Ab Flex

[mickey]

Greetings,

Does anyone have any experience with this device? It is a chair that allows you to do crunches and oblique exercises using weights.

Is it worth it?

mickey

[mickey]

Correction,

I am referring to the Ab Bench.

mickey

[IronFist]

I don't know what it is off the top of my head but I'm giving you a 99% chance it's crap.

[abobo]

I think you mean this (http://shop.store.yahoo.com/homegym/homeabbench.html)?

Companies that make ab machines prey on the fact that many people have a belly and are gullible. Most ab machines are actually worse than equipment-free exercises and are very expensive to boot. I haven't used this particular product, but I'm with Ironfist - it's probably another hyped up piece of junk.

[Ego_Extrodinaire]

that machine is garbage, and from I've learnt here, there are better on the market that actually work!


Egoextraordinaire

[mickey]

Greetings,

Yes abobo, I was referring to that machine.

Thank you all for your insights.

mickey

[Toby]

Originally posted by Ego_Extrodinaire
Egoextraordinaire Eyebrows, you spelt Ego's handle wrong.

[Ego_Extrodinaire]

Oh perdantic Tobes,

I spelt wrong again. But don't think you're so good, engineers make mistakes too. Making mistakes is part of learning.

EE

[Vash]

I'd give it a 1% chance of being crap, but that's only because there's only 100% of anything and Ironfist noted the first 99%.

[IronFist]

Originally posted by Vash
I'd give it a 1% chance of being crap, but that's only because there's only 100% of anything and Ironfist noted the first 99%.

So are you saying with your 1% chance and my 99% chance that there's a 100% chance that it's crap? Because I would agree with that.

[IronFist]

My favorite are the ab machine infomercials where they show these charts comparing their machines to other ab exercises where the amount that the muscle is worked with each exercise is shown as a bar graph. It's funny when they show two graphs, one for "upper abs" and one for "lower abs."

I even saw a 3d computer rendering once on an ab machine infomercial of a torso where they clearly had upper abs as being a different muscle from lower abs. They highlighted each area of the abs as they talked about how "effieciently" their device worked it. I was like "oh man, wtf?"

For the noobs or lurkers who might be reading this thread and thinking "what's wrong with that?" There are two things wrong. First, the abs (at least the portion that makes up the six-pack) is only one musle; not two, not 6. Secondly, you can't isolate a part of one muscle. This means you can't work "upper abs" independently of "lower abs." Either the entire muscle contracts, or none of it contracts. Most people and exercise books/magazines would like to believe otherwise, but it's just not true.

[MasterKiller]

IronFist knows so much about this topic because he makes Ab Bacon out of skinned hobos.

[Vash]

Originally posted by IronFist
So are you saying with your 1% chance and my 99% chance that there's a 100% chance that it's crap? Because I would agree with that.

Indeed. It's crap.


Originally posted by IronFist
For the noobs or lurkers who might be reading this thread and thinking "what's wrong with that?" There are two things wrong. First, the abs (at least the portion that makes up the six-pack) is only one musle; not two, not 6. Secondly, you can't isolate a part of one muscle. This means you can't work "upper abs" independently of "lower abs." Either the entire muscle contracts, or none of it contracts. Most people and exercise books/magazines would like to believe otherwise, but it's just not true.

Ironfist has taken the correct and forced it to do cheat biceps curls to isolate the upper biceps breakenmyeye. :o :D

[Meat Shake]

IF- are you too sure about that? simply compare the area of soreness... Doing a ton of regular crunches in one day will leave the top half feeling sore, but nothing wrong with the bottom. Doing a ton of leg lifts one day will leave the bottom half sore, but the top nothing. How can this be explained? Ive understand that the abs are one muscle, but it seems that by changing positions you may be able to *better* work a part of it.

Another question... Are the long and medial heads of muscles condidered seperate muscles? (Ex: Long head of triceps, medial head of triceps)

Also... From the studying and weight lifting Ive been doing recently, and the trainers Ive talked to, on bench excersises you put more stress on the lower part of your pecs on a decline, middle on a regular bench, and upper on incline. I know this to be true by working out and monitoring muscle growth. I understand that the entire muscle is worked with each excersise, but there is most definately a difference in what part of the muscle is worked.
I took a two week hiatus off and lost pretty much my whole upper chest, and did plenty of bench press a couple of days ago with no help to the upper chest. Did a bunch of incline last night and today its killing me... Already bulked up a little again also.
So... yeah.

[abobo]

http://www.sportsci.com/SPORTSCI/JANUARY/upper.htm

[Meat Shake]

"I fully concur with the thesis that the upper and lower abdominals cannot be recruited in total isolation of one another. "

So you can work one harder than the other, but not isolate it completely. Thats more or less what I was saying. :)

[Ego_Extrodinaire]

:eek: :eek:

Ms: you sound just like BL!!!!!!
( ironfist : I think that's making you corrected on prior anti - BL "theory" stance ;) )

I think the main reason this machine is a bad buy, even compared to none at all, is because it promotes bad posture ( as in too easy to cheat and crunch onto ( pls see toby neck soreness/ chin off chest during form if in doubt) in lieu of tucking your ribs into alignment with your ab plate through lower diaphragm ) and doesn't insight enough lateral inspiration nor prompt. I did this machine in pt for 6 mths daily, dropped it, bought something with more 360 degree rom and never had better abs since.

[Toby]

Originally posted by Ego_Extrodinaire
( pls see toby neck soreness/ chin off chest during form if in doubt)Huh? :confused:

Oh yeah, and congrats "Ego" for your fitness routine. So you can do back hyperextensions (from the other thread) and abdominal exercises and you've got great abs? Uh-huh. In this (http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32417) thread, where you first trolled Eyebrows, you repeatedly post how fat, lazy and out of shape you are. And yet you can do all these exercises and have great abdominals? Get the story straight you two.

[Ego_Extrodinaire]

guess I'm just modest at times, but I have been following her advice and programmes, as approved by my own rehab consultants, and I'm seeing results. I was serving for a long time, so you need to realise that my body is always going to have a good muscular foundation of some sort or other. From there it's just motivation and crash course workout updating.

[cerebus]

:rolleyes:

[fa_jing]

Actually, with Ego's editting, BL posts are making a bit more sense and are definitely better spelled (except for "learnt"). You guys should have teamed up a long time ago.

[cerebus]

Actually, they should have both perished in a firey plane crash long ago.... oh well.

[Ego_Extrodinaire]

Originally posted by fa_jing
Actually, with Ego's editting, BL posts are making a bit more sense and are definitely better spelled (except for "learnt"). You guys should have teamed up a long time ago.

who are you thinking is editting whom??

you're a crazy guy........only ego here matey :P :rolleyes: