oooooohhhhh I'm RED! Thank you to everyone who has read and rated my reviews thus far, I always try ...
oooooohhhhh I'm RED! Thank you to everyone who has read and rated my reviews thus far, I always try to return the favour. Regards, Logan
Member since:28.01.2009
Reviews:63
Members who trust:58
I feel I'm being a bit negative today in my reviews of fitness equipment, but this is another needless piece of equipment that somehow has managed to find its way into every gym and home in Britain.
Surely that means its doing its job well right? Well I fear its been marketed well as opposed to actually performing the task in hand as well as it says it does. My biggest problem here is the fact that the maker of the machine make outlandish comments about how you will end up with a washboard stomach etc etc etc Here's what they say......
The Weider Crunch Trainer has an ergonomic design which allows the correct and safest position for achieving washboard abs, allowing the user to perform the 'crunch', an essential exercise for toning the abdomen area. Its design positions the body to
perform these exercises in a perfect manner reducing risk of injury. The mat and head rest combined ensure that the optimal position for your movement is maintained and that your spine remains straight. The workout mat, incorporated into the Crunch Trainer, offers maximum comfort during workouts.
Now having worked in gyms, I have seen plenty of people using these machines and in all honesty the machine does not illiminate any of the problems of performing the crunch.
What I mean is, the most common mistake when performing a crunch is
a) holding behind your neck and putting undue strain upon it b) crunching your abs too far (in many exercises you only need a small movement) c) To compensate crunching too far, people start to use their legs as a counter balance
Now having watched people using the crunching machines, all three of those problems still exist. I would even go as far as saying in many cases I've seen people using their hands on the bars at the top to perform the crunch instead of using there abdominals. This puts an even greater strain on their necks to compensate their own lack of movement!
They still move too far forwards and upwards when they crunch, although to be fair, the steel frame does prevent this a little bit, but certainly does not irradicate it. With that in mind, you still see peoples legs twitching like Michael Flatley in lord of the dance, trying to compensate for their over extended crunch.
In light of this, I honestly don't see the point of the machine. You cannot do anything with the machine that you cannot without, which to me makes it a fairly useless bit of equipment.
While I'm on a role regarding this, I also hate the term ergonomic design used in their sales pitch. There is nothing more ergonomically designed than your own bodies movements, anything that forces a certain movement can never be as good as the free motion of your own body. This concept runs all the way through personal training in health and fitness these days, with trainers nearly always opting for free weights/free motion equipment as opposed to machines which dictate your movements.
It is also much more effective to use your body's natural movements through an exercise, this way you will use all the stablising muscles around the joints you are using as well as the main agonist and antagonist muscles (the major muscle groups). In the case of the crunch, you are obviously working the abdominals (at the front of your belly) and the obliques (on the sides)
To get good free advise on how to perform a crunch as well as numerous different types of crunch exercises hitting all the muscles of the abdominals and obliques, try
netfit.co.uk
There is no need to spend money on one of these machines, all you need is advise on good technique.
If I still haven't put you off then here are the deatils of the Weider crunch trainer:
Abdominal exerciser with integrated mat. Good solid steel construction so it will not break Folds away when not in use for easy storage, just pull the arms down flat. Comes with a comfortable headrest. Over 12 exercises can be performed and it includes an instructional DVD which is actually quite good.
So how much will this set you back. Well its anywhere between £20 to £30. Your best bet is to go onto Nexttag.com to find the cheapest available option on the net.
In conclusion, personally I think this and all crunch machines are a total waste of money, however there is one thing I hadn't considered. If your the type of person who needs something like this to give you the confidence to do the exercise, then I say go for it. Anything that gets people exercising in my view is a success. I just can't help but think though that you just don't really need it.
Hope that helps,
Logan
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
So many people buy these awful things thinking it'll give them a washboard stomach, they're just dreadful! Can't understand why Weider would put their name to something like this.
MurkyDismal 19.02.2009 11:36
I had one similar to this, did nowt for me! x
LAURALILIA 19.02.2009 09:59
This gives me all the info that I need to make an informed choice - I always wondered about the effectiveness of this type of product - now I know.
Feb 18th, 2009
exceptional by (6%):
very helpful by (94%):
