More About Abdominal Workout Equipment
In their constant search for abs machines, few people know that they carry one of the best ab exercise machines with them every day. But first, a story.
I walked over to my neighbour's house the other day. I was interested in knowing why his car had been parked outside in the sun for the past week when he has a perfectly good garage.
The reason was kinda funny, kinda sad.
Apparently there was no place in his garage for his car any more because it was stacked with exercise equipment. You know, the kind you see advertised on TV all the time.
"It's the wife's", he grunted. "She's always buying these ab machines."
Whatever you say buddy, I thought.
Now, don't believe for one second my neighbour is the only guy stacking up disused exercise equipment. There are many more garages and sheds where this stuff is gathering dust and, in some cases, chicken poop.
Why is this?
Number one, ab machines are sold with clever infomercials on TV.
You know, the slick salesman dialogue, the spray-on smiles, the cheesy one liners, the celebrity cameos, the perfectly sculpted bodies going at it in the background. The "only ten minutes a day" promises. It's hard to resist believing that they're actually selling you the best ab machines.
What they don't tell you on TV (if you look carefully with your magnifying glass you'll find it hidden somewhere in the product manual in very fine print) is that to get the results they promise you need to combine their product with a balanced diet and exercise program!
So, if you really want to use abdominal workout machines to get results, I suggest you dig into this site and get going on some of the fat burning and abs exercises we have here.
Forget about using only abs machines - the best ab exercise machine can't be bought on TV...
...you carry it with you every day. Yep, I'm talking about your own body. Keep your body in motion, especially around the abdominal area, and you'll burn the fat away while strengthening your body, building muscle and increasing your lung power and energy.
Trust me, you're not going to develop a flat stomach by strapping some electronic device to yourself for ten minutes a day, or by swinging in a chair.
Elsewhere on this site I talk about the 3 pillars of creating six pack abs, or just a flat stomach, whatever your goal is. Not to repeat myself, here they are in summary again:
- Balanced diet
- Strength and aerobic exercise
- Resistance training if you want a six pack
You need to get all of these going, else you're going nowhere and no manner of abs machines will help you.
In fact, according to Men's Health magazine, a recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that out of numerous ab workout equipment tested, only the Ab-ONE sparked more activity in selected muscles than a traditional crunch. Among the other machines tested were the Perfect Abs Roller, Ab Scissor, Ab Swing, 6SecondAbs and the Torso Track.
So much for finding the best ab exercise machine on TV.
One of the ab machines or pieces of equipment I will recommend is the Power Wheel, sold by LifelineUSA.com. Read more about it on our best lower ab exercise page.
I'm not going to say that workout equipment as seen on TV are useless. I doubt the electronic devices will do you any good, but some of the other gadgets can help a little.
The infomercials will have you believe that these are all you need though. Their 10 minutes a day don't take into account the other exercise you'll need to get to help burn off excess fat.
Keep this in mind when considering buying any of these abs machines, and also remember that building good abs aren't going to happen overnight. You'll need to have discipline and keep at it. The equipment can certainly help you, but in most, if not all, cases they're not a standalone solution. The best ab machines remain our own bodies.
