ABracabra
March 6th 2007 11:39
Yukon's Plate Loaded Ab Crunch Machine-the best ab machine
It is generally well known now that the classic sit-up is not a very effective exercise. The hip flexors help create momentum and much of what might seem abdominal work is really stabilizing rather than moving through a range of motion. I would never say that it is worthless. The coming up to the elbow from flat on the back is,for example, something very useful for wrestlers and ground fighters and the classic sit-up is very useful in facilitating that movement. What I am saying is that if you would like to strengthen the abdominals and thus add contour to your waist it is the wrong place to start.
Good but not the Best
The abdominals do stabilize the center of the body, but a more important function is to move the upper torso toward the hips and vice versa. It is this movement that should be the origin of your ab training. Any ab training that does not involve moving the hips is faulty. The crunch is good for the upper abs but the lower abs,which function when the hips move upward, are not activated in it. That is why you should do crunches while simultaneously bringing the knees up over the beltline. When both the shoulders and the hind end come off the floor at the same time you are on the right track. If you place your hands behind your head,however, you run the risk of using the pull on the head to generate so momentum and at the same time risk hurting your neck. The arms folded on the chest is a better position.
ab roller
Crunches are convenient and can be done anywhere. The ab machines in your gym are superior to it and can easily make up 100% of your ab training. The standard upright ab crunch machine is excellent primarily because it forces its user to pull the shoulders and hips to the beltline at the same time. There is a flat crunch machine where the user is lying on his back parallel to the ground with knees bent and feet up. It can often be plate loaded. It,however, does not activate hip movement and thereby is not as useful as the upright ab crunch.
These machines are often augmented by the gym owner with various kinds of incline benches where one lies with the head at the lower end and does at sit up against gravity.It is a killer but the hip flexors are heavily involved. Some gyms also have machines where the user sits upright with feet on the ground. A stack weight bar is suspended at clavicle level and the user lowers that bar. Some have a stack weight arm upon which the feet are placed and the user pushes his feet downward against resistance at the same time as the shoulders. Obviously, this second version is better.
ab wheel
Two infomercial ab machines actually are pretty good. The ab roller is a good surrogate for crunches. I like that ab wheel-a small wheel with handles protruding from it. The user grips it from a kneeling position and allows the wheel to roll the body out and toward the floor. When the torso is stretched out about a inch from the floor with the arms over the head, the user must return to the upright kneeling position. This is tough at first, but I think it is useful.
No machine removes fat from your abs. I have to say that or I would be remiss. Your servant, as always.
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