I will admit it. I have not used an weight machine in a long time. Why? First of all I don’t belong to a gym, which is where you will find these devilish devices. Secondly, I stay so very lean and strong from the few things that I DO use. Kettlebells, my own bodyweight, a power wheel, pull up bar, climbing ropes, dumbells, jump rope, Indian clubs, a stability ball and stretch cords. For me, a weight machine is just not needed to get the results I am after.

Now, I will admit that some of those weight machines DO the job. Those machines are designed to make muscles bigger because they isolate the targeted muscles and allow more volume of work.  The muscles themselves do become “stronger” but not in a whole body, real world strength kind of way. They can also be (over time) hard on joints, and “confuse” the body. In other words your body (which thinks and operates as a whole unit) is basically asked to operate as if it were an invalid. The kind of exercises you might see in a rehab center. Where people are trying to come back from paralysis, stroke and really serious injuries. The kind of exercises you might see a physically handicapped person do. NOT because they want to , but they have to. Seated, with your arms on a curl machine is not exactly “whole body” is it?

Anyway, one of THE MOST STUPID exercise machines ever designed is the crunch machine and all its off shoots. In fact the crunch itself is a DUMB AND STUPID exercise. Flexing in your spine against resistance (as in a weight machine) while seated in some chair that looks like it was designed for the Spanish Inquisition is not healthy for your back. It also works your abs in a way that is completely “physically challenged.” Does anyone really use their abs this way EXCEPT in a ridiculous machine like this one? Nature put your abs there to support you. To protect your organs. To hold your spine in place. To stabilize your torso so you can lift, push, pull and do stuff. Not to sit there and “go for the burn.”

How will laying on your back pounding out 100’s of crunches do ANY of that? Sigh. What a waste of time. Do your abs burn when you do this? Sure they do, because they are tired! Any strength and or “definition” you get from this exercise would come completely by accident. Not to mention the horribly bad posture it enforces in your back, neck and shoulders. I have met clients whose posture looked SOOOO bad because of this practice ( and many times a painful back to show it) and took a long time to fix it the right way. Listen up here and now! There are many better, faster, healthier and more powerful ways to strengthen and tighten your abs. The ab machine is NOT one of them. Neither are regular crunches. Use them if you want, but you might as well paddle a canoe all day against the current because that is about how far you will ever get. Nuff said.

Best,

Robert