Thursday, 09 July 2009

• Ab Machines - Do They Actually Work?

   
  

  One of the frequent questions I often get asked is, do the ab cruncher exercise machines you often see on television actually work? Yes and no is the answer to that question. I know this is not particularly useful but let me explain.
  
  These machines exercise the different layers of ab muscles. The idea is that these machines will stimulate the abs muscles  to enlarge. However, they will not necessarily give you a set  of rippling, muscular, lean abs. The reason being is that to get a set of ripped abs you will need to get rid of that layer of fat tissue that overlays the abs.
  
  Ab crunchers will not normally remove the fat focally over the abs. Performing hundreds or thousands of sit ups will not get rid of this layer of fat tissue for the exact samereason. The only way to do this is by lowering calorie intake and burning excess calories, therefore reducing fat content all over the body.
  
  Adding an aerobic exercise regime to your exercise program is the most effective way to burn off these calories. Also, exercises that use the big muscles of the body such as the
  quadriceps are great at burning calories.
  
  The quadriceps are the big thigh muscles located at the upper part of the legs. A good exercise to stimulate the quads is squats. Due to the fact that they produce so much
  heat and burn a large amount of calories means they are great to help weight loss. They also stimulate the body's natural growth hormone production therefore encouraging
  muscle growth which is good for building those abdominal muscles.
  
  The most common aerobic exercises are rowing, running, swimming and cycling. For burning fat it is best to do these  exercises over a long period of time.
  
  Used on their own these machines won't get you a set of visible rippling abs. You have to do fat busting exercises as well. Great ab development can be had in as soon as twelve weeks if you apply this advice consistently.

  Have you ever used any ab workout machines or do you stick to the regular crunches?
  

  Written by Tom Leverson and posted on health-and-fitness-buzz.blogspot.com

   

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