You want to bust the bulge around your waist and wonder which of the many ab machines out there would get the job done quickly. Unfortunately, you can't trim that spare tire into washboard abs without the help of some cardio and a low-fat diet to burn fat throughout your entire body. However, there are many ab machines you can use to tone the abs and obliques; this will leave you with a slim waist once you lose that belly fat.
Deflate the Spare Tire
You can do ab exercises until you turn blue in the face but none of that hard work will show until you lose the layer of fat that surrounds your stomach. No ab machine can trim the fat in you midsection, that fat has to be lost through eating a low-calorie, healthy diet and by doing cardio to burn extra calories. Reduce your caloric intake by 500 calories a day to safely lose a pound each week. Do no less than 150 minutes of moderate cardio, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobics, each week to burn fat. Both of these work together to create a calorie deficit that will allow you to reduce fat throughout your body and, in turn, help you trim the fat in your belly. Using a treadmill, stationary bike, stair stepper, elliptical trainer or row machine can all help you get in your cardio and burn some fat.
Great Balls of Fire!
You can feel the burn in your abs and tighten up your waistline by using an exercise ball to spice up your core workout routine. This "ab machine" can be used to tone your abs, obliques and lower back with a variety of different exercises, giving you a well-rounded workout for your midsection. Balance your back on the ball to do crunches, side wall crunches, wall ups and twists, or balance your feet on the ball to do knee-ins and crossing the planks.
Get Your Back in Gear
A fit waist not only has a strong front but also a toned back. Using a hyperextension bench can help you strengthen the erector spinae muscles that make up your lower back to help your core look tight all around. To exercise your lower back using this machine, position yourself so that your waist is lined up with the top of the pad and secure your ankles under the foot rests. Put your hands behind your head or cross them in front of your chest. Slowly bend forward at the waist, hold for a moment and then lift your torso back up to the starting position.
Aye, Aye, Captain!
You can use a captain's chair at the gym to help tone your waistline and get sleek abs. This piece of equipment allows you to do hanging leg raises to target the abs, lower back and obliques, making it ideal to firm up the entire core. To use this machine, hold the hand grips and keep your back flat against the back pad. Bring you legs up to your abs without swinging them or using momentum to get them up. Slowly lower your legs back down in a controlled motion. You can switch up the exercise by bringing your legs up to the sides to hit the obliques.
References
- Go Ask Alice: How Many Calories Does It Take to Lose One Pound?
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The Benefits of Physical Activity
- Fitness: Abs-olutely Fabulous: Ab-Toning Stability Ball Workout
- Muscle Mag Fitness: Hyperextensions for a Strong Lower Back
- Directly Fitness: How to Perform Captain’s Chair Hanging Leg Raises
Writer Bio
Based in the Los Angeles area, Brandi Junious specializes in health-related articles. Her writing reflects her expertise in fitness and education. Junious is the author of children's book "A World Without Trees" and her work has appeared on Modern Mom, The Nest Woman, Chron Healthy Living and at Loseweightandlivehealthy.blogspot.com. Junious holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in Education.