Barbell Ab Rollout

A waist exercise targeting the abdominals, performed with barbell.

Barbell Ab Rollout demonstration
Barbell Ab Rollout — demonstration

Body part

Waist

Equipment

Barbell

Target muscles

Abdominals

Secondary muscles

Lower Back, Shoulders

How to do Barbell Ab Rollout

  1. For this exercise you will need to get into a pushup position, but instead of having your hands of the floor, you will be grabbing on to an Olympic barbell (loaded with 5-10 lbs on each side) instead. This will be your starting position.

  2. While keeping a slight arch on your back, lift your hips and roll the barbell towards your feet as you exhale. Tip: As you perform the movement, your glutes should be coming up, you should be keeping the abs tight and should maintain your back posture at all times. Also your arms should be staying perpendicular to the floor throughout the movement. If you don't, you will work out your shoulders and back more than the abs.

  3. After a second contraction at the top, start to roll the barbell back forward to the starting position slowly as you inhale.

  4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Muscles worked

Primary (target)

Abdominals

Secondary

Lower BackShoulders

Related exercises

All waist exercises →

Track Barbell Ab Rollout in NutriMind

Log your sets and the app does the rest — automatic PR detection, progression charts for every lift, and progressive overload that adjusts your next workout. Paired with AI nutrition coaching so your training and your plate pull in the same direction.

Planning your next heavy session? Estimate your max with the One Rep Max Calculator and build up to it with the Warm-up Calculator. More free tools →