Ab Wheel Rollout
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Kneel on a pad, grip the ab wheel handles with arms straight below your shoulders. Brace your core HARD — imagine someone is about to kick you in the stomach. Roll the wheel forward slowly, keeping the lower back FLAT (no arch). Extend as far as you can while maintaining that flat-back position — maybe 12 inches, maybe full extension. Pull back using your lats and abs together — don't just snap the hips. Return to start. Reset the brace before the next rep.
Why It Works
The ab wheel rollout trains anti-extension — the core's ability to resist the lower back arching under load. In hockey, this is the mechanism that lets you generate a powerful slap shot or body check without your spine collapsing. Anti-extension core strength, not crunches, is the key to a resilient hockey spine.
Hockey Transfer
Advanced anti-extension — builds elite core stiffness. Ab wheel exposes core weakness instantly. The truth is unforgiving. Embrace the data.
Coaching Cues
- "Start kneeling"
- "Roll out slow"
- "Hips stay level"
- "Pull back with lats and core"
Common Mistakes
Arching the lower back at extension — kills the benefit and compresses lumbar discs. Using hips to snap back — the pull should come from the abs and lats. Going to full extension before you have the strength — earn it over weeks. Holding your breath — brace and breathe (short exhale on the way out, inhale on return).
Progression / Regression
Standing ab wheel rollout from feet (instead of knees) — elite-level anti-extension demand.
Dead bug — same anti-extension demand but from the floor with zero spinal loading.
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Strength/neural
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
← Back to Exercise Library