Here’s to you, king of the abs. Only you could possibly convince us that sitting on the couch shocking ourselves is better than running with our dog.

Since the beginning of the monetary system when money was introduced as a form of exchange, people have been trying to sell stupid products. The category with the most stupid products has to be the class of ab machines. We have all seen the infomercials and full-page spreads in magazines trying to sell us on the latest and greatest ab machine to hit the market.

I don’t see infomercials, since I don’t pay for television. But I do see lots of magazines. The workout and fitness magazines are loaded with ab machines and magic pills to give everyone 6-pack abs. When we use reason, we know that all these gimmicks are false, yet millions and millions of dollars are wasted on these products. Why? People want the most results for the least amount of effort, and that is what these marketeers are selling. Nowhere on planet earth outside the walls of a well-marketed ad could you possibly believe that shaking the human body would whisk away the pounds around the midsection.

I often wonder if the same people are behind each new ab machine being created. Each new machine seems to be even more silly or outrageous than the last. Shocking your fat away seemed to be the hot thing for quite a while. I honestly have never met anyone who has achieved great abs by shocking them. Yet, I am sure the creator of a dumbed-down stun gun that shocks your abs is a millionaire by now.

At least the ab roller or ab lounge are a step in the right direction in that they cause you to move your body. I am no expert when it comes to health and fitness, but I am on the learning curve. My understanding of the human body goes like this: If you want to lose weight and gain muscle, it all boils down to diet and exercise. Cutting out the unhealthy fats and eating in moderation will probably net you better results than buying one of these stupid machines. The major difference between an ab marketeer and a physical trainer is in the product they are selling you. The physical trainer is selling you the ability to help change your lifestyle for the better and achieve the body you want. The marketeer is selling you on the notion you can achieve that body with a product and little change to your lifestyle.

Lesson learned from the ab marketeer is the ability to play on people’s emotions and insecurities. People will willingly hand you their cash if you play on the right emotions. Morals have a play in all of this and people will decide if the product they are backing is truly a good product or just a way to make money playing on emotions. I choose to support products that I would use and recommend. This is the reason I ditched Google Adsense, Spottt and other ad campaigns. In my opinion, money is great, but if you can’t support your product 100% at the end of the day, you are taking away from the value you provide and will ultimately attract the people you want to do the least business with.