Ab Circle Pro Reviews - Is It Effective?

It has one of the best produced infomercials I've seen in a while and it's presented by Jennifer Nicole Lee, a fitness model of the highest caliber.

 However, as someone who knows one or two things about what it takes to lose belly fat and get flat abs, I decided that I need to review the Ab Circle Pro for you, my reader, to make sure that you don't waste your money on this machine if it's not as good as it's made out to be.

I searched high and low for reviews from people who've used it. This review is based on all the reviews I've read.

Ab Circle Pro Real Price 

When you go to the AbCirclePro website (where you can order this machine online) you immediately see that they offer a 30 day trial period for just $14.95.

This seems like a great deal, but my dad always taught me to read the fine print (where the truth hides, he used to say), so I scrolled down to the bottom of their website and there I saw the real price:

You can get the Ab Circle for just $14.95 for 30 days but you will also need to pay $34.50 shipping and handling cost which is non-refundable. Then, if you decide to send it back before your trial ends, you will need to pay for shipping again, bringing the total trial price to about $70. Not so cheap anymore!

If you don't send it back, you will pay 5 payments of $39.95 each. In total the machine will cost you over $200! (You may be able to find a lower price here: Ab Circle on Amazon)

Note: even the smaller version of this device, the Ab Circle Mini costs about $119.

How the Ab Circle Pro Is Supposed To Work 

The Ab Circle is supposed to give you an abs workout and a cardio workout at the same time. It does so because of the position you take with your hands and knees supporting you and the movement you do from side to side on the machine in a gliding motion. It's supposed to be better for the knees and back.

The Ab Circle comes with a workout DVD and a nutritional guide.

The suggestion of the infomercial is that you will lose belly fat and inches of your waist by doing very short workouts on this machine.

Does it really work? Read on to see if this device can really help you to burn off belly fat...

How to Lose Belly Fat

One thing which is repeated in many infomercials for Ab Machines is how they're supposed to give you a better abs workout which will help you to lose stomach fat.

However, I believe this is inaccurate since it's impossible to burn fat from a specific body part. Spot reduction is impossible. We lose fat from our entire body regardless of which body part we exercise. Therefore, the key is to do the most intensive and fat burning workouts and not to worry about doing abs exercises.

Fat Loss spot reduction is one of the most common exercise myths and something which marketers exploit.

To really burn off belly fat you need to:

1. Do intensive, fat burning cardio workouts.

2. Do full body weight training workouts.

3. Eat right.

The Ab Circle Pro may provide you with a good cardio experience (although you can probably get the same workout by going for a walk) but it does not help you to workout your entire body and it doesn't really help you to eat perfectly (even with the diet manual they provide). In short, you don't get all that you need in order to burn off belly fat as fast as possible.

The Ab Circle Pro doesn't replace the gym. You will still need to do full body workouts.

Is the Ab Pro Circle a Scam?

When you read all that you may come to the conclusion that the Ab Circle Pro is a scam. I don't think that it is. I would say that this is just marketing at play. Marketers often don't tell you the whole truth and emphasize the good things about their product.

However, you need to realize that all those beautiful men and women on the ad did not get their body in the shape that it's in due to the Ab Circle Pro. They workout regularly and follow a healthy diet. Even Jennifer Nicole Lee, the "face" of this product has been a fitness model for years and did not get to where she is now with this machine but due to hard work with other fitness methods as well.

There are no shortcuts. If you decide to try a machine which promises the world with little work required on your part, you will not see optimal results. It takes work to get flat and sexy abs.

The AbCirclePro may help you get some results but I believe you do need something extra to really flatten your abs.

Ab Pro Circle Reviews and Testimonials

The reviews I read over the Internet about this product aren't conclusive. Some are positive and some are negative. You and only you can be the judge of that.

There are a number of complaints which I want to summarize here:

1. The knee cushions aren't that comfortable. You may need to place some extra padding on them. Fortunately, this is easy to solve: I read someone's review who uses these knee pads with the machine and says she's very happy with them.
2. The machine is breakable so use it cautiously.
3. There is a weight limit for this machine so if you're really heavy, this isn't for you. You need to check that.
4. You may feel more strain on your arms then in your abs.
5. The resistance isn't that great. You can't really get an intensive workout out of it for long.

Of course, some people do say that they enjoy working with this machine, so it's your choice to make. I feel that this machine may be good for beginners but isn't effective for fit people. If you feel that you will workout more if you have it then go ahead and get it.

My Recommendation

It is up to you to decide whether this machine is worth $200 for you. I haven't used this machine myself but it doesn't seem all that comfortable to me and I doubt that it will get you the kind of results that you seek.

I believe that you need to invest in your knowledge and learn how to live and workout in a healthy and effective manner. It is the only way to really lose weight and tone up and to keep it that way for the rest of your life.

Buy the Ab Circle if you wish and you feel that you will use it, but do invest in some knowledge as well.

Note 1: The AbCirclePro has 146 reviews on Amazon, when I last checked. Of those, 72 were 1 star (the worst) and 18 were 2 stars. This means that 61% of reviewers gave this machine a bad mark. However, 24 reviews gave it 5 stars (the top mark).

Note 2: In January 2010, Consumer Reports issued a report on the Ab Circle Pro. In essence, the report said that while this machine does target your abs, it burns about the same number of calories as walking does.

Note 3: For a review of the new, mini version of this machine visit Ab Circle Mini Reviews 

Common misspellings of this machine include: Abs Circle Pro, AbCirclePro, AbsCirclePro, AbCircle, abscircle,mini circle,ab circle mini