Richard Beddie's take on simplifying the world we live in
Ab Circle Pro 2.0 – still crap
The ab circle pro is back. Well the ads are, and a ’2.0′ gets added. But it’s still crap.
As I have already blogged that the Ab Circle Pro is a scam.
It was reviewed by clinical exercise physiologist, Dr William Sukala (a VERY knowledgeable guy!) who hammered the claims in detail in his post here.
He went on to review the new ad Ab Circle Pro 2.0 ad here, and says:
The only things left after a nuclear blast? Cockroaches and the Ab Circle Pro V 2.0
I had hoped the Ab Circle Pro would die a quick death after my exhaustive product review from June of last year (Ab Circle Pro Review: Fat Marketing Claims Thin on Truth). The article went viral across the global fitness industry and I received a tremendous number of supportive emails and not a single negative one (a sign that legitimate exercise professionals are fed up with the product). But much to my chagrin, Jennifer Nicole Lee is back with a rehashed version of the product not so creatively dubbed the Ab Circle Pro version 2.0. As far as I can tell, V 2.0 appears to be virtually the same as the 1.0 model without any noticeable structural changes. The only appreciable difference I noticed had nothing to do with the product, but more to do with their questionable marketing and barely legal claims.
In summary he states:
Ab Circle Pro V 2.0: New and Improved Garbage
and
Bottom line: I advise consumers NOT to purchase the Ab Circle Pro 2.0
I could not agree more. DO NOT BUY ONE!
This product does NOT do what it claims, and is pandering to the inherent laziness in us all (hey who doesn’t want the magic bullet – perfect body for no work? But sorry, it just doesn’t work that way).
But don’t believe me, have a look at any of these:
- read Dr Sukala’s own research here, or
- click on the image at the top right of this post to see the Close Up show about the Ab Circle Pro, or
- read the dozens of negative comments people made about the AbCirclePro in response to my original blog post – not a happy read!
Black and White Version: The Ab Circle Pro is a scam, and does NOT do what it claims. Don’t buy one (can I be any more black and white here?)
This entry was posted by Richard on 19/07/2011 at 2:59 pm, and is filed under Health & Wellness & Exercise, Misleading media. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.
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Richard, thanks for your support in helping put out the truth about the Ab Circle Pro. As I said in my original expose last year, I really can’t think of any redeeming qualities in the product, as it is sold by what I consider to be egregiously misleading advertising (based on my training in exercise physiology and nearly two decades debunking fitness quackery). If the product was for real and did work, then they would have no need to use deceptive marketing and they’d have support of legitimate health/fitness professionals. To my knowledge, there is not one single reputable health professional supporting the use of the Ab Circle Pro.
There is a belief amongst the general population that “it wouldn’t be on TV if they were lying,” but unfortunately, this NBC (US) undercover expose proves otherwise (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14856571/ns/dateline_nbc/t/inside-out/#.TmtuDVtqCSp). They created a miracle pill for the skin made of chocolate milk and then found a dodgy infomercial company to create an infomercial. They got a dodgy host, doctor, and actresses to say they loved the product. Then they showed the infomercial to people at a mall. They were willing to buy it for up to $60/month. In short, illegal marketing can be made “legal” and they CAN get it over the bar.
Take a closer look at the Ab Circle Pro advert after reading my initial review (and the 2.0) and it will become obvious.
Cheers Richard! Keep up the great work. See you at Get NZ Active in November!
