Roll Up | Illustrated Exercise Guide

Primary muscles: Abs
Secondary muscles: Core
Equipment: No equipment
Exercise for the opposite muscles: Alternating superman

ROLL UP INSTRUCTIONS

1. Lie down on the mat with your legs straight and your arms extended.
2. Slowly lift your torso up.
3. Return to the starting position by rolling down one vertebra at a time.
4. Repeat until set is complete.

PROPER FORM AND BREATHING PATTERN

When doing the roll up exercise, keep your abs engaged, your chest open and your shoulders, neck, and back relaxed. Breathe out as you roll yourself up and do all the movements slowly using only your ab strength, not the momentum.

EXERCISE BENEFITS

Adding the roll up exercise to your workout routine helps to strengthen your core, stretches the spine and increases your flexibility. This is a classic Pilates exercise that is known as one of the Pilates flat abs exercises.

DEMONSTRATION

SETS AND REPS

Do as many repetitions as you can without losing form and, as you increase your fitness level, try to complete 2 or 3 sets of 60 seconds. If you find that roll ups are too challenging, start with sit ups and crunches to work on your abdominal strength.

CALORIES BURNED

To calculate the number of calories burned doing the roll up, enter your weight and the duration of the exercise:

RELATED CORE EXERCISES

Try these other core exercises to tighten, sculpt and strengthen your abs, obliques, lats and lower back:
Windshield wipers
Reverse crunches
Back extensions
Side plank