How many reps of the roll-up should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Do 2 sets of 5 to 8 slow, controlled reps, resting only long enough to reset your breath between sets, since the quality of the roll matters more than speed or volume here. Progress by removing the knee bend or foot anchor before adding more reps.

How do you make the roll-up easier or harder?

Make it easier by bending the knees slightly, or hooking the feet under something sturdy, until your abs and hip flexors are strong enough to roll up with straight legs. Make it harder by holding a light weight overhead or slowing the count on both the way up and the way down.

What is the roll-up good for?

It trains the abdominals through a full range of motion while teaching the segmental spinal control Pilates is built around, and it doubles as a hamstring and back stretch on the forward reach. It is a poor choice with a sensitive low back or osteoporosis, since rolling through spinal flexion under load is a movement those conditions often need to avoid.

Intermediate

Roll-Up

The Roll-Up trains the abdominals through their full range while teaching sequential spinal control, the hallmark of Pilates. Done slowly with no momentum, it builds real strength and mobilizes a stiff back, and the forward reach lengthens the hamstrings and spine. It is the strength benchmark that comes right after the Hundred.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Abs
Type: Pilates, Strength, Stretching
Browse by muscle: Upper Rectus Abdominals, Lower Rectus Abdominals
Browse by movement: Spinal Flexion

How to do it

1
Lie supine with legs straight and together, arms extended overhead toward the wall behind you.
2
Inhale and float the arms to the ceiling, beginning to curl the head and chest forward.
3
Exhale and peel the spine off the mat one vertebra at a time, rolling up and reaching over your legs.
4
Deepen the hollow of the belly at the top and lengthen your fingertips past your toes.
5
Inhale, then exhale to reverse the movement, rolling down slowly and stacking the spine bone by bone.
6
Return the arms overhead and repeat without swinging or throwing the body up.

Tips

If you cannot roll up smoothly, bend the knees slightly or anchor the feet until you build strength.
Initiate with a chin nod and a scoop of the lower belly, not a yank of the arms.
Move at an even tempo so no single point of the spine jerks off the mat.

Variations

Common mistakes

The knees pop up and bend partway through the roll instead of staying pinned to the mat, letting the hip flexors take over from the abs.
Once momentum builds from swinging the arms, the spine leaves the mat in one piece instead of peeling up bone by bone.
Holding the breath through the hardest part of the roll stiffens the trunk instead of using the exhale to help peel the spine up.
The feet lift off the floor as the torso rises, removing the anchor the lower spine needs to sequence properly.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the roll-up should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Do 2 sets of 5 to 8 slow, controlled reps, resting only long enough to reset your breath between sets, since the quality of the roll matters more than speed or volume here. Progress by removing the knee bend or foot anchor before adding more reps.
How do you make the roll-up easier or harder?: Make it easier by bending the knees slightly, or hooking the feet under something sturdy, until your abs and hip flexors are strong enough to roll up with straight legs. Make it harder by holding a light weight overhead or slowing the count on both the way up and the way down.
What is the roll-up good for?: It trains the abdominals through a full range of motion while teaching the segmental spinal control Pilates is built around, and it doubles as a hamstring and back stretch on the forward reach. It is a poor choice with a sensitive low back or osteoporosis, since rolling through spinal flexion under load is a movement those conditions often need to avoid.

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