When it comes to fitness and exercise equipment, there are a lot
of different options to choose from. This is especially true
when talking about an abdominal exercise machine.
After all, the abs are the one thing everyone wants to improve
upon. For guys, it's the six-pack, and for women, it's a flat,
toned and tight tummy. And most people feel that if they can get
a flat stomach, all the other areas of their body will follow.
So we're bombarded with infomercials that focus on the be all
end all wonderous inovation of their latest and greatest
abdominal exercise machine. If you just get that one machine,
then you're all set!
Six pack abs, here we come! Yes, there was a little bit of
sarcasm in that last part. After all, if it were that easy, if
we just needed the latest, greatest abdominal exercise machine
for great abs, we'd all have them by now. Instead, we seem to
keep getting fatter. It doesn't really make any sense, does it?
Let me make a few points about ab exercise and getting a flat,
lean, six-pack stomach.
Diet, weight training, and cardio play the biggest role in
getting a flat stomach, not ab exercises or any one abdominal
exercise machine.
Most ab exercise equipment is pure junk.
Most people go about training their abdominal muscles in the
wrong way.
With that being said, let's look at what you can do to train
your abs the right way, and what type of abdominal exercise
machine can help you do it better, faster, and in more comfort.
Let's address point one above. Many ab machine advertisers,
especially on infomercials, will lead you to believe that
working on their adbominal exercise equipment will lead to
weight loss and fat reduction, especially in the region of the
abs, ie, getting rid of the bulging belly. This is incorrect on
multiple points.
First, working your abs, especially on those '6 minutes to great
abs' routines, burns very few calories. Second, you can't spot
reduce, which is the outdated idea that you will lose fat
directly from the area that you exercise.
In fact, your fat goes on based on your genetics, and this is
also the way it comes off, and usually in the reverse order. And
the abs is usually the last place fat loss occurs. You'll see it
on your hands, face, neck, etc. first, before your stomach.
A quality abdominal exercise machine will strengthen your
abdominal muscles, which will lead to a leaner, more toned
stomach. But understand this - you won't see that leaner toned
stomach, until you remove the fat that is covering up your abs!
Have you seen a relatively flat stomach on someone but it's not
firm or toned? This is most likely because they don't work their
ab muscles, so their abs aren't developed enough to give a
tigher, leaner look to the stomach.
So it's very important to work your abs. But keep in mind the
points being made here, that you need an overall fat loss,
exercise, and nutrition program to lose the fat covering your
abs so people can see the tight sexy stomach you've developed on
your abdominal exercise machine.
A great thing about a good ab machine is that it will keep you
working your abs. Let's face it, ab training is boring and doing
conventional ab exercises like floor crunches, sit ups, leg
raises and reverse lying crunches can be very uncomfortable, if
not downright painful, and a lot of people develop neck
problems. An abdominal exercise machine plays an important role
in avoiding these issues.
If you keep this in mind, you'll know what to expect from ab
exercise and abdominal machines. This way, you'll keep using it
as part of an overall muscle building, fat loss program, instead
of letting the machine gather dust because you didn't lose your
stomach fat from working your abs six minutes a day.
About the author:
Gregg Gillies is the founder of
http://www.buildleanmuscle.com
His articles have appeared in Ironman Magazine. He has written
two books and writes for Body Talk Magazine. He publishes a free
newsletter available at
http://www.buildleanmuscle.com/ezine.html and see how you can
get a customized nutrition plan at
http://www.mynutritionjournal.com
