THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 24, 1996 TAG: 9609240033
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAT DOOLEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 201 lines
THEY LOOK like beach balls without the stripes.
Big, blue and spongy, they're stacked in a corner of the aerobics room at Ladies Workout Express in Virginia Beach.
About 10 women, some in stocking feet, prance across the carpet. Each embraces a ball in a bear-like hug, carries it back to her spot and sits beside it.
But these are no mere beach balls. They're Resist-A-Balls.
And for these women and exercise enthusiasts in about 800 clubs across the country, they're the ticket to rock-hard abdominals - one of the hottest trends in the fitness industry this year.
Call it the quest for the washboard stomach. The abs of steel. Or, in guy talk, the ``six-pack'' stomach - not a beer gut, but curvy ``cans'' of muscle.
Think ripples. Think Sylvester Stallone, Brad Pitt, Mariah Carey, Madonna.
Americans want fabulous, flat tummies. And they're willing to sweat and spend some money along the way.
Theories abound for this heightened fascination with abs: baby boomers tired of watching their middles expand; the prevalence of crop tops on slim stars like NBC's Courteney Cox; and greater awareness among fitness professionals that we're incorrectly performing abdominal exercises.
The trend has been fueled by the dozens of infomercials on late- night television, where buff, beautiful, bare-midriffed bodies tout more than 20 styles of abdominal machines. Many also are sold on QVC, the home-shopping network.
Promising tighter tummies and weight losses up to 15 pounds a month, products with names like Ab Roller, AbShaper and Abdomizier pulled in $145 million in 1995, said Mike Smith, a spokesman for NordicTrack Inc.
Fitness centers everywhere are devoting entire classes to abdominals, says Stephen Babbitt, spokesman for the International Association of Fitness Professionals. And every aerobics class includes some abdominal exercises.
At Ladies Workout Express on Diamond Springs Road, instructor Carla Chism leads women through one of the center's seven weekly abdominals classes. She starts with stretches, while Robert Palmer's ``Addicted to Love'' plays on a boom box.
``Deep-breathe in, and let it out,'' says Chism, through a tiny microphone strapped around her head.
``Now, get your balls,'' she says, sitting on one as though it were a cushion.
The women sit too.
``Walk your feet out,'' says Chism.
They step tentatively, like crabs on a beach, pressing their backs into the squishy balls behind them.
Chism tells a newcomer not to worry if her hands and feet flail. Maneuvering, she says, is a little awkward at first.
``That's OK. We've all been there.''
One almost expects the balls to snap across the room, like paper wads released from rubber bands. But they don't.
``Up, down, up, down,'' says Chism. ``That's right, you got it.''
The women perform abdominal crunches, using the balls for support.
Still others in search of gorgeous abs, turn to the growing array of technology dedicated to toning tummies.
About 2.8 million abdominal machines were sold last year, via television, magazines and sporting-goods and department stores, said NordicTrack's Smith.
Most of the machines are the roller-type, a rounded metal tube and head rest that is placed on the floor, allowing the user to perform controlled abdominal crunches.
NordicTrack, which markets a variety of fitness equipment, entered the abs market in January, with AbWorks.
``It's been extraordinarily popular,'' said Smith, who declined to release sales figures. NordicTrack received so many orders in summer, it temporarily was back-logged, he said.
Locally, ab machines are big sellers too.
At Sports Authority in Norfolk's Janaf Shopping Center, for example, hundreds of the hopeful - mostly women from 20 to 60 - have purchased roller-type machines, said manager Dave Caprood.
``We sell about 60 of them a month,'' Caprood said. ``It's the hottest thing going right now.''
But the exercises alone won't produce weight loss or fitness, said George Guevara, physical director at the Chesapeake Family YMCA. ``You cannot spot reduce,'' he said.
Shrinking a sagging middle takes consistent strength-training, cardiovascular workouts and stretching, as well as proper nutrition, Guevara said.
Huffing and puffing through hundreds of poorly executed abdominals, won't produce the washboard look - or much of anything else, experts say.
Form - and consistency - are key.
``They really are very difficult to do correctly,'' said Kathy Manke, aerobics director at Norfolk's Downtown Athletic Club.
Look around any gym, and you'll likely see folks tugging on their necks, jerking upward, arching their backs and pushing their bellies outward instead of pulling them in, the American Council on Exercise says in its newsletter InfoMatters.
``I would say 95 percent of people are doing them wrong,'' said Manke, tiny and taut in blue shorts and purple exercise bra.
``They hold on to those old exercises where the legs are kicking up and down, or they're hanging onto a bench or they're holding themselves up in the air and pulling their legs in.''
