Are Those Late Night Infomercials Really Onto Something When It Comes to Building Solid Abs?

This is a guest post by Hasic M.

The Total Gym. The Ab Circle. The Ab Rocket — and let’s not forget its new younger brother, the Ab Rocket Twister. The Ab Circle Pro.

Getting caught up by all of the glittery advertisements and commercials for these machines that all seem to know what you want?

So were we. Indeed, the allure of ripped abs is such that it can feel tempting to do whatever you have to do to get there, even if it’s putting don hard earned cash to get these specialized machines.

Is it worth getting? Perhaps it can be, but there are bigger questions afoot.

Targeting the Moby Dick of Myths about Ripped Abs

The fitness and diet industries are twin titans that carry a multi-billion dollar value for a reason — they target core desires that we all have.

Who doesn’t want to lose weight, feel great, and have tight abs that you could wash laundry on? That’s what we thought.

The great white whale of myths surrounding building abs is that focusing on the abs only is going to make sure that you get a nice set.

That’s not the case at all. The truth is that he body is a very dynamic system.

So yes, when you pick up one of these abs machines, you’re naturally going to be burning some calories.

However, the body tends to reset itself quickly, preferring to stay in balance.

Thus, you will need to vary workouts and keep the body guessing in order to push forward to the abs that you want most.

Spot reducing any part of the body is impossible — but if you focus on a comprehensive program to get your abs in line, you’ll find that the rest of the body is more than willing to comply.

Save Money, Develop Your Body as a Whole

Stop here and think about how you want to really look. Get in front of a mirror and imagine that you are an artist with a paintbrush that can sculpt and shape the way you ultimately want to look.

Despite what the diet industry will tell you, you need to have the complete plan in place if you really want to lose the weight and feel healthy for a change.

That’s going to be hard for some to accept, because there’s so many different ways to build a program, but this is an important step.

If you look at people that have worked for years to not only gain rock hard abs, but keep them, you’ll find that they got really scientific with the process.

Embracing Your Inner Scientist For Rock Hard Abs

Tracking, testing, refining, and re-implementing are going to be the tools of the trade. Know who that gives you common ground with? Scientists.

We can’t just say “eat this amount of calories and work out 30 minutes a day and you’ll have abs.”

Clinical studies that you won’t look up and scientists that you’ll just tune out aren’t the answer here.

It’s going to be time for you to take responsibility for the abs that you want.

Most programs will tell you that diet is important, but do you really know what you eat?

It’s been proven time and time again that humans over or underestimate how much they actually eat.

You might want a tight physique, but if you aren’t feeding yourself the right amount of protein, carbohydrates, and even fats, you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle — if you ever win the battle to begin with.

Diet is important because you will need to ensure that you are working on fat loss as well as muscle gain and definition. If you have a high body fat percentage, you cannot get your abs to show.

Where Does that Leave the Ab Exercise Machines?

Hopefully in the company’s warehouse, never to show up on your doorstep. But if you’ve already invested money into getting some of these machines, don’t worry — a lot of people have done the very same thing.

You can sell the machine to free up space in your home for other more interesting fitness tools of the trade, like resistance bands or free weights.

If you want to hold onto it just because you like it and it’s a fun workout, that’s not a problem — but if you really want to build those abs, it might be time to look into some strength training programs that help you shred body fat and sculpt your whole person, such as the Wendler 5/3/1 and StrongLifts 5×5.
Take care!

Hasic M. is the editor of Ab-Solutely-Fit.com where he shares his tips on how to build solid abs while staying healthy.