Ab Exercise Machines – Do They Work?

We’ve all seen those infomercials for abdominal exercise machines. Will they work as promised?

If you’re considering buying one, you want to read this first…

Infomercials advertising abdominal machines are made to make you believe that a gadget can give you lean, hard abs.

The truth is that yes, a machine can help – if you already have low body fat. For ab muscles to show, men need to have a body fat percentage around 10%. For women, the lucky number is between 14 – 18%.

If there’s fat covering up your abs, you need to lose it with a good exercise and nutrition regimen before you think of buying a machine.

Ab Exercise Machines Pros and Cons

Some of the benefits of ab machines are…

1. They add some variety. Using ab equipment can challenge your muscles a little differently.

2. They can add some fun to your routine. Doing the same exercises over and over can get boring. Using a machine can help make things interesting.

3. Abdominal exercise machines isolate your ab muscles. They’re usually made to target just your abs. If you have low body fat but you want more definition, isolation is great.

The thing you should know about ab gadgets like belts and machines is that they can’t melt fat off your stomach. You can harden your abs by using machines, but you won’t lose fat from your abs by using them.

Additionally, overuse of ab machines can create a muscular imbalance, and that can be dangerous! The muscles in your abs and lower back work together whenever you move or pick things up.

Ab machines concentrate on your ab muscles. If your abs become much stronger than your lower back muscles, it creates a potentially dangerous imbalance.

Hopefully now you know whether or not you should buy one of those ab exercise machines!

Terrence Banks has a site about building muscle fast. You can read more about ab exercise machines and the fastest way to build muscle.