Stomach Machines

[LuckyNumber23]

A trainer told me that I should not use the stomach machines that contain weights. She said that it will just build muscle and not loose fat. I don't believe that this is true. Do you use those machines and if so, what weight do you set it to.

[MrB1g]

Lol. What can be said, she's retarded.


Increasing muscle mass = a form of resistance training combined with a caloric surplus

Decreasing bodyfat % = a form of resistance training combined with a caloric deficit


The macronutrient composition determines the partitioning of weight gain/loss.



Just ignore every trainer at your gym. There's some trainers who know what they're talking about, but they're so few and far between it's just not worth the wait.

[britchick884]

what so I've been doing it wrong all this time......j/k

Get on those weighted ab exercises and let the diet take care of the fat loss! oh and change to a different trainer

[ctgblue]

well, really, she's right
working on those machines does not burn fat, the treadmill, the rest of your strength training, and your diet burns fat

the problem with ab machines is that most people set them up wrong, don't work abs, but over stress their hip flexors

you are really better off with crunches, hanging leg raises, etcc.. to help build the ab muscles

[MrB1g]

well, really, she's right
working on those machines does not burn fat, the treadmill, the rest of your strength training, and your diet burns fat

the problem with ab machines is that most people set them up wrong, don't work abs, but over stress their hip flexors

you are really better off with crunches, hanging leg raises, etcc.. to help build the ab muscles

There seemed to me to be a pretty strong implication that unweighted abdominal exercises would burn fat.

[rockangel]

I never use those machines. imo, they are useless. I hate working abs, but i do a ton of other exercises that works the abs without the machines, and the majority of them are weighted.

[KimPossible98]

Yes of course you want to do weighted ab work but NO not on that stupid ab weight/ back extension machine. It puts your lower back in a wierd unnatural position and you can do some real damage. This according to Dr. Stuart McGill in his book Lower Back Disorders. I have no idea why people use that machine. There is no movement in every day life where I could think that you would actually do a movement like that.

Use the cable machine to do weighted ab work or just do more squats & deads.

[Guy187]

Yes of course you want to do weighted ab work but NO not on that stupid ab weight/ back extension machine. It puts your lower back in a wierd unnatural position and you can do some real damage. This according to Dr. Stuart McGill in his book Lower Back Disorders. I have no idea why people use that machine. There is no movement in every day life where I could think that you would actually do a movement like that.

Use the cable machine to do weighted ab work or just do more squats & deads.

If you do a few heavy sets of cable crunches like Kim suggested, you will feel it 100 times more than you would on that weighted ab machine. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use it, it just means there are better exercises out there for abs if that is your goal.

[Echo814]

Swissball+20-35lb plates or DB's = killer workout for abs. Out grew regular crunches a while ago these work the ab muscles quite nicely, along with the other suggestions in this thread.

[450grl]

I don't use those weighted ab machines anymore, either.....I have been doing a lot of incline bench sit-ups (head lower than feet), holding weight on my chest. Full situps, half situps, etc.....I like this way better and you can isolate exactly which muscles you are using by changing your position a little.