In Praise of the "Ab Lounge"

[InternationalPlayboy]

"I am slender and attractive!"... Well, still working on the "slender" part.

Last fall, I

reached the heaviest I've ever been, around 235 pounds or so. I'm 5'9" and 45 years old. It seems that each

winter that I gain 5 or 10 pounds and never lose it. This winter I've reversed the trend.

Having an almost

12 hour work day, I don't have time to join a gym. If I did join, I would have to go during their busiest part of

the day. So my exercise has consisted of walks on the weekend. Usually only on Friday and Saturday for 3 to 5 miles

each time. Sometimes I get ambitious and walk up to 8 miles or so. Sit ups have never worked for me. I rub my rear

raw on one side to the point of bleeding with the friction caused by the sit ups.

So I've tried several

gimmicks, from what I called the "butt bucket," which Susanne Sommers sold in the 1980s for sit ups, to that thing

you pulled against the stomach, which seemed to work the arms more than the abs, to the "Ab Doer," which was of some

limited success.

I bought an "Ab Lounge" last fall and have been using it since the last week or so in

October. This thing works! I can really feel the burn in my stomach muscles when I use it. I've lost about 15

pounds and I wish I had taken measurements before I started using the lounge as I can tell just by looking that my

waist is reducing. If I don't wear a belt, my pants slip down past my hips now. I haven't changed anything in my

diet other than eating less, and I didn't do that consciously. I can only think that the abs are holding in the

stomach better so it doesn't have as much stretch for food.

Only complaint I have is I bought mine from J.

C. Penny, and ended up with an "Ab Lounge 2." This one isn't exactly like the informercial one. Instead of a metal

bar to hold onto, there's a nylon strap. In one of the exercises, you are to put both arms through the strap and

hold them straight above the head. I can only get one arm through the strap. A more important complaint is that it

doesn't fold up like the one shown on TV. I had to replace some lock nuts with wing nuts so I could disassemble it

quickly for storage.

Other than that, I think I made a great investment. I'm feeling the best I have in a

long time and hope I can keep the weight going down. That would help the sleep apnea and high cholestrol and blood

pressure I've developed in the last few years, not to mention being more attractive for the women. I was getting so

bad that I'd get out of breath bending over to tie my shoes.

Of course, YMMV, but I'm very happy I bought

this device. It's easy and kind of fun to use. And like I said, I can really feel the burn in the abdominal area.

[MOBLEYC57]

"I

am slender and attractive!"... Well, still working on the "slender" part.

Last fall, I reached the heaviest

I've ever been, around 235 pounds or so. I'm 5'9" and 45 years old. It seems that each winter that I gain 5 or 10

pounds and never lose it. This winter I've reversed the trend.

Having an almost 12 hour work day, I don't have

time to join a gym. If I did join, I would have to go during their busiest part of the day. So my exercise has

consisted of walks on the weekend. Usually only on Friday and Saturday for 3 to 5 miles each time. Sometimes I get

ambitious and walk up to 8 miles or so. Sit ups have never worked for me. I rub my rear raw on one side to the point

of bleeding with the friction caused by the sit ups.

So I've tried several gimmicks, from what I called the

"butt bucket," which Susanne Sommers sold in the 1980s for sit ups, to that thing you pulled against the stomach,

which seemed to work the arms more than the abs, to the "Ab Doer," which was of some limited success.

I bought

an "Ab Lounge" last fall and have been using it since the last week or so in October. This thing works! I can really

feel the burn in my stomach muscles when I use it. I've lost about 15 pounds and I wish I had taken measurements

before I started using the lounge as I can tell just by looking that my waist is reducing. If I don't wear a belt,

my pants slip down past my hips now. I haven't changed anything in my diet other than eating less, and I didn't do

that consciously. I can only think that the abs are holding in the stomach better so it doesn't have as much

stretch for food.

Only complaint I have is I bought mine from J. C. Penny, and ended up with an "Ab Lounge 2."

