Best Ab Stimulators in 2022. The Truth You Need to Know: Do They Work for Muscle Strengthening and Weight Loss?
You might have come across an ad for ab belts that promises a slim waist and weight loss. Don’t fall for it and keep in mind that these devices are not designed to work that way. Ab stimulators simply cannot burn fat. The only way to burn fat is to create a calorie deficit, either by exhausting exercise or by eating less.
What these devices do is strengthen muscles, but you will hardly notice the difference if you have a fat belly. Ab belt toners typically include adhesive pads that attach to the abdomen. Once the unit is turned on, each pad delivers an electric current to the muscles, causing slight contractions. This procedure is great for rehabilitation and muscle strengthening, but not for weight loss. The emitted electrical signal will not penetrate well through the fat layers and will not make muscles burn your calories.
Now, what about muscle toning? Electrical muscle stimulation has long been used in rehabilitation for injured and sore muscles. Such devices increase blood flow and help muscles recover more easily and faster. Researchers from the University of Nevada, who were investigating the ways to decrease delayed onset muscle soreness, came to the conclusion that recovery with the use of electric stimulation was just as effective as active recovery.
In other words, this is a good therapy tool, but not the same as muscle building. Just like with weight loss, you need to exercise a lot and do it properly to get six-pack abs. Then why do you need an ab stimulator at all? If you work out hard and consistently, you will inevitably damage your muscles. To keep on exercising efficiently, you should first help your muscles recover and this is where an ab stimulator comes in handy! The same holds true for weight loss, too.
If your strategy is not only limited to dieting and you exercise to shed weight, particularly in your belly area, an ab stimulator might be a good auxiliary tool. If you have decided on an ab belt toner, opt for a model manufactured by a trusted brand, such as AbFlex and Slendertone. Avoid cheap 20-dollar products from unknown producers as they are inefficient at best.
What’s Wrong with Slendertone? False Advertising
Slendertone products are actually among the best ab belt toners on the market. The Slendertone Abs8 Muscle Stimulation Belt uses clinically proven muscle stimulation technology, features 10 programs and 150 intensity levels. The device does the job well but the problem was with the way it was advertised.
Late in 2020, Lead plaintiff Jane Loomis of San Diego brought several causes of action against Slendertone Distribution, Inc., claiming that the company had been using false advertising and misleading statements regarding its product. These advertisements allegedly suggested that the Flex Belt would give benefits comparable to traditional exercise. In particular, the product was perceived as a tool that helped lose weight and create a “six-pack ab”. Buyers were allegedly tricked into thinking that the ab stimulator could give them well-defined abs without the need for exercise. According to the class-action lawsuit, there was little if any scientific evidence to support these claims.
“Aside from some limited science showing some strength and endurance improvements to the abdominal muscle tissue as a result of extended [electrical muscle stimulator] use, no science supports the conclusion that use will rid belly fat, provide more attractive abs, contour the body, provide visible ‘six-pack’ abs, or that use can ever be a replacement for traditional exercise,” the class action complaint said.
Slendertone Distribution Inc. agreed to pay $175,000 to settle a class-action lawsuit. Besides, the company will also stop advertising the Flex Belt in ways that mislead consumers. More importantly, the deal covers anyone in California who purchased the Slendertone Flex Belt in the period between May 7, 2015, and the date of the settlement approval. Buyers who fall within this criterion will get a refund ranging from 9.5% to 28% of the purchase price.
Products with 5-star rating
Testing & Customers Reviews
Here are the reviews from YouTube bloggers who tested the ab stimulators and have found them effective and worth buying.
The Syke: "Here is our new ADLFEX belt from Amazon. It's just arrived about a week ago I've been playing around with it a bit.
So, first of all let's see what comes inside the box. I guess inside we have our instruction manual, which is very good. It's got about 8 different pages in there showing you how it all works and how to look after your AD belt. So, very good manual. Device, actually, comes in this nice little carrying case now. It's a nice size this carrying case. I measured it earlier it's about 25 centimeters by 14 by about 7. So, it's a nice size if you wanted to take it to work or if you wanted to put it in the suitcase with you to take on a holiday you can easily do that. If we unzip the case there inside we have our belt. You also have some conductive gel. You've also got a bit of space here in case you want to put anything else in your carrying case.
So, the belt is made by a quite a nice strong neoprene material. It has a little pocket, if you want to put your remote control into while you're using it. It's got quite a nice thick strap here. So, it doesn't dig in even if you do it up quite tight and it's highly adjustable. So, you can make it a lot smaller if you wanted to or a lot bigger as you can see there's a lot of slack left in that. On the inside of the belt you've got these four silicone pads. They're your EMS pads the pads that actually work your muscles or stimulate your muscles by sending electronic pulses through them. So, that's where the gel comes in. You can put gel on these four pads or water as a bit of a conductor to make the belt actually work. So, it's nice that they've got the gel, but I've been trying it with just water, because eventually the gel will run out and it works just as well and even after a 30 minute exercise with it the water hasn't dried up. So, you can use either.
I really do like it. I really do think it's worth the money. You can put this on every day where maybe. You can't work out every day, maybe you can only work out every other day and if you put this on while you're working out, well, it really does supercharge your workout. So, that's the ABFLEX belt. I'm quite a nice belt there and it gets my thumbs up."
Fraser Models and Actors: "Introducing Slendertone ABS8 the slim and discreet ABS belt that tones and firms your ab muscles anytime anywhere.
You can tone up while walking jogging commuting or relaxing. The perfect toning partner that fits into your daily routine. Slendertone works by using electrical muscle stimulation technology, which emit signals directly from the AB belt to the abdominal muscles. So, you're replicating natural muscle contraction just as when doing conventional AB exercises. Wearing ABS8 for just 30 minutes a day five days a week is clinically proven to give visibly firmer and more toned ABS from just four weeks.
Sleek ergonomic design to fit around the natural curves of the body. Stay motivated with ten programs from beginner to advanced toning it's. So, easy to reach a high intensity at the press of a button tone up anytime anywhere with Slendertone ABS8."
