Ab Belts: Godsend or useless gadgets?
We all want perfect biceps, buns of steel and killer abs. But lets face it, if you're the average American you either don't have time to workout the 6 days a week it takes to achieve the results you want or you simply don't like to work out. Whichever group you belong to, there are a million and one new "gadgets" on the market promising big results with little or no work.
One of the biggest fads in fitness today is the ab belt. There are several ab belts on the market including the "Ab-Energizer," "Fast Abs," and "The Ab Tronic," but they all seem to make the same claim: slim down without breaking a sweat and get the abs you always wanted."
Despite numerous reports disputing these claims, ab belts still seem to be selling by the thousands. Why? The answer is clear: ab belts offer what some believe is a quick fix for flabby body. Ab belt marketers say the belt can be used to tone up any part of the body. Fast-Ab commercials also mention that "just 10 minutes with Fast-Abs is the equivalent of up to 600 sit-ups." Marketers also claim that you can work your abs anywhere - watching TV, at the office, or even around the house.
Its no wonder consumers are buying ab gadgets by the thousands, they're like magic! But the sad truth is this: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. So here's the skinny on ab gadgets.
Most ab machines look a lot like cummerbunds. Lithium batteries are generally used to power the belt and "tightening gel" or some form of gel is included in the kit. These simple looking gadgets are based on electrical muscle stimulators, or EMS, designed to give muscle contractions. They do, but actually building muscles from this kind of stimulation requires a great deal more power and pain. *According to Dr. Venu Akuthota of the Rehabilitation Institute, "you need very long duration, hot amplitude, meaning a very strong stimulus and those kind of stimulus's are very uncomfortable and the typical person wouldn't continue with that." The American Council on Exercise "Fitness Matters" magazine asked the University of Wisconsin to test EMS machines. Their findings added even more validity to Dr. Akuthota's statements. After 8 weeks of testing the machines on volunteers, U of W found that there was "no significant changes in weight, body-fat percentage, strength or overall appearance. In order for the belts to work they would have to be cranked up to a level beyond what most people can tolerate (think hand in socket while standing in water)."
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