Does it Really Work? - Ab Flyer

Tools

Story Published: Jul 9, 2009 at 7:45 AM MST

Story Updated: Jul 9, 2009 at 7:45 AM MST

By Tommy Noel

Video
With summer here, most of you are getting ready to hit the pool, go to the river, or even just bask in the sun.

In this edition of Does it Really Work? we'll try out the Ab Flyer. It promises that you can glide your way to great abs.

Infomercial: The secret to the Ab Flyer is the patented reverse arc motion that targets the lower, middle, and upper abs all at the same time.

I may get an ab workout just by putting this thing together. The product comes partially assembled, you have to do the rest.

Personal trainer Elaine Lowrance has been at Apple Athletic Club for over 25 years. She's seen her fair share of fad exercise machines.

"We're always looking for a quick fix, something that will be faster than the normal thing," says Elaine.

Even before using the machine, Elaine already has a concern, that may limit people from using it.

"Some of the clients that I train have some knee problems, so they can't put their weight on their knees," says Elaine.

Once Elaine started using the Ab Flyer she noticed a few advantages.

"It's working my lower abs. I can feel that," says Elaine.

But Elaine was ready to go up another notch.

"So do we have any resistance on here," asks Elaine.

The first level was pretty puny, so I turned the resistance knob just a bit. But as it turns out, the maximum resistance wasn't enough for Elaine.

"I'm not feeling a lot of resistance," says Elaine.

It's now my turn to try out the Ab Flyer, and before I shaped my six pack, I had to empty my pockets. And as Elaine mentioned, it does work your lower abs. But this personal trainer quickly noticed that I started to slouch.

"You're tall, and as you start tiring, then the upper body starts coming into it more," says Elaine.

Which isn't good for your shoulders or neck. Even if you don't slouch I'm going to need a lot more than just the Ab Flyer.

"You have to do more than just your abdominals. If i were to do this machine alone and not know already, that as a trainer that I need to work my lower back, then it could cause some other problems for me," says Elaine.

So the machine has some advantages and some disadvantages, but when it comes to forking out $200 for the machine.

"As far as telling my clients go out and buy one of those, I would probably not do that," says Elaine.

And now Elaine's ready to crunch out her Spud-o-Meter rating.

"I'd give it about a 3. I don't consider it a great piece of equipment due to its limitations," says Elaine.

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