Abrocket

The Abrocket is a abdominal workout machine that is designed to give you a great ab workout without straining your back. The abrocket has back support in the form of cushions on a chair-like structure that you use in a seated position so it supports your back while you exercise your core. It is one of a long line of abdominal workout products that you can buy online or via infomercials. It has had some good reviews, but some people also claim that the Ab Rocket has been disappointing. It is like a lot of products that you get different opinions from different people.

The thing about body shaping, exercise and weight loss is that everyone is different. The abrocket won't suit everyone. Some people are too overweight to get the most benefit from the Abrocket. It is really designed for only moderately overweight individuals to use to tone up. Also, it depends on how often and how seriously you use it. I know some people trying to lose weight who will not get much benefit from any kind of abdominal workout machine because they simply don't take the time and effort to use it properly. They don't sit properly and they don't focus on their core sufficiently to get any kind of result.

You have to be serious on any kind of exercise campaign. You have to concentrate when you are learning to use an exercise machine so you know how to use it properly. One of the ways infomercials for abdominal workout machines like the Abrocket make money selling similar products again and again is to people who have bought something different previously and didn't get the results promised on the ads. These ads are very compelling. They spend a lot of money on copywriters and use techniques perfected over 20 years to appeal to people who are idling watching television. It's a market made up of people who will actually watch an infomercial. That says something in my opinion.

Exercise is difficult. Not just because it is physically difficult, but mentally. Proper exercise requires a lot of concentration to get the kind of benefits machines like the Abrocket promise. These machines have a lot of potential and benefits. They will save your back if you have difficulty with regular ab exercises on the floor or on a ball. They have a lot of support for your back and help you keep the correct position for optimum efficiency and effect. They really are great machines and if you are trying to tone and strengthen your abs you really should invest in an Ab Rocket or similar machine. There are lots of them. But you have to make the most of it.

To improve the strength and tone of your core you have to do several things. First, before you even get on an exercise machine you MUST eat properly. It's no good exercising your abs if you're adding flab to them every day by eating fats and sugar excessively. You're just wasting your time. Get your diet right FIRST! Second, you must be eating a high protein diet. You can improve muscle tone effectively without protein. It doesn't take much. Simply switch your sandwiches at lunch for a tuna salad and you're on your way. You want the protein to build and develop muscle. Muscle feeds on protein. That's how it grows.

Ab machines like the Abrocket work your core by stretching and tearing the muscles. This is what weight training is all about. Muscle tone is developed by muscle repair. You have to exhaust the muscle and then repair it with better muscle fiber. You do this with by converting protein you eat to muscle tissue. BUT you have to have a lot carb intake first. Low carb, low fat, high protein diets are essential to getting the most from a machine like th abrocket or any other kind of abdominal workout.

If you want 6 pack abs you have to work for them. There's no other way. And you have to do a variety of exercises. Think of it this way. 6 pack abs take at least 6 different exercises. The abrocket or something like it will only provide 1 or 2 of these exercises. It can be a great core workout tool, but mustn't be the only one. If you watch the DVDs that come with these kind of exercise machines you'll see that the fitness instructors and personal trainers who produce the dvds don't just do one exercise repeatedly for 30 minutes. This will just overwork one muscle group and your back.

Your core is a large group of abdominal muscles. It is exercised by situps, the kind of exercise the Abrocket focuses on, but also requires side stretches, side crunches, alternate crunches (like doing bicycle legs while in the crunch position) and you also have to develop your back muscles at the same time. You can imagine what having one group of overdeveloped muscles could do to your body. If you just work one group by doing the same exercise over and over again (as many people do when they buy something like the abrocket because they just sit on it and crunch away in front of the TV). They get hunched, injured and quit.

Please if you're serious about an exercise program, losing weight, toning up your body, developing 6 pack abs or doing cardio to increase your endurance - DON"T EXERCISE IN FRONT OF THE TV. This is so lazy and if you do it you will get frustrated because you'll be thinking you're spending time and energy on exercise and not getting results and you'll be wondering why. The reason why is that you are not concentrating. You're not really putting in the effort required. It takes concentration - making sure you're contracting and relaxing your muscles properly, applying the right resistance, doing the exercise all the way up and down and timing it properly, rotating exercises etc. You can't do this if you're concentrating on your favorite TV show.

Turn the TV off when you exercise, or better yet, go into a room where there is no TV. You can turn on music to motivate you. But don't have anything in the room that will distract your eyes. Our eyes are the biggest way we get distracted. The whole phenomenon of 'niche gyms' like women only female gyms is based on visual distraction. Women want to exercise without being distracted by intimidating looking men or women exercising beside them and they don't want to worry that they are being perved on. This is all caused by visual distractions when exercising.

Don't set up your exercise machines somewhere with a nice view. Set them up in front of a mirror, or staring into an empty room. Put some music on and then set a stopwatch so you know how long you have committed to exercising. If you do this you are going to get the most bang for your buck from your abrocket or whatever machine or routine you are doing. If you are doing aerobics then stand close to the TV and only watch the instructors and other participants. Imagine you are in the room with them and they are watching you to. Many good fitness videos have instructors that talk to you like you are in the room. Take advantage of this.

You want to achieve your exercise goals. They are important to you. Don't waste your time and miss out on completing your health and fitness goals because you aren't concentrating during your exercise time. Put the phone onto answering machine. Turn off your mobile phone or put it on silent. Contrary to popular belief you don't have to respond to a text message immediately. You're busy. You can't come to the phone when you're exercising. It's very important to you so treat it that way.

Losing weight in particular is very hard. You force yourself to sacrifice the foods you like and you suffer a lot both from the exercise of will power and the physical changes you're going through. Losing weight can actually be very uncomfortable. Ask anyone who has lost a good amount of weight. You will probably spend a lot of time in the toilet (the waste has to come out somehow). You'll be fatigued from exercise. You'll need more sleep than usual. You'll possibly suffer heartburn and indigestion. So don't go through all of that just to be ineffective in your exercise time because you think some TV show is more important than concentrating on your abrocket workout or weights. It's just stupid.

So, should you buy the abrocket or some kind of abdominal workout machine?

Buying the abrocket is a good investment if you've got the rest of the things I've talked about under control. If you have the money then you should buy an abdominal workout machine. They are great. They save your back. They make you do the exercises properly (developing 6 pack abs is very VERY hard and so you need to make sure you're doing the proper exercises properly to have any kind of chance of succeeding). So buy an abrocket if you don't have any other kind of machine, otherwise dust off the one you have or get a gym membership or just a good yoga or pilates mat and learn how to do crunches properly. Yoga and Pilates mats are an excellent investment for anyone considering an exercise program anyway, whether you're joining a gym or working out at home. There are just so many floor exercises you don't want to be doing on a hard surface or even carpet. Carpet isn't really the ideal floor for doing sit ups and crunches. And besides, if you get sweaty you'll ruin your carpet or have to spend a lot of money cleaning it.

This is about all the advice I can give anyone considering buying an Ab Rocket or some other kind of ab workout machine. It has to be part of a good exercise program and you have to have a good diet. You have to be committed to your workout and do it in a dedicated place, every day, for a minimum amount of time. And you can't sabotage your progress by eating the same diet you've always eaten. You have to start taking diet and exercise seriously.

The rewards for doing these things, for improving your diet, for working out consistently and taking exercise seriously and for getting an ab machine like the abrocket is that you will be able to tone and strengthen your body. You will look great. You will feel great. People will compliment you. You will be healthier and live longer. And, perhaps most important of all, you will have pride in an achievement you will be able to chalk up to yourself that not many people really ever get to achieve in their lives. Go for it.