ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 7, 1997 TAG: 9701070053
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBIN FIELDS KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
The holiday season's magic is already wearing off.
Bleary-eyed, party-addled Americans everywhere are trudging to the bathroom scale. Catching a grim glimpse of ourselves in the mirror, we can no longer cling to the illusion that our bloated reflections are merely a mean-spirited carnival trick.
As one, we set our jaws and say: ``This year, the gut goes.''
For many who make this New Year's resolution, the next step is to buy an abdominal workout machine, dozens of which have deluged the exercise equipment market. In November, the International Mass Retail Association predicted ab machines would be the year's No. 1 gift purchase.
All of these gadgets promise to blast, sculpt, shape and tone flabby midsections until they ripple like Janet Jackson's.
But which ones work best? Which ones will users stick with and which ones will become expensive clothes hangers? And how much should consumers have to suck it up - financially speaking - to buy a good at-home ab machine?
To find out, we headed to Bally Total Fitness in Boca Raton, Fla., and enlisted 11 club members - would-be hardbodies all - for a consumer panel.
Under fitness instructor Mike Cavallo's watchful eye, the panelists tried out five ab machines purchased for $29.99 to $89.95: the Ab Max, the ABShaper, the Abs T-45 by HealthRider, the Pro-Ab Sit-Up Bench and the Pro-Form Ab Resister.
The machines also were evaluated by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Larry Levin, who serves as team physician for Florida Atlantic University and three Palm Beach County, Fla., high schools.
The panel's findings should gladden the hearts of everyone facing a mountain of debt to start 1997: The Ab Max, the lowest-priced machine tested, received the group's highest marks for effectiveness, comfort, stability and overall quality.
``I am going to buy this one,'' said Joe Chisesi, 20, a Deerfield Beach, Fla., construction manager. ``[It offers] comfort and price and can achieve a full range of motion.''
Boca Raton singer Danielle Oropesa, 21, said she would use it every day. ``Maybe even twice a day.''
The Ab Max and the more plush T-45 also got the experts' approval. Cavallo especially liked the extra weights that could be attached to the T-45's headrest.
``That's a great idea,'' he said. ``As you get in better shape, the extra weight will make you do more work.''
The similarly designed Pro-Form Ab Resister caught criticism for lacking an amenity included with the T-45: an attached exercise mat.
``It slips and slides,'' Levin said.
The biggest disappointment, however, was the ABShaper, the most expensive model tried. The ABShaper won plaudits for an innovative design that allows users to pull up with arms and legs to create a double crunch on the upper and lower abdomen. But design alone could not overcome flimsy construction and the perception that the thing was just too dang complicated.
``It was jerky,'' said D.J. McCarthy, 25, a Boca Raton teacher.
Delray Beach, Fla., dental assistant Barbara Rhyne, 47, liked the ABShaper overall, but not without some adjustments. ``I wasn't crazy about using my legs at the same time,'' she said. ``So I did it without that part.''
Bad positioning could translate into injuries on the ABShaper, Levin warned.
``If you're not on it right, you can really feel it in your back,'' he said.
The best machines isolate the abdominal muscles and keep users from pulling on their heads and necks, Cavallo and Levin said.
Both pointed out that if exercisers properly execute old-fashioned sit-ups or ``crunches,'' no hardware is necessary to work ab muscles.
``These machines just make sit-ups idiot-proof and more fun,'' Cavallo said.
Medically speaking, Levin pronounced the bow-shaped T-45, Ab Max and Pro-Form Ab Resister basically safe to use, even for non-athletic types.
``I don't see a lot of ways for people to hurt themselves, but people can be pretty creative,'' he said wryly.
The Pro-Ab Sit-Up Bench, however, drew criticism from Levin and from panelists for lacking back and neck support and for not isolating ab muscles.
``You end up using your hip flexors rather than your abs,'' Levin said. ``And, as on the ABShaper, the positioning must be right. Otherwise you could experience back pain.''
Despite these reservations, some panelists liked the bench's simplicity and its resemblance to ab equipment at most gyms.
``You do the work and you don't have to reinvent the wheel,'' said Terri Dunn, 25, a Boca Raton real estate saleswoman. She said the model justified its $50 price tag. ``Fifty dollars seems high, but it is solid.''
For many ab machine buyers, pain may not be as big a potential problem as disappointment.
``People think they're going to isolate one area and lose weight from the abdomen, but it's just not going to happen,'' Levin said.
Users should make ab training part of an overall program that includes fat-burning, cardiovascular exercises and other weight training, Levin and Cavallo agreed.
``If they don't burn the fat on top they'll never see the muscle underneath,'' Cavallo said. ``The guy on the [ab machine] box just has no fat.''
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: KRT. Les Daley, a fitness trainer at Fort Lauderdaleby CNBHealth Club, is an example of what working out on an abdominal
workout machine can do. color.