–Dr. Bill
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Here’s a comment from a friend Anton
I am posting it coz the spam filter kept rejecting the comment
>> COMMENT STARTS:
The changes made to the (Very cheaply made) device as far as I know
are as follows:
Knee pads changed (see pics)
Plastic disc made smaller as rollers would corrugate it or break it,
rollers now ride on the metal tubing and now the rollers wear out
instead. “2.0″ has TWO rollers instead of a single roller on each knee
pad.Note the broken disc in the first pic, the “car body filler” aka
“Bogged up” cracks in the second :-Þ and the third in which the
rollers ride on the actual metal tubing.I gathered this information from the pile of AbCircle Pro’s in the
scrap metal pile at the local dump and some pics on Trademe. I was
looking for an example of one that someone had bogged up and sure
enough, seek and you shall find ;-Dhttp://www.complaintsboard.com/?search=ab+circle&everything=Everything
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#10 written by Angel 1 year ago
The ab circle pro is now available to rent those things are dangerous so how is it that the tv shop is allowed to sell them when they are an accident waiting to happen. I sent mine back for this very reason. The key to weightloss is actually more to do with diet even if you walked 10 km a day if you don’t get enough sleep and eat after 8pm the chances are you won’t lose the weìght. And as the ads for drinking go it’s not what your drinking it’s how much your drinking so perhaps the same goes with diet. The key to keeping the weight off is to take twice what it took to gain it to then lose it. Exercise is just an aid to assist to convert fat into muscle which helps burn stored calories
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#11 written by KT 1 year ago
Professional Integrity
In 2009, founders of the Ab Circle Pro (hereafter referred to as ACP) claimed to have developed a machine that would revolutionise the fitness industry worldwide. They have reported sales of over two million units and while there have been numerous negative reviews throughout the global fitness industry, sales continue to grow. This is evident with the introduction of the Ab Circle Pro V.2 and a more portable Ab Circle Pro Mini.
A quick search on the Internet and you will find a wave of negative and positive ACP reviews from fitness experts and members of the public. It is easy for the general public to get confused about whether this product is a scam or whether it really works. However one thing is clear, from a business point of view the marketing team for ACP have hit the nail on the head with the millions of consumers searching for the holy grail of weight loss methods.
ACP engage fitness celebrity Jennifer Nicole Lee (JNL) to front a series of high-tempo infomercials and shopping channel adverts in which she makes some extraordinary claims and sends out some misleading key messages. My comments are not aimed at analyzing each claim and contesting their validity or not. That has been done and will be referred to later. My focus is whether or not JNL’s decision to join with ACP and promote the product is ethically contrary to the values and/or code of conduct expected of fitness professionals. At the very least you would expect a fitness expert to act with professional integrity.
It is worth taking a quick look at who JNL is and what she stands for. JNL is one of the world’s most accomplished Super Fitness Models, and is an international celebrity due to her high profile wellness merchandise and key media appearances. Her career began when she lost over 80 lbs after the birth of her children. Her motivational weight loss success story caught the world’s attention, after she gained notoriety as a professional fitness competitor, holding countless titles and crowns.
She was soon a frequent guest on major US national talk shows, such as the Oprah Winfrey Oprah, E! Entertainment, Fox and Friends, etc. She is the CEO and visionary behind JNL Worldwide, Inc and is internationally recognized in over 110 different countries. Most importantly she is a devoted wife and mother, representing the millions of other mom’s and wives in the world with a brand they can trust. “It’s my goal and passion to increase the quality of your lifestyle.” – JNL
It is fair to say that in business, all professionals are expected to act in accordance with a code of conduct or code of ethics relevant to that profession. I have cited a few relevant examples from a selection of Fitness Organisations.
• Fitness Australia Code of Ethics
1. Professional Integrity (In part only)
o Advertising. Exercise professionals may advertise in connection with their professional practice if the advertising is not false, not misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive, is not vulgar or sensational, and does not claim or imply superiority of the exercise professional over any or all other exercise professionals. The advertisement for the exercise professional may contain a statement of the areas of expertise in practice.
2. Fitness New Zealand Code of Ethics
3. A member of Fitness New Zealand, and agrees to: (In part only)
o make no false claims with regard to any of the products and services offered by the club.
o not use deceptive or high-pressure sales tactics.
