I'm wondering if any of you use ab machines or any other ab programs. I'm interested in targetting my abs, and adding it to my weekly workouts. My problem is, I am uncomfortable on the floor doing traditional crunches (and probably will be until I lose a lot more weight).
So, I'm researching ab machines now...are there any sit down machines that you guys would recommend, or had results with?
Most people do their ab workouts on the floor, using a variety of movements to exercise their abdominal muscles. What's not so common is to include movements in your ab workouts that are done in a standing position.
The standing cable crunch, for example, is just one exercise that you don't need to do on the floor. It does, however, require the use of pulleys and cables, which are usually only found in a well-equipped gym. Yet there's one standing exercise you can do for your stomach muscles without the need for any equipment.
Ab workouts
The movement — known by some as the vacuum — activates several abdominal muscles. These include the external and internal obliques and transverse abdominis. The obliques run down either side of your waist, while transverse abdominis acts a little like a corset, helping to hold your abdomen flat. You can't actually see transverse abdominis, as it "hides" away underneath the other abdominal muscles.
The vacuum isn't, however, a very effective way to exercise rectus abdominis, which is the muscle responsible for the "six-pack" look.
To perform the vacuum, take a deep breath in while lifting your chest. Then, keeping your chest elevated, breathe out while attempting to "suck in " your belly button as the lower part of your stomach flattens. You'll begin to feel some of the muscles in your waist feel tighter. Hold this position for a few seconds, then relax. That counts as one repetition.
Start with five repetitions every other day, with each one lasting 2-3 seconds. As you progress, you can increase both the number of repetitions and the length of time you hold each one.
Concentration
The vacuum is more than just sucking in your stomach. It demands concentration and mental focus to make it work. If you've never done it before, try it in front of a mirror (sideways on) so you can actually see what's happening. Of course, if you have a large belly, you won't be able to see much, so you'll need to rely on "feel" alone.
Some claim that performing the vacuum on a regular basis will help to flatten your stomach. Unfortunately, unless your body fat levels are low enough, no exercise will make a noticeable difference to the appearance of your waist and stomach.
The benefit of the vacuum is that it takes very little time to perform, and you can literally do it anywhere — sitting in your car or standing in a queue — even lying in bed. If you want something different from the curling or crunching movements that form a part of most ab workouts, the vacuum is definitely worth a try.
The first step to a flatter stomach is an exercise and diet plan designed specifically to shed fat. And one of the best ways to do this is with a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise.
A Korean research group tracked a group of 30 obese women for six months [2]. The women were assigned to one of three groups. Group one did nothing. The second group followed a program of aerobic exercise six days per week for 60 minutes. Group three also exercised six days per week, but replaced three aerobic workouts with weight training.
Both groups lost fat, with the aerobics-only group losing 16 pounds, and the combined-group losing 20 pounds. However, the combined group also gained over 10 pounds of muscle.
If you're looking for a proven fat-burning workout routine that includes both resistance and aerobic exercise, there are step-by-step programs available elsewhere on this site.
Hey, yuiuab thanks for the article!! I'll have to give those a try! Thankfully I do regular cardio exercises, and have cut my calories down a lot. I know that there's no such thing as "spot reduction" when it comes to weight loss, I just want to tone those abdomials!!!
Hey guys, thanks for the info...i'm going to check out the Buyer Beware section more thoroughly now...also I'm going to look into this Back Store thing....
Ace Fitness did a study on ab machines a few years ago, and it all still seems relevant. Most machines were only as effective as standard crunches, and some were less effective. They listed three recommended exercises which were more effective than crunches, and none used infomercial products. One uses a balance ball, which seems to be highly recommended by many fitness experts.
Thanks, I'll check out that article. I do actually realize that ab machines are not necessarily more effective on building muscle in the waistline, however I find standard crunches to be particularly hard, if even possible on certain days. I'm rather hefty still (around 335) and layind down on the floor and lifting my legs and doing crunches is just downright bad on my back. I feel like a turtle flipped over, lol. Things like the body by Jake allow me to at least do crunches with something to support my back.
Ab Machines
