Ab machines are not effective. Ab machines do not work for your abs functionally. They can cause muscle imbalances by not targeting the proper muscles and may cause potential injury. To get ripped abs, we must consider our nutrition and increasing the metabolic activity in our body.

Some ab machines on the market support the neck and back, not allowing them to train, while doing the exercise. This can cause imbalances as the neck and back will not get stronger, while the abs are getting stronger.

Some ab machines place our body in positions that may cause injury while doing the exercise. Some machines target the hip flexor muscle group rather than the abs.

The nutritional components of what we eat is key to achieving ripped abs. Rather than eating 3 large meals per day, increase the number of meals to 5-6 and eat smaller meals. This way you can keep a constant energy level throughout the day and keep the blood sugar levels steady.

Avoiding fatty foods, sugar snacks, sodas and fast foods will help us control our intake and not over eat. Eating lean protein and complex carbohydrates will allow our body to burn those calories more efficiently and help burn fat. By watching what we eat, we are better able to control our caloric intake and keep from eating too many calories. When we eat too many calories and are unable to burn them, the body ends up storing the excess calories as fat.

Exercises that involve resistance training and interval training has shown to burn excess fat by increasing the body's metabolism. The increased metabolic activity burns the excess fat in the abdomen and makes the underlying abs more visible.

Meditation, deep breathing, tai chi and yoga can help us manage our stress levels and help to reduce the storage of excess fat in our belly area.

Ab machines do not work. Ab machines can either injure us or create muscle imbalances in our body that will potentially cause injuries. Being disciplined to making changes in our diet and exercise program, we can achieve six pack abs.