Abdominal Exercise and Infomercial Gadgets

The insomniac that I am I found myself watching infomercials in the wee hours of the morning. It seemed that every time I flipped the channel there was a commercial for some gizmo that promised rock-hard abs for minimal effort.

First and foremost, abs are made in the kitchen.

With that said, the fact of the matter is that there are people who are going to purchase these toys and the best I can do is share the facts.

I reached out to Turbulence Trainer founder Craig Ballantyne and ask him for permission to re-post an excellent article he wrote on what we both feel is one of the better ab gadgets in the marketplace - the good, old fashioned ab wheel (I got mine from New York Barbells, but you can pick up an ab wheel in just about any sporting good store).

Review of Ab Exercise Infomercial Gadgets
by Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Believe it or not, one of my favorite ab exercises includes one of those cheap infomercial gadgets, The Ab Wheel. You can pick one up at Walmart for under 20 bucks, and it works your abs hard without crunches.

But do other ab gadgets hold up?

Researchers (from the Mayo Clinic, of all places) tested the "Ab-Slide" device and compared it to the ab crunch, the supine double leg thrust (seated knee tuck-in), and side plank.

Reference: J Strength Cond Res. 2008 Nov;22(6):1939-46.

Ten young men and twelve young women did all the exercises.

Tests showed that the Ab-Slide, a contraption fairly similar to the Ab Wheel, worked the abs the hardest.

On the other hand, the seated knee tuck-in required a lot of hip flexion, and the doctors believed it could cause BACK PROBLEMS in people prone to low back injury.

Personally, I'm going to stick with the Ab Wheel, but as usual, I'm going to keep crunches out of my program, and add the Seated Knee Tuck-in to my list of ab exercises to avoid.

Not only are crunches and knee tuck-ins hard on your low back, they are also useless for helping
you get a flat stomach. Instead, stick to interval training and research proven ab exercises if you want to transform your body.

To do the ab wheel exercise, kneel on a mat with your hands on the ab wheel. Keep your body in a straight line, brace your abs, and keep your low back tensed. Slowly roll out as far as is comfortable. Keep your abs braced, and contract them maximally to come back up to the start. That's a great ab exercise.

If you don't have an ab wheel, you can use a stability ball for a similar exercise. Kneel on a mat and place your clasped hands on the top of a medium sized ball.

Brace you abs and slowly lean forward and roll your hands over the ball while the ball moves away from your body. Keep your body in a straight line and go as far as you can with perfect form.

Contract your abs and reverse the motion to return to the upright position.

And to do the side plank, lie on a mat on your right side. Support your body weight with your
knees and on your right elbow. Raise your body in a straight line so that your body hovers over the mat.

Keep your back straight and your hips up. Hold your abs tight. Contract them as if someone was about to punch you in the stomach, but breath normally.

Hold this position for the recommended amount of time. Switch sides.

All of those exercises are powerful, non-traditional ab exercises that will help you get more results in less time, plus they are safe for your back. Avoid crunches and stick to those exercises to work your abs.

Train hard; stay strong.

Peace.

Susan