I've written in the past about the importance of including core stability exercises in your program. Remember, the lumbar spine needs more STABILITY...NOT MOBILITY. The primary function of your abdominals is to resist movement (stability)...not to promote movement (although they certainly are capable of doing this as well). Flexion exercises like crunches, sit-ups, etc. all promote movement (mobility) and actually place a great deal of compressive force on spine. Now, I'm not saying you can't do some crunches or other flexion type exercises here are there, but I definitely feel stability based exercises should make up the majority of one's core training.
Keeping the above in mind, one of the best core stability exercises is the ab wheel rollout (remember the infomercials? :). If you are looking to build a rock solid, stable mid-section which is both resistant to injury and aesthetically pleasing (assuming your body fat is low enough), this is one of the best exercises out there. Today, I'll present the first progression of this exercise, and, in future installments, I'll present more advanced variations.
When performing this exercise, make sure the low back doesn't sag (hips tilting forward): only go out as far as you can while keeping a neutral spine position. At first, you may not be able to go out too far. That's ok...you'll work up to a greater range of motion pretty quickly. Also, quality of reps is much more important than quantity of reps. When you feel yourself losing your spine alignment, it's time to stop. Give the ab wheel rollout a shot during your next training session.
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