The T-Core and the Perfect Pushup are exercise devices marketed to consumers on television infomercials and via the Internet. Each of these devices purports to provide a gym-quality workout in your own home, and each is designed to focus on a different specific part of your body.
T Core
On the product's website, the T-Core is described as "a radical new core workout for men" that is "guaranteed to kick your butt in six minutes flat!" The T-Core is essentially a tubular plastic device with three thick rubber bands that provide three different levels of resistance when doing abdominal crunches. Unlike traditional abdominal exercises, notes the website, the T-Core won't strain your neck and shoulders while working your abs; rather, this device lets you focus on your entire core — the muscles at your midsection — while seated. The T-Core can work upper abs by placing the device in a center position while you sit in a chair, while lower abs can be targeted by leaning back and doing leg raises. By moving the T-Core to the side, you can focus specifically on your obliques.
Perfect Pushup
The Perfect Pushup consists of two rubber grips on 8-inch bases with rubber bottoms that stick firmly to the floor. You grasp these handles and do traditional push-ups, with the handles rotating in a manner the Perfect Pushup website claims is the same way your arms would rotate naturally when pressing a dumbbell or throwing a punch. This, claims the website, allows you to engage your muscles more fully while lessening strain on your joints. Along with the handles, the Perfect Pushup kit comes with an instructional DVD and a poster that provides visual instructions on how to correctly perform exercises. According to the product website, this device was developed by a U.S. Navy SEAL, "using the latest in biomechanics and engineering" to ensure you'll see better results after doing push-ups.
Comparison
Although both of these devices are marketed to men, the T-Core focuses specifically on building a stronger core by working the abdominal muscles and obliques. The Perfect Pushup, on the the other hand, essentially provides a safer, more effective way of doing a standard push-up, and targets the muscles on the arms, chest, back and shoulders. The T-Core is designed to target your abs, while the Perfect Pushup has been developed to provide a full upper-body workout via push-ups.
Overall Fitness
Neither the T-Core nor the Perfect Pushup works the muscles on the lower body or legs, and neither provides any sort of cardiovascular workout. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, recommends that an adult between the ages of 18 and 64 engage in a minimum of two-and-a-half hours of moderate aerobic activity each week or one hour and 15 minutes of intense aerobic activity, in addition to muscle-strengthening activities at least two days a week that work all the major muscle groups. Although the T-Core and Perfect Pushup may be part of an overall fitness plan, neither of these devices on their own will provide you with the recommended amount of weekly exercise as outlined by the CDC.
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