Ab Wheel Rollout

The Ab Wheel Rollout is multi-joint movement for intermediate and advanced fitness enthusiasts. The load is intensive and the exercise uses many stabilising and auxiliary muscles.

This exercise is great to implement as a first exercise in your abdominal workouts.However its implementation requires at least 2 warm-up sets.

Contraindications

• Avoid this exercise if you have injuries in the: wrists, elbows, shoulders, abdominal belt or shoulder rotator cuffs, back, hips, or ankles;
• Avoid this exercise if you are lacking control of the pelvis, abdominal belt and shoulder girdle;
• This exercise should be avoided by beginners and people that are overweight.
• Avoid this exercise if you are unable to perform 10v-ups.
• Consult your physiotherapist before performing this exercise if you're having scoliosis or shortened hips/glutes ;

Involved muscles

Target

• Iliopsoas

Synergists

• Tensor Fasciae Latae
• Sartorius
• Pectineus
• Adductor Longus
• Adductor Brevis
• Latissimus Dorsi
• Teres Major
• Pectoralis Major, Sternal
• Pectoralis Minor
• Deltoid, Posterior
• Rhomboids

Stabilizers

• Rectus Abdominis
• Obliques
• Triceps Brachii
• Pectoralis Major, Clavicular
• Wrist Flexors

Dynamic Stabilizers

• Rectus Femoris

Antagonist Stabilizers

• Erector Spinae

Variations

According to the amplitude

• Full amplitude (intermediate) - Go almost all the way down, elbows are not touching the ground.A harder variation.
• Full amplitude (advanced) - elbows are slightly bent and are touching the floor. This is the hardest variation.
• 1/2 amplitude - Descent stops in the middle. Start with this variation and extend further.

According to the support

• Roller-knees - an option for people that are new to the movement.Knees are on the ground.
• Roller-toes - advanced option, the load is maximised.Lower body is in a push up position.

Method of execution

Preparation

1. Kneel on floor or mat. Grasp handles on wheel to each side with overhand grip. 
2. Position wheel near front of knees and lean over wheel with arms extended downward, supporting upper body.

Performance

1. Begin to descend, and strive to keep your legs and arms straight, and shoulder, hip and abdominal belt stable (with unchanged positions). Inhale when descending.
2. With arms straight, roll wheel out as far as possible. 
3. Raise body back up by flexing hips and pulling arms back to original position. 
4. Return until hips are extended. Repeat.

Comments and recommendations

• Perform this exercise until failure. 
• If you experience any instability in the: shoulders, shoulder girdle, abdomen, waist or elbows - stop and put your knees on the floor.
• Do not hold your breath trough the execution of the exercise.
• Discontinue immediately if you experience pain, tenderness, or numbness.

Relevancy

Fitness

Excellent exercise for intermediate and advanced fitness enthusiasts who want to test the functionality of their bodies.. The exercise is fantastic for many people, however it is too advanced for another.

• If you're an advanced athlete you can implement the ab wheel rollout as a first / second main exercise in a workout for abs.

Power and strength-conditioning workouts 

The Ab Wheel Rollout offers many benefits of including it into a workout program. In addition to test the stability of the joints, maintain and power scaling of the abdomen, hips constrictor, dorsal muscles. Improves control of pressure in the abdominal belt which is so needed in one-rep maxes.

Fitness 

Classic bodybuilding programs may not benefit from this exercise - the movement does not affect visual improvements and carries a risk because of its complicated technique. It does not combine too well with pre-exhaust exercises in ab workouts which are in most workout programs.

Ghetto-workouts

This exercise is perfect for training at home/outside.The roller is small and you can carry it easy within your backpack.

Crossfit

It is usually implemented as a final exercise in crossfit circuits.However beware of over-exhausted stabilisers and sygergists while performing this exercise in a crossfit circuit.

(sources:exrx.net)
(pictures:menshealth.com.sg)

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How To Avoid Over training?

Training as hard as you can, destroying yourself in the gym and training for 4 hours every day will not give you better results(If you're natural, if you're on steroids disregard this post).Sometimes in bodybuilding LESS IS MORE.So let's talk about overtraining

When does over training happen?

Over training occurs when the body fails to recover after a hard workout.
The reason may be in too heavy workouts, short rest or poor diet.
During weight training, muscle fibers are torn, then with good resting, proper nutrition and intake of bodybuilding supplements an increase muscle fibers occurs (hypertrophy).

With overtraining, once torn muscle fibers fail to regenerate, then rip again - resulting in weakening of muscles and loss of muscle mass.

In severe and prolonged training body releases cortisol (catabolic hormone), a hormone that prevents muscle recovery, decreases testosterone levels in the body, preventing protein synthesis and prevents the body from burning fat.

The problem of overtraining and recovery is not always in training, nutrition and recovery.

Daily stress, to which we are subjected, is among the most important factors influencing negatively on the recovery of the body.

