Two events converged to inspire today’s post about amazing, drool-worthy abs and how to get them.

The first event?  The upcoming release of Magic Mike, featuring Matthew McConaughey, Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Alex Pettyfer and Matt Bomer . . . shirtless:

Sweet fancy Moses. Someone get mama a fan.

The second event was the arrival of this little gem in my email inbox:

Oh, honey, no.

After thoroughly rinsing my eyes with battery acid to clear the second image from my retinas, I did a little research and determined that the Ab-hancer is not, in fact, a real As Seen On TV product, but rather a spoof.  Even though it is a fake, the idea of trying to look like you have great abs without actually working for great abs is nothing new.  I have even heard of using sunless tanning lotion to create “shadows” that give the illusion of six-pack abs on an otherwise toneless belly.  Unfortunately, not everyone is going to have abs like Matthew McConaughey and Channing Tatum–seriously, it is unfortunate.   While some people have the dedication and stamina to work hard to get those gleaming, chiseled, glorious abs (I’m sorry–did I get carried away?), not everyone has the time or the desire to put in that kind of effort.

Because I want every man to have the opportunity to look like Magic Mike–oh, believe me, I do–today’s Seen On TV Express blog post is going to bring you three different types of As Seen On TV ab sculpting products.  You select your level of intensity from zero to P90X and choose the infomercial product that best works for you.

Intensity Level:  ”Can someone bring me a doughnut and a beer?”

• Slim T
• IAS Instaslim Garments

Instaslim and Slim Ts are body shaping garments that can make  you look up to two sizes smaller without diet or exercise.  While the results are temporary, and you certainly can’t whip off your shirt, wave it around your head, and slide down a fireman pole into the waiting arms of hundreds of screaming women vying for the opportunity to tuck dollar bills in your waistband, Slim T or Instaslim can give you the confidence that comes from looking better in your clothes.

Intensity Level:  Not Quite Shocking

• Flex Belt
• Contour Abs
• Sport Elec Ab Belt

Electronic Muscle Stimulation (EMS) is FDA-cleared and shown to be effective in helping to strengthen and build muscles without a lot of concerted effort on your part.  Electronic ab belts work by contracting the abdominal muscles through electronic impulses, allowing your to flex and contract each muscle numerous times in a single session.  Some of these devices are discreet enough to wear under clothing so you can firm and tighten your abdominals as you go about your daily routine.

Intensity Level:  ”Work All Day.  Work It All Night.”

• Ab Rocket Twister
• Ab Glider
• Insanity
• P90X
• P90X2

If you want the moves like Jagger . . . or in this case, like Magic Mike and his glistening, sculpted cohorts . . . you are going to have to work it.  Intense fat burning moves and a clean diet are critical in creating a lean, chiseled core featuring rock hard abs.  Abdominal exercise equipment like the AbRocket and the Ab Glider can give you targeted moves for tightening the abs, but the aggressive, high-intensity training available from Beachbody’s Insanity, P90X, and P90X2 allow for total body fat burning and muscle sculpting that can transform your physique.

Whether you want to show up at your reunion with the confidence that comes from looking better in your clothes, or whether you want to show up with a physique that makes your class homecoming queen fall over in a dead faint, As Seen On TV products offer your perfect ab solution.

We’ve talked recently on the SeenOnTV Express blog about ways to look slimmer with no effort (Kymaro Body Shaper for women and Slim T for men) and ways to improve muscle tone with little effort (Flex Belt and Flex Mini).  Though there are many As Seen On TV exercise videos and equipment that are low-impact and moderate intensity, perhaps the hottest selling infomercial exercise videos are the extreme workout routines from Beachbody.

Among the best selling Beachbody videos are Insanity with Shaun T. and Tony Horton’s P90X.  Recently, Shaun T. released a new version of his popular Insanity workout entitled The Asylum, a thirty-day sports training workout.  Now, Tony Horton and Beachbody are expanding their offerings for die-hard P90X fans with the release of P90X2.

P90X2 is more than just a new set of workouts to replace P90X; it is designed to build on the successful transformation of those who have completed P90X by increasing agility and athleticism.  P90X was created to transform bodies into the best shape of their lives, replacing fat with muscle through a technique of Muscle Confusion.  P90X2 continues with Muscle Confusion but also incorporates Post-Activation Potentiation (P.A.P.), a groundbreaking exercise technique based on two additional years of research and development by the fitness experts and sports scientists at Beachbody.

P.A.P. essentially combines heavy strength training with plyometric exercise to engage more muscles during and after a workout.  This explosive combination increases stamina, agility, core strength, and overall athleticism.  P90X2 is not designed as a replacement for the original P90X; it is not simply more of the same.  Rather, P90X2 takes fitness to the next level.

In this video, Tony Horton explains the difference between the original P90X and the all new P90X2:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubc1AQwSi1k

Because the P90X2 workouts are completely new and different from the previous series, new equipment may be necessary.  When you order the P90X2 workout kit, you have your choice of three packages, depending on what equipment needs you may have:

• P90X2 Base Kit:  12 workout DVDs, 1 How to Bring It Again DVD, P90X2 Workout Guide, P90X2 Nutrition Guide, P90X Workout Calendar
• P90X2 Deluxe Kit:  everything included in the Base Kit plus a foam roller, two 8-pound medicine balls, a premium stability ball, and two additional extreme workouts:  V-Sculpt and Chest + Shoulders + Tris
• P90X2 Ultimate Kit:  everything included in the Deluxe Kit plus Tony Horton’s PowerStands

The twelve P90X2 workouts use strength training, plyometrics, yoga, and core strength exercises and routines based on Muscle Confusion, but they incorporate P.A.P. to take your workout beyond the original transformation of P90X and into increased athletic ability, stamina, strength, and agility.  P90X2 workouts include:

• X2 Core
• Plyocide
• X2 Recovery + Mobility
• X2 Total Body
• X2 Yoga
• X2 Balance + Power
• Chest + Back + Balance
• X2 Shoulders + Arms
• Base + Back
• P.A.P. Upper
• P.A.P Lower
• X2 Ab Ripper

Staff members at SeenOnTV Express who have used the original P90X saw phenomenal results with the original program and look to build on their efforts with the all new P90X2.

Look out now.  SeenOnTV Express is going to be too hot to handle and too fast to catch . . .