Barbell Rollout from Bench

How to do it

1. Load a barbell with small plates so it rolls, and set it on the floor in front of a bench.
2. Kneel behind the bar with your hands on it, shoulder-width apart.
3. Rest your forearms or hands so the bar starts elevated against the bench rather than on the floor.
4. Tuck your pelvis so the lower back is flat, and brace your stomach hard.
5. Roll the bar forward along the bench, letting the body extend, hips and shoulders travelling together.
6. Pull back by bracing harder and drawing the hips back, stopping before the lower back arches.

Common mistakes

• Letting the lower back arch as the bar goes out. The abdominal wall is working to prevent that arch, so the arch is the movement failing rather than continuing.
• Hinging at the hips to return. Hips and shoulders travel together in both directions.
• Using a bench that slides. The bar runs along it under your bodyweight, and a bench that moves takes the range with it.
• Starting from the floor. The raised start is what shortens the range — this is the easier rollout, and lowering the start is the progression.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Abs

Secondary

• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Lats
• Shoulders