Want to have amazing abs NOW? Lose one size in one week? Tone all your muscles with just one machine?  You’ve heard claims like these on infomercials for fitness equipment. But are any of them worth buying? Consumer Reports (CR) tested 9 products between $40 to $2500 sold through infomercials online or on TV and measured the muscle activity and calories burned as panelists used them. Here’s what they found:

Abdominal Exercisers:

• The Ab Rocket ($100) says it will give you the body you’ve always wanted, but most exercises were slightly less effective than traditional abdominal exercises in CR’s tests.

• The Rock-N-Go Exerciser ($230) barely felt like a workout to those who tried it. And CR says it was less effective at working the abs than traditional exercises on a mat.

• The Red Exerciser DX ($175) claims you’ll lose four inches off your midsection in two weeks. Consumer Reports finds some exercises targeted obliques at least as much as comparable floor moves, but might not work abs as well, so those four inches are staying put unless there’s some serious dieting.

Cardio:

• The Bowflex Treadclimber TC5000 ($2,500) – A good way to burn calories but CR says watch your step so you don’t trip.

• The CardioTwister ($200) brings variety to your aerobic workout but testing shows you would get more effective abdominal and leg workouts doing conventional exercises.

• The Tony Little Rock ’n Roll Stepper ($80) is less effective than conventional leg exercises but can be a fun cardio workout for beginners who can stay balanced on it.

Upper Body Devices:

• The Perfect Pushup ($40) and the Perfect Pullup ($100) are both good upper-body workouts if you want to add variety to your push-up and pull-up routines.

Total-Body Exercisers:

• The Fluidity Bar ($240) – The advanced workout burned fewer calories than a no-equipment circuit-training routine of lunges, crunches, and modified push-ups on the knees. Panelists liked the workouts but found the heavy device hard to move.

Before buying, Consumer Reports urges shoppers to:

Read the fine print. Some products come with disclaimers.  For example, the Ab Rocket Web site features dramatic before-and-after shots, but also adds, Results not typical. This person used the Ab Rocket Fat Blasting System, did cardio exercise regularly, and ate a reduced calorie diet.

Calculate the total cost. Remember to include shipping, if there is any, and sales tax.

Be careful of trials. A “30-day money-back guarantee” sounds good, but returning the product might be hard if it’s heavy or bulky, or if you have to pay shipping.

Ask about return policies. Verify the company’s return address and find out how long it takes to get a refund.

So how about you – anyone out there tried any infomercial fitness products? Found any good ones?

[Photo Credit: Consumer Reports]

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Today’s post comes from fitness expert, Brandy Yearous, from How to Multi Task Your Workout. After having two kids, Brandy wanted her body back but didn’t have the time, money or energy to get to the gym. So she developed an at-home workout routine that fit into every schedule her kids could throw at her. (More on her below.) She will be around today to answer your questions in the Comments, so don’t be shy!

How to multi-task your workouts

Everyone wants to know how to fit exercise into a busy schedule. The easy answer is multi-task your workouts! That simply means as you go about your day, find ways to fit toning exercises in, so by the end of the day you can equate that to a full day’s workout.

The bathroom - a perfect place to exercise… really

It’s easier than you think. Let’s start in the bathroom where women spend a lot of time getting ready for the day or shutting down for the night. It takes most women 20-40 minutes to blow dry their hair. Why not use that time to get in your leg workout?

As you start blow drying your hair (this can also be used when brushing your teeth) you can do squats, lunges, side leg lifts, standing knee kicks, front/back leg lifts. Work your legs and abs at the same time by using your arm that is not holding the blow dryer.  Make a punching motion across your body, while pivoting the leg on the same side.  Be sure to tighten your sides as your arm moves across your body.  When you come back to facing forward, bend the pivot knee – bring it in toward your chest to create a standing crunch.  Alternate each crunch with a punch across your body.  Switch the blow dryer to the other hand and repeat on the other side.

Do NOT include the next exercise into your bathroom routine if you have any back pain/problems.

Start by sitting with your rear end against the sink, feet together.  While brushing your teeth lean back from the waist up.  Then bring yourself forward until you are straight again.  Be sure to only use your abs to pull you forward.  Do not use your back to push.  Do 3 sets of 15-20 standing sit ups in the time it takes to brush your teeth.

Want to work out while sitting at your desk?  Learn to Suck It Up!

If you look at your stomach in the mirror standing sideways, when you suck in your stomach it leaves all the outside muscles loose.  You can only pull it in as far as your muscles underneath the fat can tighten. Instead of sucking your stomach in, suck it UP. It’s the same motion as a belly laugh. Raise your belly button up toward your chest. When you suck it up, you are engaging all of your abdominal muscles, making them longer. This gives the muscles more room to spread out, so you end up flattening your abs all the way from your ribs to your pelvic bone, not just flattening your lower stomach.

Sucking it up while sitting at your desk is a great way to squeeze in your crunches. Envision pulling them up and under your ribs. Really try to raise your belly button a few inches. The added benefit to doing this at your desk is it improves your posture. You have to sit up straighter to give your abs more room to flatten out. Plus you get the added bonus of being able to do it without anyone noticing.

More multi-tasking?

These are just a few simple ways to multi-task your workout. The possibilities are endless. Try some of the suggestions or make up your own exercises and share them here. Let us know what works for you. If you have questions or want to know other places to multi-task or have a problem area you would like us to focus on, feel free to let us know. We’re here to help!

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More info about Brandy:

Brandy has a Bachelors Degree Cum Laude in Physical Science from Northern Arizona University and has worked in Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine since she was 15. She has been teaching fitness and exercise for 17 years and has successfully coached others on multi-tasking a workout through their everyday routines. Brandy is developing and marketing her techniques for her upcoming book.

Check out her blog here and leave your questions and comments below…

Photo Credit: stock.xchng

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Give your abdominal muscles a workout when you go for a walk – Stand tall and really concentrate on pulling those abs in toward your spine.

We asked Angela Parsons – someone who walks on a regular basis – to step up her routine to help tone her tummy. She said the hardest thing about it was the mental factor.

“I get into the routine of walking and I’m just focused on where I’m going and keeping my heart rate up but I don’t think as much about my abs,” she explains. “If you just really focus on doing it continually, after awhile you can really feel it.”

Here’s how to get started: Hold your abs in tight for just five to ten seconds at a time, then work on holding them in for as long as you can.

Tightening your abs also takes the strain off your back so you don’t hurt yourself. And here’s another bonus – it helps you walk faster, which means you can burn more calories.

See the video here

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