You can follow the best workout program, get the best supplements, use the very best burning fat techniques,but the results will never be the same if you're under stress.What i love about fitness is that you go in the gym stressed, angry etc.And you go out with a clear state of mind.When you go in to the weight room you forget about all your problems and you just focus on training it really is amazing.

Often, in an effort to achieve the desired results one seeks to train more and more. Is this the right thing to do to get results faster?

Most often overtraining is seen in  beginners who desire to achieve quick results, spend a few hours in the gym, trying to do everything.

Too heavy workouts weaken the immunity of the body.

The most common mistakes

• Training every muscle group each workout. Training a muscle group too often not only will not give greater results, but also prevents the recovery of the muscle thus making you LOSE MUSCLE;
• Poor nutrition before and after training;
• Implementation of too many sets per muscle group in one workout;
• Too short rest time between sets;
• Insufficient sleep;
• Wrong choice of exercises and their sequence;
• Systematic abuse of alcohol and cigarettes.

Signs of overtraining

• Fatigue;
• Lack of motivation;
• Aching muscles or joints;
• Muscle stiffness;
• Irritability;
• Disturbed sleep;
• Loss of appetite;
• Fatigue;
• Recovery problems;
• Depression;
• Decrease in performance;

Common injuries;

• Menstrual disorders;
• Unquenchable thirst (especially at night);
• A higher than normal heart rate (especially in the morning);
• Weakening of the immune system;
• Loss of body weight.

What to change?

Above all - ensure sufficient rest of the body. If you overtrain, your best choice is to stop training for a while (about a week) and give your body a good rest.

Discontinuation of training will be accompanied by some loss of form, but not much if you continue to train despite the accumulated fatigue.

The next step is to review your way of training, nutrition and recovery and to find out where you are doing it wrong.

Give enough rest days to recover each muscle group, depending on its type and purpose of your workouts.

Make sure you are getting sufficient macro and micro nutrients.If you can't accquire them through traditional foods consider using fitness supplements.

How to avoid overtraining?

• Never train so hard that it makes your workout displeasurable
• Do not look for quick results.
• 2-3 times a year do a complete break from training for a week.(I'll be having a post about deloads soon)
• Rest - give your body the chance to recover and prepare for the next sets / workout.
• Planning - the proper distribution of breaks is essential. Always do a preliminary plan for training or training week.
• Do not exceed the capacity of your body - if you're trying to work beyond the ability of your body you will most likely be over exhausted or you will get unwanted injury.
• Get no less than eight hours sleep a day.
• Be sure to obtain all nutrients that your body needs.
• If you're having problems with recovery take nutritional supplements tailored to your needs.
• Massage or sauna once a week can improve your recovery.
• The best protection against over-training is a combination of rest and proper recovery of your body through proper diet and supplements.

(pictures:askmen.com)

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Cable Kneeling Crunch

The Cable Kneeling Crunch is a part of the cable ab exercises,it is a pulling isolation exercise for the abdominal muscles and a great workout for abs.The movement is used as an aid in the development of strength and muscle mass in the abdomen. Its performance is moderately difficult to control. Suitable for intermediate and advanced fitness enthusiasts.

Contradictions

People with shoulder, shoulder girdle and spine injuries should perform the exercise with caution. In case of pain while performing, ask a trainer or an experienced athlete about your form. If the problem is not the form, you should consider consulting a orthopedist.

Involved Muscles 

Target

• Rectus Abdominis

Synergists

• Obliques

Stabilizers

• Iliopsoas
• Tensor Fasciae Latae
• Rectus Femoris
• Sartorius
• Latissimus Dorsi
• Teres Major
• Deltoid, Posterior
• Triceps, Long Head
• Rhomboids
• Trapezius, Lower
• Pectoralis Major, Sternal
• Pectoralis Major, Clavicular
• Pectoralis Minor
• Serratus Anterior

Cable Kneeling Crunch How To:

Preparation

1. Kneel while facing the pulley.
2. Grasp the rope with both hands, palms should be at head level(palms facing head, wrists against head).
3. Tighten your stomach and kneel while keeping a considerable distance from the pulley so that you can bend.
4. In the starting position back should be straight (not hunched).

Execution

1. Slowly start to bend the top of the spine,as you bend your abs and keeping the waist still.
2. The end point is reached when your head almost touches the floor or elbows touch your thighs.
3. Hold at the bottom for a second.
4. Very slowly return to the starting position as you strive to keep the tension in the muscles and not to move your hips.

Comments and recommendations

• The movement takes place only in the upper sector of the spine.
• The lever (cable) should not swing.

Cable Kneeling Crunch Relevancy

• Include the cable kneeling crunch in the middle of your routine for abdominal muscles during the main period and in a shaping period you can use it as the first exercise in a workout for abs with longer sets.

(sources:exrx.net)(pictures:theteenstreet.com)

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