The Ab Circle: Cardio for your Mid-section? Seriously?
Finally! A piece of machinery that allows me to do cardio for my abs! Now if they can only invent a cardio machine that works my neck, I can also get rid of my double chin!
It’s amazing how ignorant and gullible we are when it comes to buying health and fitness products. I know I’ve been guilty in the past of buying the next best exercise equipment only to use it as a place to hang my dirty clothes.
The latest “ab” machine is the ab circle which they market as cardio for your abs. Really, cardio for your abs. Because your abdominals and spine are great structures built to generate huge amounts of locomotion (note the sarcasm).
Just take a look at their website:
www.abcirclepro.com
Let’s take a look at the motion. Essentially it’s lateral spinal flexion and hiking up of the hip while in a hip flexed position and an anterior tilt of the pelvis. The two primary muscles that create this motion are going to be the obliques and the quadratus lumborum.
So it’s really not a great abdominal exercise (although they will be working to a degree with someone who has a strong core to stabilize the trunk, which is not most people). It’s more of a low back and oblique exercise. You know why 80% of the population has low back pain? Our immobile society has poor core(spinal) stabilization or essentially too much motion through the lumbar spine. So here’s a great product to further exacerbate dysfunctional human movement.
Here’s what you’ll probably end up looking like after spending some time on the ab circle.
But hey, no pain, no gain right?
Oh but wait! There’s more! Not only can use this machine for your abs, but you can also use to train your hips and buns! All for only $200!
For $200 you can join a gym for 4-7 months and have access to every essential piece of fitness equipment necessary to get you the body you’re looking for.
The fact is the hips are in a flexed position the entire time which pretty much negates any glute max toning (activation) whatsoever. So can we sue them for false advertisement?
Solution
Eat less, move more. I know, miserable. “You mean I can’t eat anything I want and I have to exercise?”
Look, currently there is no concrete evidence that supports the idea that working out a particular muscle will burn the fat around that muscle. Otherwise we’d all have really muscular jaws from all of the chewing we do.
You will start losing body fat when you begin to consume less calories than you expend. If you want to see your abs again, you need to get your body fat well below 20%. Just think, if you have 30% body fat and weigh 160, you have 48 lbs of FAT on your body. If that doesn’t motivate you to get your ass in gear, then call it a day and head over to the local buffet and enjoy the little time you have left (I know that’s harsh but it’s reality).
So let’s make an educated guess here: Which burns more calories, the Ab Circle or running? The Ab Circle or using the elliptical trainer? Ab Circle or circuit weight training? If you guessed it’s NOT the Ab Circle for any of these questions, The Angry Trainer applauds you. Understand you must work to achieve the body you want, there’s no easy way of going about it.
Do these two simple things right now!
1) Hire a trainer: you don’t know what you’re doing when it comes to exercise. If you think you do, you’re lying to yourself. You will lose 60% more weight when you have a coach helping you.
2) Start logging your food and counting your calories. www.dotfit.com has a fantastic nutritional program that can help you figure out how many calories you need to eat to achieve your fitness goal along with exercise and supplementation support. Email the angry trainer if you need support: theangrytrainer@gmail.com.
Shady health and fitness products are one reason why The Angry Trainer exists. Make sure to avoid these “scams” you see on T.V. and consult a professional for your health and fitness needs.
Best wishes,
The Angry Trainer 