4. Global Fitness Association Members Code of Conduct
5. As a Member of Global Fitness Association, we agree to operate our facility(s) and conduct ourselves in accordance with the Global Fitness Association Code of Conduct, as set out below. (In part only)
o Members should provide a trustworthy, safe, and caring exercise environment for our clients.In May 2011, each of the JNL and ACP claims was scientifically reviewed by Dr William Sukala PhD clinical exercise physiologist. The full review can be found online at http://www.drbillofhealth.com/exercise/ab-circle-pro-review-fat-marketing-claims-thin-on-truth/ however the verdict is clear as outlined below.
The verdict. After reviewing the infomercial, website, and product information, in my professional opinion, the Ab Circle Pro represents yet another “too-good-to-be-true” exercise contraption. I believe the product advertising is littered with confusing and/or misleading claims which, if not overtly false, clearly distort basic physiology and kinesiology to serve its marketing objectives. In my 20 years as a health professional, I don’t think I’ve seen a more egregiously offensive ad campaign for a fitness product. For reasons I’ve highlighted above, I feel this company 1) warrants closer scrutiny by consumer protection and regulatory agencies; and 2) should be held accountable by these agencies to furnish legitimate proof which supports their marketing claims.
Can you forgive a naive public for expecting that JNL’s claims about the ACP are true, not misleading? The black and white answer is “no”, everyone should look at the fine print and read the detail rather than claim that they were duped. However, when you look at JNL’s professional profile and the fitness industry’s code of ethics, her personal goal and passion and the fact that she is a wife and mother who has transformed herself, the fine print and the detail are all lost in the hype. Its obvious to me that JNL has lost sight of her professional integrity.
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Hi KT,
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. In short, I couldn’t agree more. I do not know of a SINGLE qualified health/fitness professional anywhere in the world who thinks the Ab Circle Pro is worth its salt. Moreover, everyone I’ve talked to about the product is of the opinion (and myself included) that Jennifer Nicole Lee is a sell-out. The business is money, the storefront is fitness. Simple. Anyone with a modicum of understanding about exercise physiology, kinesiology, and biomechanics knows full well the ab circle pro marketing claims are absurd and egregiously misleading (let alone the false claims they make). Jennifer Nicole Lee claims to be a fitness expert in promotional materials, so if she is as qualified as she believes herself to be, then how could she not know she’s promoting misinformation? Then again, I’m under the impression that she’s too busy laughing all the way to the bank to consider just how unethical it is to hawk a useless piece of scrap metal and plastic.There’s only one single thing more sad than the above: that the general public who is, as you say, naive actually believes this garbage and puts blind faith in a pitchwoman not worth their trust or respect. Very sad.
Thanks again for your comment.
Kind regards,
Dr. Bill -
#13 written by Angel 1 year ago
I see that same as seen on tv shop is selling yet another piece of exercise crap promoted by none other than Jennifer.
All the exercise equipment that that tv shop sells is crap, will fall apart and is downright dangerous. Who remembers pyramid power from 2006 that thing fails to work after a short time from using on the various body parts, as a result of stretching the coil.
Society is becoming lazy and after a quick fix just take a a look at yahoo answers, that website is full of naive people who would believe those ads.
Better to promote good nutrition than unsafe crap such as the ab circle pro
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If a product has the “As Seen on TV” logo, then you can pretty well assume it’s not going to be the highest quality product. Every Ab Circle Pro machine I’ve used has been pretty flimsy and rickety. No way it would last in a commercial facility for more than a month or two.
Everyone is looking for the quick-fix but as I pointed out in my Permanent Fat Loss Principles article, the “SECRET” is that there IS no secret: http://www.drbillofhealth.com/exercise/permanent-fat-loss-principles-secret-is-no-secret/
As you said, good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle is still the best medicine for slimming down and staying that way.
Cheers,
Dr. Bill -
I often wondered about them things. The thing is I know some people who got them and they have ALL lost weight using it.