AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.
Create a link to this page
Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:
Get fit? Get real: some infomercial fitness machines can boost your workout. Others are duds.(Buyers guide)
SEXIER ABS! GREAT LEGS! Super fun! TV and Internet infomercials for fitness machines promise that you'll get the body you've always wanted quickly and with less effort or strain. Some ads feature models with rippling muscles, a pounding techno beat, glitzy graphics, and high-energy workouts that raise high expectations. Are any of the machines worth getting off the couch to buy?
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
To find out, we assembled panels of testers. One group looked at the ads and then used the devices, ranging in price from $40 for the Perfect Pushup to $2,500 for the Bowflex TreadClimber TC5000, and reported their experiences. We then measured muscle activity and calories burned in another group who worked out on the machines and also on a standard treadmill and did traditional no-cost calisthenics, such as sit-ups and the bicycle maneuver for abdominal muscles and lunges for the lower body. We also reviewed the dietary plans that came with some devices. Here's what we found:
Sit-ups beat ab machines. The Ab Rocket and the Rock-N-Go Exerciser engaged the abdominal muscles less effectively than sit-ups and other conventional exercises on a mat. The Rock-N-Go barely felt like a workout to our testers.
Cardio gadgets burned calories. The Cardio Twister, Tony Little Rock 'n Roll Stepper, and Bowflex TreadClimber TC5000 provided workouts that were at least as good as walking on a flat standard treadmill at 3.5 mph. Walking on the TreadClimber burned more calories than walking on the treadmill at the same speed.
Upper-body devices can help some. The Perfect Pullup and the Perfect Pushup offered good assistance for doing those standard exercises. However, our panelists had mixed expectations and reactions about how well they worked.
Diets might be tough. Most of the meal plans gave sound nutritional advice, though some seemed overly restrictive and skimpy on food. The TreadClimber Body Leanness Program includes drinking at least a gallon of water a day, which can be difficult for most dieters, and reducing total calorie intake progressively, which is unconventional advice compared with recommendations of other diet plans.
- Structure and function of the abdominal muscles in primigravid subjects during...
- Magazine article from: Physical Therapy Gilleard, Wendy L. Brown, J. Mark M. July 1, 1996 700+ words
...6-8] This alteration in the abdominal muscles' medial aponeurotic attachment also...torque." The functional roles of the abdominal muscles during pregnancy appear to be similar...Fast et al[5] reported that abdominal muscles during the third trimester of pregnancy...
- Contraction of the abdominal muscles associated with movement of the lower...
- Magazine article from: Physical Therapy Hodges, Paul W. Richardson, Carolyn A. Hasan, Zia February 1, 1997 700+ words
...Richardson CA. Contraction of the abdominal muscles associaated with movement of the...77.132-144.] Key Words: Abdominal muscles, Feedforward reactions, Limb movement...TrA contracted prior to the other abdominal muscles when the trunk was loaded by applying...
- Seniors need strong abdominal muscles.(Exercise Rx)
- Magazine article from: Family Practice News Nagler, Willibald March 1, 2006 700+ words
...especially for older patients. The abdominal muscles consist of several layers of overlapping...hold the abdomen in place. Strong abdominal muscles can reduce unnecessary stress on...take away some of the work that the abdominal muscles should be doing. Doing sit-ups...
- Seniors need strong abdominal muscles.
- Magazine article from: Internal Medicine News Nagler, Willibald February 15, 2006 700+ words
...especially for older patients. The abdominal muscles consist of several layers of overlapping...hold the abdomen in place. Strong abdominal muscles can reduce unnecessary stress on...take away some of the work that the abdominal muscles should be doing. Doing sit-ups...
- Fantastic abs: from flabby to fit, firm & fabulous.(abdominal muscles)
- Magazine article from: Ebony Davis, Sandra C. October 1, 2005 700+ words
...routine has helped her to lose belly fat and tighten her abdominal muscles, and she no longer buys XXL shirts to hide her waistline...physicians encourage people to get a basic knowledge of the abdominal muscles that make up the core of the body. The "six-pack...
- Lower abs: muscle or myth? (abdominal muscles) (Professional Edge)
- Magazine article from: American Fitness Lockridge, Alice September 1, 1992 700+ words
...without its upper half being affected. This is impossible due to the structural construction of muscles. To understand the abdominal muscles it is vital to understand the basics of skeletal muscles. A muscle has at least two ends. These ends attach directly...
- EMG ACTIVITY OF THE ABDOMINAL MUSCLES USING TRADITIONAL CRUNCHES VS AN...
- Magazine article from: Physical Therapy Avakian, J Keresztes, M Oakley, B Millar, L May 1, 2000 700+ words
Avakian J, Keresztes M, Oakley B, Millar L; Physical Therapy Program, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI, USA.
- Super abs. (Professional Edge)(exercise for abdominal muscles)
- Magazine article from: American Fitness DeMond, Troy January 1, 1993 700+ words
The sit-up remains the definitive exercise for abdominal strengthening, instructors must deviate from conventional abdominal exercise to challenge participants with innovative movements. Whatever the creative movement, our goal should be to increase the intensity of abdominal work. In examining