The Strong Rig
That Holds It All Together
Hanging leg raises & ab wheel rollouts — the unglamorous core work that makes every other lift in your program actually function. 360° foundation, no shortcuts.
The core is the "necessary evil" for any athlete who takes themselves seriously. It is the foundation for lifelong stability, regardless of who you are. Too often, it is either completely neglected from the ground up, or worshipped solely by those lucky enough to have the genetic insertions for a perfect 6- or 8-pack.
It wasn't until year five of my fitness journey that I finally took core training seriously. I realised it is the central rig of your entire system — the spine of every other lift. A strong core makes or breaks the form of almost every compound exercise imaginable. Squat folds without it. Deadlift collapses without it. Overhead press becomes a circus act without it.
I chose the Hanging Leg Raise and the Ab Wheel because they check the holy trinity of training: achievable, overloadable, and repeatable. You can add weight, increase reps, or manipulate tension time based on your weak points. I never live by the basis of immediate gratification for my fitness, nor do I apply that perspective to anything in life. True core strength is earned in the shadows, not bought overnight.
The 360° core
Your core is a 360-degree unit. It doesn't just live on the front of your torso where the visible abs sit — it wraps all the way around. To train it properly, you need movements that hit the front (flexion) and the front-while-resisting-extension (anti-extension). These two movements perfectly complement each other.
You can use the generic plastic ab wheel found in the corner of the gym, or you can upgrade your setup with a barbell loaded with two 2.5kg plates and clips on each side. The round plates roll much smoother than the cheap plastic wheel, give you better grip width options, and let you progressively add load over time as your core gets stronger.
It's the same movement either way, but the barbell version scales with you. The plastic wheel becomes a beginner tool you outgrow; the barbell becomes a tool you build with for years.
Bigger body or stronger rig
Diving into the depths of core training has taught me to hinge, bend, twist, and hold myself accountable when times get tough. If there's anything I can say about these two movements, it's this: they will change your mind about how you move through the world.
If your core is strong, you have nothing to lose. If your core is weak, every other lift will feel like absolute dog sh*t and a massive chore. Your lower back will overcompensate. Your squats will fold. Your overhead presses will crumble. The body is held up by the rig — and a weak rig falls under load.
I say this out of love, hoping to challenge the mindset of the reader.
A functional, full-body machine requires a bulletproof centre. Be real, and be one with yourself. Choose the strong rig. The size will come on top of it — built on a foundation that won't fold the first time the load gets serious.
On the leg raises: swinging too much and using momentum to throw your legs up. Momentum is not training — it's the thing your training is supposed to remove.
On the ab wheel: letting the lower back completely cave in and arch during the rollout. If your lower back hurts, your abs aren't doing the work. Stop, regress to a shorter range, and rebuild the bracing.
You probably didn't pass your driving test the first time you got behind the wheel by driving recklessly — unless your instructor was really generous, lol. You started in an empty parking lot. Then quiet streets. Then mixed traffic. Then highway. Each step earned the next.
Same with the rig. Start with kneeling ab wheel rollouts at half range. Earn full range. Add a bit of distance. Earn that. Then maybe try the standing rollout one day. Control the vehicle. Control the movement. The core doesn't reward speed — it rewards the lifters who refused to skip steps.