We've all seen those infomercials for abdominal exercise machines. Do they work as promised?

If you're considering buying one, you want to read this first…

Infomercials advertising abdominal machines are made to make you believe that a gadget can give you lean, hard abs.

The truth is that machines can be useful if your overall body fat is low. For men, body fat levels need to be around 10% for ab muscles to be visible. For women, the magic number is around 14 – 18%.

If fat is covering your abs, you need to lose the fat with a sound exercise and nutrition program before you think of buying any equipment.

Ab Exercise Machines Pros and Cons

Some of the benefits of ab machines are…

1. They add some variety. Using an ab machine can challenge your muscles a little differently than what they're used to.

2. They can add some fun to your routine. Doing the same rotation of exercises over and over can become a drag. Using a machine can help make things interesting.

3. Ab machines isolate your abdominal muscles. They're normally made to work just your abs. If you have a low body fat percentage and you want to define your abs, isolation is good for that.

The thing people must realize is that ab gadgets like belts and machines can’t strip fat away from your abdominal area. You can develop and strengthen ab muscles by using machines and equipment, but you can't lose fat from your stomach by using them.

Also, abusing ab machines can cause muscular imbalance, and that's potentially dangerous! Your ab muscles and lower back muscles work together when you move or lift stuff.

Ab machines focus on your ab muscles. If your abs become way stronger than your lower back muscles, this imbalance can slowly but surely lead you down the path to injury.

Now you should know whether or not you should buy an ab machine!

Terrence Banks has a site about building muscle fast. You can read more about ab exercise machines and the fastest way to build muscle.

Tags: abdominal machine, ab machines, building muscle, ab exercise machines, advertising abdominal machines, Fitness Tips, lower back muscles