Ab Gadgets: Are There Any Good ones?
Exaggerated claims are par for the course when it comes to exercise machines or systems of any kind. You are most likely already aware that no ab machine will remove body hair and give you a tan. Jim wrote a great synopsis of other things ab machines WON'T do for you. But are there any good abdominal machines or gadgets out there? Which ones should we stay away from?
The Preamble: What makes an abdominal gadget "effective" vs. "ineffective"?
Essentially, this comes down to 2 criteria:
1. Whether or not the gadget can in any way enhance what you can already do with your body weight.
2. Whether the gadget is taking the body through safe and effective ranges of motion in a functional manner.
With those principles in mind, here are 2 great tools, 1 middle-of-the-road tool, and a handful or items that, well.... you would have to be a "tool" to purchase.
The Best
Reebok Core Board: This isn't an "ab gadget" per se, but when used properly, it can be a very effective, multi-plane core conditioning implement. Unlike other ab machines it helps the user counter rotational movement in an upright position. It is also versatile, boasting different tensions and multiple uses. One caveat - it's around $200. Unless you are highly fit or looking to add athletic ability, no real need to pony up for it.
Ab Wheel: Yes, that little wheel with the handles on it is actually a functionally sound and effective exercise tool. The action of rolling forward helps build multi-layered stability in the torso - which is what your rectus abdominus muscles were designed for. And from a cost perspective ($15-30) it's not a big financial commitment. It is, however a bit limiting.
Middle-of-the-road
The Stability ball: Also called a swiss ball or physio ball, it still ranks up there in terms of its versatility. Unfortunately, many trainers and exercise enthusiasts have taken "unstable training" to an unnecessary and somewhat counterproductive extreme. The ball can be effective for shorter range crunches, planks, and short-range jackknives and can provide some variety to an existing program, but should be used sparingly.
The Worst
Ab Rocker: This disaster of a machine from "Body by Jake is 80% less effective than the basic crunch in recruiting the rectus abdominus muscles (this is far from the only criteria of an effective machine, but noteworthy).
AbDoer: Claims to trim you down while it works the abs, but it burns the equivalent of less than a 3mph stroll on the treadmill - not nearly enough to chip away at excess body fat.
Master Moves: Basically you stand on this wooden disk and twist your lower body to a 6-pack. This device is a biomechanical nightmare - exactly the wrong thing you should be doing to your lumbar spine as you are instructed to keep your torso fixed.
The Ab Rocket, The Wave, the Ab Wedge and others are simply gimmicky items that simply do not stand up to their claims.
Take-Home Points
- If you want to see your abs, eat better, lift weights and perform cardio.
- The abdominals are designed mostly for stability - avoid too much forward movement (flexion), side to side movement (side flexion) and twisting (rotation).
- Planks, side planks, controlled hip lifts and short range bicycles work very well as do partial cable crunches.
- Under the majority of circumstances, you likely don't need any machine or gadget at all. If you are going to buy one thing, I recommend you make it a stability ball.
- If you find gadgets motivate you to perform ab exercises and they are safe, by all means use them - provided you add some variety.
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That little roller wheel has been around forever, I remember as a kid finding my father's and us kids playing with it. Pity I didn't keep on using it - hey?
Ab machines aside though - I think my hubby has something I could learn from. He's got great abs but he doesn't use any machines of any kind. However, for the 23 years that we've been married, almost every morning of his life he does a 40 minute routine on the floor at home (he also runs). And just using his own body and consistency he produces magical results.
ReplyCari, I think your husband is on to somethign also. I think the fancy gadgets are mostly for people who get bored using their own bodies.
But mother nature knows best. Using our bodies is a great way to go.
ReplyI love the ab roller. I bought one years ago for like $15 bucks and it is awesome!
What about that thing the Bean? It's a giant blow-up thingy that's supposed to be the new stability ball...or the bender ball. Those 2 things are utterly worthless and the Bender Ball can actually do some harm to the back.
ReplyTop Olympic trainers have developed a set of nine perfect, flat stomach exercises that can help you reach those exceptional "Gold Medal Abs". I read about this at http://www.projectweightloss.com/index.php. The workout is thought to be very efficient because it works not only through the lower and the upper abs, but also the oblique and the lower back.
ReplyI don't usually use gadgets; I get my ab workouts from doing lots of planks, crunches, and chopping wood with an 8 lb splitting maul. I have used the wheel though...and that thing really works if you use it right. You have to kind of be careful though...if your abs aren't already pretty strong, the wheel can roll out from under you and make you fall on your face.
ReplyI absolutely love the core board as a core training tool, but give me a stability ball and a mat to directly work the abs.
I always say there are good gimmicks and bad gimmicks. Good gimmicks get you to do things that are useful and good for you.
Bad gimmicks are things that aren't useful or good for you, like the elctronic ab belts-- the FTC has been sueing those ab belt companies for years.
ReplyFor my money, the two best ab exercises are straight-legged situps and "russian twists" done on an incline bench while holding a medicine ball.
ReplyI disagree with the stability ball statement. Some very renowned trainers advocate the usage of these balls for even heavy lifts, like bench, etc. Paul Chek has created an entire workout paradigm around the stability ball which can be used to create an extraordinary strong core.
ReplyThe ab wheel is good, but a great ab workout I do involves hanging leg raises and an exercise ball also hand weights or a weight machine.
It is much more effective than any of the equipment I've used above.
ReplyNobody's commented on the Perfect Pushup, but I've heard rave reviews about them. Has anyone here used them?
They also have an awesome rating from a ton of users at Amazon, which gives them some nice credibility.
ReplyNothing against Perfect Push Up but I would consider push ups an upper body exercise not an ab exercise.
I do like the Perfect Push Up, and other forms of push ups.
ReplyI have used the perfect push up, it actually does work. They also have this new thing called iron gym...seems pretty decent
ReplyThe Ab-wheel works... in fact I've used that in gymnastics and power tumbling for the longest time. No one really knew about it until the market started to spend millions advertising it to people who had no clue about its origins.
But regardless... for a proper 6pack, theres just 2 simple rules.(And i should know)
1. The fat around your belly needs to come off (theres no such thing as spot reduction so you will lose fat elsewhere on your body too)
2. Work your abs like every other muscle you want to grow. if you want your abs to stand out, make them grow, but to do this, why would you do 200 situps? It astounds me!
There you go. simple. Follow that and you WILL have a 6 pack.
- Sahil M
ReplyFlawlessFitnessBook.com
I agree that the fact around the belly needs to come off with diet and cardio for overall fat loss. One of my best friends did the ab rocker every night with no other form of exercise and wondered why she didn't lose her buddah bell. Whenever I feel a little thick in the middle, I amp up the cardio (elliptical, spinning, treadmill on incline) and then focus on the abs exercises once the fat starts to melt off.
Reply