In the time I’ve been a Personal Trainer I have looked at several exercise devices that guarantee to give you a toned, shapely waist and a flat sixpack and one that have been quite impressed with its called the Ab Rocket. Imagine a low deckchair with a high back consisting of several rollers to support the spine and you’ll get an idea of what the Ab Rocket looks like. It claims to get you up off the floor and blast your abs into shape.

The advantages of the Ab Rocket over other exercisers is that you are seated comfortably in an optimum position to work both your upper, middle and lower ab muscles to give you a most effective ab workout. The carefully designed backrest of the Ab Rocket supports your back and moving rollers give a gentle massage to all of your back muscles. The Ab Rocket is foldable for easy storage and comes complete with extra resistance springs so that you can customise your workout to suit yourself.

This is a very good way to tighten and tone your upper and lower abs without risking back strain, which is a common side effect of performing sit-ups on the floor. Sit-ups are one of the most effective exercises for sculpting a sixpack, but they can be extremely challenging to do correctly, especially if you are new to exercise and are not accustomed to isolating and engaging your muscles correctly. Most people just place their hands behind their head and struggle upwards by poking their elbows forwards and dragging on their head and neck. This does nothing to tone the abdominals, but goes a long way towards hurting the back!

Your physiology when you are lying on the floor means that your stomach muscles are at their longest, as they attach at the bottom of the pelvis and run up under your lowest ribs. This means that they are in their weakest position at the starting point of a sit-up. Lifting your rib cage and head against gravity is very hard work for your abs, and unless you know how to stabilise them by drawing in your tummy button, you are going to have trouble performing your sit-ups. This means your back will ache and persisting can even result in a damaged muscle or a ruptured disc.

Therefore it is obvious that is changing your supine position for a seated one on the Ab Rocket has already vastly reduced any risk of back injury. When you are sitting, your abs are in a strong, shortened position, ideal for effective crunches which will target the upper portions of your sixpack. Raising your legs means the lower abs have to work harder and doing both gives double benefit. The Ab Rocket cushions your spine all the way up to your head and means that no strain is put on the neck and back muscles and your throat wont begin to ache either. The Ab Rocket should be combined with sensible eating and regular exercise like walking or cycling for optimum results.

Working out at home for many is the only option open to them. It would be great if they could regularly visit a Gym because there they would find expert advice, equipment suitable for all levels of expertise and a multitude of great exercise classes they could take to help them in their weight loss goals.

If the Gym is nearby it might work but the reality for most people is they are going to have to drive there, then do their exercise, have a shower and then drive home again. It can easily take 2 hours out of your already busy day.

The gym staff willingly provide you with a full-body workout incorporating all the essential things warmup, cardio, weights, cooldown and stretch but this takes at least an hour to do, if not more. In fact, I have seen programs that took people up to 90 minutes to get through! For optimum results, you are told to perform this at least 3 times a week.

If you’re like me and can’t always find the time to go as often as you’d like you just get stressed knowing you should go more and thinking about the money your wasting.

So what do you do? No way can you stop exercising, because its essential if you want to live long and prosper. And continue to eat nice food and drink good wine ” in moderation (of course ?).

Your salvation is Home Workout equipment like the Firm Wave Personal Gym. Unlike Treadmills which take up a lot of space and lets face it look pretty ugly the Wave takes up almost no space and can be stored under the bed. Combined with a small price tag (less than $100) makes this type of equipment highly desirable.

A good choice of Home Workout Equipment would have to be the Firms Wave. This Personal Gym will give you the best of both worlds. You can still do all your Cardiovascular (Cardio), Strength Training and Stretching on it. But you can do it at home. No need to travel to the Gym any more. Just jump on The Wave and you’re rocking your way to that body you’ve always wished you’d had.