab Roller, you can also use a dumbbell with round discs and use this as a support.
How is it done?
The points to always keep in mind in this exercise are:
- Contracted abdominals
- Contracted buttocks
- It is the arms that move back and forth
- Exhale in the phase of maximum resistance focusing on the contraction of the transverse abdominal muscle
The first two points ensure that you are recruiting the correct muscles in order to get the benefits of this exercise. In addition, the contracted buttocks allow the force generated by the upper body to be transmitted to the support offered by the lower limbs.
The third point is that which ensures to train the stabilization function of the abdominals.
It often happens that you carry your torso back and forth by changing the relative angle of the pelvis.
This movement does not tax the abdominal muscles as they flex the spine. If the angle between the thigh and the trunk is changed, the flexor muscles of the pelvis are recruited, the most important being the iliopsoas and the rectus femoris. This is exactly what you should avoid doing.
By moving the arms back and forth, which must be kept fully extended or at most with an incomplete extension, the shoulder extensor muscles are recruited, the most important being the great dorsal and the long head of the triceps.
The work of the abdominal muscles consists "simply" of preventing lumbar extension and this task becomes more and more difficult the more the two points of contact with the ground (lower limbs and tool) are spaced apart.
In the final part of the repetition you can add a slight flexion of the lumbar area but without bringing the arms behind the shoulders. If you put your arms behind your shoulders, you lose both tension on the abdominal muscles and balance.
Muscles involved
The last point allows to involve all the muscles of the abdominal wall. The lumbar anti-extension function is mainly performed by the rectus abdominis (the muscle responsible for the “six-pack).
By controlling breathing properly, the oblique and transverse abdominal muscles are also involved.
The oblique muscles are two muscles, one more superficial and the other deeper, on each side of the body. the fibers of these two muscles run in an oblique and orthogonal direction to each other. Both are involved in breathing (and therefore both are involved in this exercise) but between the two obliques the one most affected is the internal one.
The internal oblique present of the muscle fibers that cover the lower part of the abdomen and help to form the "V" shape of the anterior pelvic wall.
The abdominal transversus is another muscle involved in breathing and its correct development helps to keep the abdominal area compact and "flat". The fibers of this muscle stretch horizontally and reach the dorsal region of the abdomen.
You can think of this muscle as a sort of large belt that embraces the entire abdominal region, with this example it is very easy to understand how the contraction contributes to the respiratory dynamics and to the profile of the abdominal area.
The development of this muscle also has significant benefits in preventing lower back problems as it represents a very significant support. By carrying out a forced breathing at the point where the resistance is maximum (therefore with the arms over the head), the 4 muscles of the anterior abdominal wall are fully utilized.
There are numerous preparatory exercises to be able to perform this fantastic exercise. All progressions and variations provide for a correct execution which was described in the previous article. If the technique fails then the exercise no longer makes sense and the benefits of this cannot be appreciated.
Always focus on correct execution rather than doing many repetitions, as soon as you cannot maintain correct execution or you feel some pain you need to stop the exercise.
Plank
The most basic variant consists of the classic plank performed, however, keeping the arms straight and using the Ab Roller (or a possible substitute) as a support for the upper part. This first progression is an isometry-only exercise.
Initially, the support of the lower part must be kept on the knees.
When you can hold this position on your knees for at least 40 seconds, with your arms over your head, you can stand on your feet, keeping your quadriceps and glutes contracted.
Focus on proper execution and full, deep breaths.
Try to bring the upper support further and further forward, in order to make the exercise more difficult.
When it is possible to maintain the position for at least 40 seconds, the dynamic variant of this progression can be introduced, in this case resting on the knees.
A good combination could be to continue working on the isometric position (with knees extended) trying to bring the arms further and further forward and at the same time perform the dynamic variant on the knees, also in this case trying to perform ever wider repetitions.
Ab Rollout Negativo
The most difficult passage is that of the dynamic variant progressing from the variant in which it rests on the knees to the variant in which the knees are extended.
To do this, you can take advantage of the negative repetitions of this exercise. Negative repetitions mean starting from a standing position and moving forward to where you can maintain correct execution. When this fails, the knees rest on the ground and return to the starting position.
This progression allows you to use the greatest strength of the muscles in the eccentric phase of an exercise. In order to focus more on the technique and to increase the TUT (time under tension) these repetitions must be performed with a descent time of at least 5 seconds.
Simultaneously with this dynamic variant, work on the isometric variant with extended knees, always increasing the difficulty of the series
When you can do 5-6 negative reps of this exercise correctly, you probably already have the strength to do 1 or 2 full reps.
Perform as many full reps as you can and then add negative reps until the technique fails on these as well. In the complete repetitions it is useful initially to calibrate the excursion of the arms in order to maintain a difficulty congruent with one's abilities.
variants
This exercise can also be performed using gymnastic rings (or a TRX).
The technique of execution is the same. The rings must be positioned at a variable width, theoretically the arms will still be placed in their position of greatest strength, therefore of approximately the same width as that of the shoulders.
Changing the width of the rings means going to recruit different muscles of the upper body. for example, if these are positioned at a width greater than that of the shoulders, it is also necessary to involve the pectorals in the exercise in order to keep the arms close in front of you.
If, on the other hand, the rings are positioned at a width smaller than that of the shoulders, the lateral deltoid and the posterior deltoid are also involved.
An advantage of using the rings is that the exercise always remains the same even if you go to change the intensity.
This last variant is determined by how low the rings are placed.
The closer they get to where their feet rest, the more difficult the exercise becomes.
If you can, you can also place your feet on a support (obviously stable) in order to make the exercise even more difficult. Finally, if you can and want to work more on the lumbar anti-extension function of the abdominals, you can wear a weighted robe.
