subject: The Best Ab Toner [print this page] The best ab toner is something of a holy grail on todays fitness market. Consumers are scavenging websites, retail stores, and auctioneers for all the ab workout help they can get. The best ab toner, then, if it truly exists, is a hot commodity.
We are of the opinion, in the end, that there is not one best ab toner. Rather, there are ab toners that work well with a fit and healthy lifestyle, and there are ab toners that dont work as well. Below, well highlight the ab toners that seem to be the most popular for the widest variety of consumers.
The exercise ball, despite occasional detractors, remains as useful as ever. From the destabilized surface of the exercise ball, the user can perform all manner of exercises, including weight routines and other intensive exercises. But when it comes to ab toning, the exercise ball is useful without the need for any other equipment. For example, even something as simple as a crunch can be greatly enhanced with an exercise ball. The round surface forces your body to stabilize itself and so activates many muscles that would not be used in a floor crunch.
The ab wheel is similarly useful, though it runs on a different principle. The ab wheel is useful for toning the entire abdominal area, and it does so by forcing the body to stabilize itself. But instead of using a destabilized surface, youre using a destabilized upper body. Using the wheel properly forces the user to control all upper body movements in order to avoid falling on the floor. In doing so, the entire body is challenged out of necessity.
The contour corebelt is similar to these products in one way, but is vastly different in another. Most ab belts use Electric Muscle Stimulation, or EMS, technology, which is used to strengthen and tone the ab muscles by stimulating the muscles into contractions. This toning function is the similarity. The difference lies, however, in the products design. Usually, an ab belt company advertises the belt as a solution for ab work free of the work part. In other words, consumers are supposed to strap on the belt and let it do all the rest. This is admittedly a dubious proposition, but not all ab belt companies are alike. The Flex Belt company, for example, provides an FDA cleared ab belt that is supposed to be used with regular exercise and a balanced diet. It uses EMS technology to be sure, but it does not claim to replace the need for exercise.
These popular ab toners are different in philosophy, but similar in their utility. Consumers can use them at home and can incorporate them into larger fitness routines. When done properly, they can enhance your efforts even if none of them is absolutely the best ab toner on the market.
