Why the Ab Wheel Is Such a Challenging and Effective Workout Tool | SELF

At first glance, the ab wheel may look like an innocent—and perhaps even fun—gym accessory. Yet in practice? It’s an advanced tool that delivers a seriously intense, next-level core challenge.

For proof, just watch an Instagram video posted last week by celebrity trainer Jeanette Jenkins, in which she and singer-songwriter Mike Posner do the most common ab wheel exercise, ab wheel rollouts, while audibly groaning. (Note: Posner is not Jenkins’ client, Jenkins tells SELF. They were simply at the gym at the same time. “He saw me doing something challenging and cool and wanted to try it so I was all about it,” explains Jenkins.)

“Ab challenge of the day,” captioned Jenkins, Los Angeles-based creator of The Hollywood Trainer who has worked with Pink, Alicia Keys, Mindy Kaling, and Bebe Rexha, among others.

You can check out the video, via @msjeanettejenkins, here:

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Doing a full ab wheel rollout from standing position to push-up position, like Jenkins and Posner demo, is a “super advanced challenge that should only be attempted by students who already use the wheel on a regular basis and know how to keep their core engaged,” Jenkins tells SELF.

The ability to correctly execute this expert-level variation is “saying a lot [about your core strength],” James Brewer, NYC-based certified personal trainer and certified Spin and TRX instructor, tells SELF. “It’s not easy to do.”

Ab wheel rollouts are so tough—and so effective—for several reasons.

Groans aside, Jenkins and Posner may appear to roll in and out with ease, but as mentioned, using the ab wheel correctly is no simple feat. Why?

“You are essentially extending your body into a plank position so it is like a moving plank,” explains Jenkins. This requires you to engage multiple core muscles at once. As the name suggests, the primary muscles worked during ab wheel rollouts are your abs (technically called your rectus abdominis), which are “the main driver [of this movement],” Stephanie Mansour, Chicago-based certified personal trainer, tells SELF. “That’s the strength that needs to be built up in order to progress [the exercise].”