March 2011 – An updated ramp tutorial is available here
Standing rollouts with an abdominal wheel have been discussed on this blog before. Several progressions have also been demonstrated. One such progression involved the use of a ramp. Rollouts with an elevated ramp reduce difficulty of the exercise.
It’s been a few years since I first demonstrated a ramp rollout (seen within this video). One limitation of the ramp seen in that old video was the inability to adjust its height. Several readers expressed interest in elevating the ramp higher to reduce difficulty (initially). Fortunately, it is quite easy to build an inexpensive ramp that can be easily adjusted.
The Specifics
The ramp below was built from 2×4’s. There are six 2×4’s across. I’ve also added carpet to the ramp so it can be used with the furniture glide pads that were demonstrated before (see here). The glide pads do not slide on the rubber matted floor. The carpet ramp allows me to use these gliders inside the gym for a variety of exercises.
The ramp’s height is easily adjusted. I have 2×4’s secured to the wall at various heights. The ramp rests easily atop. I then place a dumbbell at the end of the ramp to prevent any accidental sliding.
The ramp stores easily against the wall. It doesn’t take up any room in the gym when not in use.
A video demonstration of the ramp can be seen below.
Additional wheel progressions can be seen here (partial rollouts and ramp rollouts), here (with lashing straps), and here (barbell rollouts with bands).
Great tip. I’d just about gotten to where I could do a full roll out and then I got a hernia and stopped trying for a while. This ramp will get me back into it. I think I going to make mine my with just a 2 X 10.
I am a physical therapist and I really appreciate exercise progressions. That is a brilliant idea for such a difficult exercise. I have been educated:) Thank you!
Sweet idea Ross, this is awesome! Thanks.
Awesome and simple idea! Thanks Ross, I will probably get started on one of these this weekend!
Niiiice.
For anyone out there who is uninitiated on this particular movement (and variations of it), it is *seriously* difficult.
If this movement is trained seriously, the “front core” strength gains are impressive.
I started doing the roll outs with my weight set as you recommended in a previous video. I have to do it from my knees for the time being but WOW has it been kicking my ass. My wife started them today and we were talking about how we can’t wait to be able to do standing roll outs no less than 2 hours ago. Thanks for the tip!!!
Awesome, must try it, now!!
Awesome stuff as always, Ross.
The way I progressed to standing rollouts was quite crude but it worked. I found a small piece of melamine on the sidewalk approximately 12×30 inches. I put one end on the floor and the other end on a mattress on the floor. By extending the floor end further or closer from the bed, and by standing further or closer to the melamine when rolling out, I was able to go from zero standing rollouts to six full standing rollouts in about a month. Hope this helps someone.
Hey Ross – good post and super-cool idea. (Why didn’t I think of it? *kicks self* lol)
Question – in your opinion, how do rollouts w/a wheel compare to doing them with a suspension trainer? (Apologies if you’ve answered that question already somewhere else.)
Keep up your awesome work, brother!
@Wiggy – It’s hard for me to say which is more difficult, as I’ve been doing standing rollouts for so many years. When I first tried rollouts with a suspension trainer, I was already doing one arm rollouts with added weight.
If I had to guess though, I’d say the suspension trainer is easier.
How did you attach the 2×4’s across?