This one isn't exactly like the informercial one. Instead of a metal bar to hold onto, there's a nylon strap. In

one of the exercises, you are to put both arms through the strap and hold them straight above the head. I can only

get one arm through the strap. A more important complaint is that it doesn't fold up like the one shown on TV. I

had to replace some lock nuts with wing nuts so I could disassemble it quickly for storage.

Other than that, I

think I made a great investment. I'm feeling the best I have in a long time and hope I can keep the weight going

down. That would help the sleep apnea and high cholestrol and blood pressure I've developed in the last few years,

not to mention being more attractive for the women. I was getting so bad that I'd get out of breath bending over to

tie my shoes.

Of course, YMMV, but I'm very happy I bought this device. It's easy and kind of fun to use. And

like I said, I can really feel the burn in the abdominal area.

I was going to get me one just because it

makes sense to me, but they say its max weight capacity is 250 ... I'm at 279 and hopefully climbing. What would be

your thoughts on me risking it anyway? Does it seem that it could take more than 250, even if they say 250 is max

weight?

Thanks!

[InternationalPlayboy]

Well, it's sturdier

than a lawn chair but I don't know if I'd risk it. I think I've seen the version I have in sporting goods

stores like Big 5 or Sports Chalet, so maybe you could check one out at a place like that. Something tells me that

the original infomercial version might be all around better made than the in store version though.

It's

pretty much a canvas (nylon) fabric around a metal frame. Two bungee cords are attached to the bottom of the seat

with one of the opposite ends attached to the front bottom of the frame and the other to the back bottom. I don't

think these provide resistance as much as work to keep the seat aligned properly. The resistance is provided as with

traditional crunches or sit ups, the chair just makes it easier on the other parts of the body. Aside from the

potential to tear through the seat, I would say that weak points would be the pivot areas and the screws that hold

the (in my case) non-foldable braces that keep the legs in position. These screws are where I use the wing nuts so I

can remove one end of each brace and fold the unit up.

I'm sure it's probably designed to hold a little

more than 250 pounds to avoid lawsuits, but I don't know how much more.

[nonscents]

Mobes,

This one says 275

lbs.

http://www.fitnessquest.com/scripts/...nk?src=KWPAL2C

[MOBLEYC57]

Mobes,

This

one says 275 lbs.



http://www.fitnessquest.com/script

s/cgiip.exe/WService=/link?src=KWPAL2C

I missed your post, and they must have dropped the lbs.

'cause it's now 250 lbs. Thanks, Nonscents!

Signor Player, any new thoughts on the louger?



Tankya!

[InternationalPlayboy]

Funny coincidence

Mobley, I just got done using the Ab Lounge for the day when I checked my email and noticed there was a new message

in this thread.

I've been kind of slacking off lately, only using it on the weekends right now. My work

days are so long that I don't want to take the time to exercise afterward, though I know I feel better afterwards.

I do the lounge outside and weather the past few weeks cut down on my time too. Lots of rain, I thought I lived in a

desert. (Actually, we need a lot more. We've had a drought for something like seven years now.)

I've worked

up from one set of ten reps for each position to three sets of ten reps each. But since I haven't been using it on

the weekdays right now, I haven't increased the reps any in several weeks.

I still think it's the best

situp gimmic I've spent money on, and I've bought several before this one. I have problems with my lower back and

I don't strain it with this device. Amd as important, I don't rub raw spots on my rear like I do with crunches or

situps on the ground.

The only thing holding me back from seeing better results is my motivation. I find a

grande or venti cappucino from Starbucks a couple of hours before helps in motivating me with both my crunches and

my walks too. Usually don't have them on Sundays though as I have to get to sleep fairly early to return to the

grist mill the next day. Today, I put a bit of PCC on my moustach and around my mouth before using the Ab Lounge. I

still had to push myself a little to get started but once I did, I found I would go from position to position

without as much or no rest between them.