The neck should be relaxed, the knees bent, the shoulders raised only slightly off the floor. Breathe out as you come up, but push the abs down toward the floor.
``It's like a drawstring effect,'' Manke said. ``You want to feel like the (abdominal) muscles are tightening, and then you release a little bit but you don't release all the way.
``What people can relate to is zipping up their tightest jeans,'' she said. But, breathe out when you pull the stomach in. Some abdominal machines can help people practice proper form, said Dr. Len Kravitz, an exercise scientist and coordinator of wellness at the University of Mississippi.
Kravitz who informally tested more than 20 machines, said the best are the roller-type that rest on the floor.
``They're great for doing the crunch,'' he said. But he doesn't recommend turning the knees for side crunches. Pivotal motions may cause ``torquing of the spine,'' because the machines' frames limit movement, he said.
``That's a high-risk maneuver,'' he said.
It can be helpful to sample machines in a store, for comfort and fit, he said. ``Everybody has a different frame size.''
Along with the dozens of metal contraptions found on store shelves, is the FlexiBall, an lower-priced Resist-A-Ball for the masses, said Phil Trotter, president of the company that markets both.
Both exercise tools are patterned after physical-therapy balls used to help people recover from injuries, Trotter said.
The balls provide support and greater flexibility, he said.
``We've had people tell us it's easier to work their abs,'' said Beth McPherson, owner of Ladies Workout Express, where the balls have been used since April. ``And it's more fun.''
But instructor-led, group exercise is part of the allure.
It helps motivate people who might otherwise give their abdominals short-shrift, or not exercise them at all, McPherson said.
``That's one of my problem areas,'' said Nikki Sutherland, in oversized gray T-shirt and ponytail.
Sutherland and Jan Battaglia, 20-year-old students from nearby Virginia Wesleyan College, are newcomers to the afternoon abs class at Workout Express.
The friends are taking several aerobics classes as part of a stepped-up fitness routine.
Asked if they'd seen results, Battaglia was confident: ``We will!''
Dr. Edith Cohen, a 38-year-old internist who works nearby, has toned her body and lost about 30 pounds.
For years, Cohen did traditional sit-ups off and on. Then she she discovered the abs class.
``It's a better workout overall,'' said the trim blonde, squeezing in a set of push-ups.
She also uses a treadmill and stair-stepper, trains with weights and eats a healthy diet.
That's the only way to get fit, experts say.
As to those ads promising weight loss and washboard abs in five minutes a day?
``Scratch that,'' said exercise scientist Kravitz, who recommends five minutes of abdominals - plus aerobics, weight-training, flexibility exercises and a heart-healthy diet for a trimmer middle.
Except for the most conditioned athlete, Kravitz said, ``washboard abs is kind of like a dream.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
VICKI CRONIS
The Virginian-Pilot
Dr. Edith Cohen
Carla Chism
Lynn Lenihan
VICKI CRONIS
The Virginian-Pilot
Evelyn Agustin does crunches during abdominals class at Ladies
Workout Express in Virginia Beach.
VICKI CRONIS
The Virginian-Pilot
Instructor Carla Chism encourages her class during abdominals
exercises at Ladies Workout Express.
GRAPHIC
THE PERFECT CRUNCH
Not everyone can achieve a chiseled midsection. And no amount of
crunches will get rid of excess fat, says the American Council on
Exercise.
But it's possible to tone the tummy and strengthen the lower back
- without spending a lot of money. The council gives these tips:
Proper form is most important for toning your abdominals.
The basic crunch is easiest. Lie on the floor, your knees bent
and your back flat. Raise your chest and shoulders several inches,
exhaling as you come up. Pull your stomach in and down as you
exhale. Inhale as you lower and release.
To work the obliques - the side stomach muscles - crunch at
alternating angles. Reach with the shoulder, not the elbow, toward
the opposite knee. Repeat on the other side.
To work the lower abdominals, bring your knees toward your chest
in a 90-degree angle. Using only your lower abs, not your legs or
hips, bring your knees toward your chest. Return. The movement is
small; don't pull your knees to your face.
Consistency is important too. You can exercise your abdominals
daily. Start with 10 repetitions of each variety, and work up to 25.
Always place your arms across your chest, keeping your chin a
fist's distance from your chest. As your abs become stronger, extend
your arms behind your head.
Relax. Never pull with your neck or head.
Keep your movements slow and controlled. Don't use jerking
motions.
Pull in your abdominals as you exhale. Don't push them out.
Visualize your navel pressing into the floor.
Exhale as you contract, and inhale as you release - as though
your abdominals are a drawstring. by CNB