SubscribeDon't Buy Another Ab Machine: Read This First
About this time of year, infomercials for Ab machines seem to hit the airwaves in abundance.
They are - quite simply - the most annoying, deceitful, and downright misleading ads there are.
Here's why:
The characters in these infomercials are most likely hired from an agency that specializes in fitness models. They probably never laid eyes on the machine until the day of the shoot.
These people have timed their training and diet in order to be in peak physical condition for that day.
The ad is all about giving the impression that somehow the physical condition of these actors came from spending 3 minutes a day on these ridiculous machine.
Not true. Here's a reality check.
What the ab machine will NOT do:
- Give you a fake tan.
- Reduce your body fat percentage to single digits.
- Make you look pretty.
- Give you white teeth.
- Build massive biceps and pecs.
- Build muscular thighs and calves.
- Build shredded deltoids.
- Increase overall strength.
- Give you a slender waist.
- Give you large perky breasts.
To gain the above things, you will need a combination of; months to years of diligent cardiovascular and strength training, a powerful commitment to maintain a fairly strict diet (often with different goal phases of 'bulking' and fat loss), and possibly some cosmetic surgery and other cosmetic work.
What the ab machine may do:
- Increase abdominal strength.
- Build some abdominal muscles (which will probably remain concealed beneath your subcutaneous belly fat).
- Gather dust in your garage or become a life-threatening obstacle in your bedroom.
The choice is yours as to whether you buy such a machine - but at least be realistic about its potential.
My reaction after reading this was DUH!
I mean, really, are people too "naive" to understand that these are actors hired specifically to sell you something? That just maybe Joe Schmoe may require a lot more than a few minutes several times a week on the contraption in question to look like that? And even then, he may never attain such a physique.
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Reply...
I think you guys are very ignorant about abs machines and abs exercises. Yes, you won't look like the people in the comercials but you won't have that big belly if you stick to a good routine. Probably you didn't see any results because you are lazy and has never had a good work out ethic, but i've been using ab machines at the gym at my school now for over 5 months and THEY Help
ReplyYou are also not an overweight middle-aged person using just the machine for exercise.
ReplyCurious, do you use different machines for your abs or just one? I wondered if we all need to change our ab routine from time to time so these muscles don't get used to the same motions. I remember hearing that you plateau in a workout you've done for a while and need to change routines occasionally. Could changing the ab exercises we do, from time to time, help build better looking stronger abs?
Replythe only benefit i have ever gotten from an ab-machine (at the gym, mind you) is that you eliminate the painful neck factor. beyond that, the machine is something that the lazy in you really wants to have, but will stop using after you realize that after 3 months, you still dont look like the guy/girl who demonstrated the machine so nicely on the infomercial- alas, and we are still waiting on that magical "slim in 24 hours" diet pill, also!! LOLOL
ReplyHello - I am one of the probably numerous foreign readers who enjoy this page and I would like to give a comment on the issue of abs. I have given birth to five children and have tried many different things to get rid of my "mummy tummy"
Last fall I tried a different kind of exercise, which hasn’t given me a completely flat belly, but has changed it into a much nicer one: My navel has changed shape and moved upwards, and especially the lower part of the stomach has become much firmer.
The new exercise? I did normal slow crunches, but with a little flat ball under my hips and lower back. The ball lifted my lower back about three or four inches. You can try it at home too: If you haven’t got a little flat ball; get a blanket and fold it instead. Do the crunches with your hands in front of you – not behind your neck – 10-12 straight up and 10-12 crossovers done every other day, was enough to make a big difference for me. Perhaps it will work for you too.
ReplyI hate those ads. Do people think that doing crunches will give them a great chest or do anything for their legs? If they don't, good. If they do... well, perhaps there's something to evolution after all.
ReplyI did use one of those ab machines once....and all my chest and leg hair fell off....weird....
Nothing new...As I like to say "ABS ARE MADE IN THE KITCHEN". No idea why everyone is obsessed about situps and the "CORE" which is a complete marketing ploy by equipment manufacturers to sell more stuff.
Everyone has a 6 pack...just have to go burn the fat to find it! Forget crunches....eat right and you will get your six pack!
ReplyOh...and do plank holds instead. They activate your TVA which "draws in" your abdominals and gives you the "flatter" look.
ReplyWhat is a plank hold?
ReplyAn example is holding the "push-up" position except on your forearms, or on your side. Holding the body rigid like a "plank," for an extended period. There are many variations. It's a "core" strengthener.
ReplyOh I've done this in Body Balance class. It is a good back stretcher, too. You can lift your leg up when you get better at it.
Thanks.
ReplyMorning,
You forgot the other thing the ab machine might do:
Become a very versatile clothing rack or shoe hanger. :) Soloflexes, if I remember correctly, doubled wonderfully for that.
Enjoy,
Barbara
ReplyMachines are great, aren't they?
ReplyI thought the article was very funny:)
ReplyHaha! Your points are so true! Everytime a client asks me about these types of equipment I cringe! These people are really good at deceiving the masses! Remember the adverts about those annoying electronic impulse machines that "miracly" give you a six-pack?! Yeah right! Keep up the good work!
ReplyThe only reason I'd be interested in one of the machines is because I'm not entirely sure I'm doing crunches *properly*. While the machines won't turn me into a buff man with gleaming white teeth, they *might* help me exercise more usefully.
