America’s fascination with its midsection seems to have begun in the early ’90s, around the time Marky Mark appeared in Calvin Klein ads sporting sexy briefs and a ““six-pack’’ – fitness parlance for a set of well-defined rectus abdominis muscles. It grew stronger when fashion-conscious celebrities like Courtney Cox and Janet Jackson started wearing cropped T shirts, halters and hip-huggers that showed off their taut tummies. In a recent survey by NordicTrack, 60 percent of respondents selected abdominals as the area they’d most like to tone. Few seem to care much about the actual health benefits of strong stomach muscles – better posture, fewer back and neck problems, less stress on the heart. ““A rippling set of abs is this generation’s version of the bulging bicep,’’ says Greg Gutfeld, a sen- ior writer at Men’s Health magazine. ““They’re a status symbol.''
The demand for flat bellies is the driving force behind what those in the fitness industry have dubbed the Ab Wars. Nearly a dozen companies now hawk ab machines, with names like Perfect Abs, EZ Krunch and Ab Roller Plus, in print ads and on popular TV infomercials. They range in price from $30 for Tony Little’s Ab Isolator to $210 for the Ab Trainer. NordicTrack, which introduced its own AbWorks exerciser in January, estimates that these companies sold nearly 3 million machines and raked in about $145 million in 1995. Other industry observers predict that sales will jump to $400 million this year.
But, like midriffs, ab machines aren’t created equal.Many fitness experts believe that the newer machines, known as ““ab rollers,’’ tend to be the most effective. They isolate the core stomach muscles (upper, lower and lateral) while supporting the head and neck for improved safety and comfort. Exercise scientist Len Kravitz at the University of New Mexico, for one, disdains some of the nonroller models because they ““really only work the hip flexors and minimize the ab workout.’’ And he cautions consumers to be wary of any product that promises sexy abs in seconds flat. A few minutes a day on an ab machine is no substitute for regular cardiovascular workouts and a healthy diet. In the real world, you gotta reduce body fat if you wanna see the six-pack.
And in the end, you don’t really need the hardware to get the hard body. ““Ironically, this is the one part of the body you don’t need a machine for,’’ says Kurt Brungardt, author of ““The Complete Book of Abs.’’ ““With the proper instruction, you can do it on your own.’’ On the other hand, if it takes a contraption to lure you from couch to crunch, maybe it’s money well spent.
