Foam Roller Body Saw

Secondary muscles
Delts, Triceps
Body part
Core
Laterality
Bilateral (both sides together)
Category
Strength

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With forearms planted on a roller, you slide the whole plank forward and back a few inches at a time, so the abs fight the same lengthening stress as a rollout but from a more locked-in elbow position. The range looks tiny; done slowly with level hips, ten reps is legitimately hard.

How to do the Foam Roller Body Saw

  1. Start in a plank position with your forearms on the roller and your body in a straight line.
  2. Engage your core and slowly roll the roller forward, extending your body as far as you can while maintaining control.
  3. Pause for a moment at the furthest point, then slowly roll the roller back towards your starting position.
  4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip: Exhale slowly as you roll out and keep the ribs pulled down toward the pelvis the entire time.

Muscles worked

Primary

Abs · Core

The abs work almost entirely to resist extension, holding the pelvis tucked as the lever gets longer; the tension should be highest at the far point of the rollout, not on the way back.

Secondary

Common mistakes

  • Hips sagging at the bottom — if your lower back arches as the wheel rolls out, you have gone past the range your abs can control; shorten the rollout and stop at the point where your hips still stay tucked.
  • Hinging at the hips — pushing your backside back toward your heels on the return turns it into a hip hinge; keep the hips locked in line with the torso and pull with the abs.
  • Reaching with the arms — leading with the arms turns it into a lat exercise; think of moving the whole body as one rigid plank that happens to lengthen.
  • Skipping the posterior tilt — before you roll, squeeze the glutes and tuck the pelvis slightly so the abs are braced before the load arrives.

Where it fits in a workout

Rollouts belong toward the end of a session, after heavy lifts but while you can still brace well. Superset them with hanging knee raises or a plank variation so the core work is done in one block.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

Without ab wheel

Easier and harder

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

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More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.