ReplyWe all know that it's about fat-loss revealing the abs, not doing 1000 crunches that will get you there. But Diet + Exercise is hard, and many people can't accept the idea that spot reduction doesn't exist.
ReplyAh yes marketing isn't it grand. You know I don't think the produces of these ads actually expect their viewers to believe that they can achieve those amazing abs by using their machine. But like they always say, "sex sells". They certainly do know how to grab our attention.
You have to admit who ever sells those machines must be an absolutely amazing salesman. Being able to convince someone to purchase a device that does the same thing their own body can do for free I think is quite a talent.
ReplyYeah, those commercials are so obnoxious. They claim you can lose inches from your midsection just by doing ab work, but the truth is that unless you're burning off the fat that's OVER your abs, you aren't going to see any visible results at all. I remember those electrical impulse belts that shocked your abs...they looked incredibly painful and they probably didn't work at all. I often wondered if those things would accidentally stimulate other ab muscles that would make you involuntarily lose control of your bladder or bowels, but I never found out the answer to THAT question, lol.
ReplyMy favourite is the one where the chick says "I look down at my stomach, I don't even HAVE a stomach anymore!"
Gold.
ReplyRight on Fitness_Fanatic! The sooner people recognise this fact, the sooner they shall see results!
ReplyIf you are able to do more than 20 crunches and you don´t look like the man in the picture - then you are not doing the right thing.
Most people train the muscles used to bend the hips. when they think they are training abs.
ReplyTo look like the guy in the picture (above), one would need to be about 9-10% body fat.
Crunches only make the muscles bigger. Fat is why you can't see them.
ReplyThis guy I know with ripped abs always tells me "abs are made in the kitchen not in the gym".
ReplyKailash - that guy looks more like 6% bodyfat.
ReplyA truism. Everyone who's achieved the low BF% knows this.
ReplyI have been doing abs after childbirth, and my experience is that even slender mothers can have an ugly belly, because it is difficult to locate and isolate weak abdominal muscle.
Placing a couple of folded blankets under your lower back while doing crunches gives a visible result within a month. Admitted: you wont get a six-pack with a BMI of 28, but you will get a firmer belly and look better in jeans.
ReplyI just tried crunches with two cushions under my bum and lower back. I've always found crunches fairly easy - but not this time. I shall be using cushions in future. Sadly you can't see my stomach muscles for all the fat.
ReplyGood for you Benni!
ReplyYou can not SPOT reduce body fat!
ReplyPerhaps not - but a flat belly is not identical to an empty pouch hanging on your body after pregnancy or weight loss.
ReplyI am buying an ab lounge after trying one at Dick's Sporting goods. I don't
want a fabulous body any more, just a body without back pain! I've spent
months and months in bed recovering from back surgeries to correct
a spinal stress fracture which was possibly caused and definitely exacerbated
by doing sit-ups on an inclined plane. I liked that the ab lounge worked more
of my abdomenal muscle while still supporting my spine and neck.
My surgeon is very certain that a stronger abdomen lessens the stress on
the spine.
The point is; don't assume we are all the same with the same body and the
Replysame needs.
I'll let you know if it works and if it doesn't it'll make a great beach chair.
You should actually work on all of the muscles in your body. Learning how to do light deadlifts could also benefit you. My gf has had horrible back problems from a car accident and she has had no back pain since she started doing deadlifts.
ReplyI was online looking for an ab machine because I think I look fat and want some abs but when I read this I knew It was true. So I tried every ab machine in a store til I found one that would help. Thanks to the message I didn't go buying a fake machine that would do nothing.
ReplyHere's the deal, take it or leave it, the ab machines they advertise will build you muscles and they will make your mid section stronger, but unless you get on a low fat diet, take it easy on the carbs, and throw some cardo in there your abs will never show.... never.
This is the truth unfortunatly, it sucks, but as we get older most of us store fat in our midsection and this works as a blanket. I have worked out for 20 years, did some of the roughest military workouts for abs imaginable and wondered why my abs never appeared. Once I started doing some more running and boxing and other cardo exercises did they start to appear, then I slowed down on the pasta and sweet stuff and now they are has sharp as ever and I'm 43. Of course during the colder months I eat a little more of what I want. Abs are made in the kitchen, everyone as them they are just covered.
ReplyIf abs are made in the kitchen, then here's a way to undo some of that with a little known metabolism booster, also found in the kitchen. Got your attention yet?
ReplySo, here's what's worked for this 35 yo mother of 2. Look for a bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar, Bragg's is best. Put one or two tsp. in 4oz. of water and sip with each meal. If you can't handle the taste or smell, buy a bottle of tablets for $9, coated or uncoated. It has been a miracle for me. I'v lost that 'baby-fat' we accumulate while pregnant, the stuff above your hips in the back! Also, has melted off cellulite in my leg/butt region and on the inside of my thighs. I noticed a difference in metabloism the first day and a steady reduction of fat after taking religiously for 3 months. Did not exercise for the first three months just to see if it really worked, it did!! Still losing fat, need new jeans every 3 months, yeah me!
My best ab workout, no joke, keep your abs tensed 'isolated' always!! As you go about your daily routins of moving stuff, lifting, playing or whatever, you will be constantly working these muscles. Not a six pack builder but a good tummy flattener, especially after having kids. You always look thinner with your tummy in! Great for your lower back also.