My husband and I just watched 20/20 or some other show like that and they had a big piece on the ab belts!! The Food and drug administration said they should be fda apporved because they are a medical device not a weight loss device......they are going to court over it!

those ab belts do work on the muscles. They don't get rid of fat. You still need to do some aerobic activity to burn the fat.

Originally posted by daffodil71 those ab belts do work on the muscles. They don't get rid of fat. You still need to do some aerobic activity to burn the fat.

Awww man you mean i have to get of the couch

Originally posted by jenafreaky Awww man you mean i have to get of the couch

that's right... all the commercials showing people just sitting around eating chips while the "belt goes to work" are bull =)

My abs muscles are already in good shape, now I just gotta get them to the surface =)

I bought one for $20, decided what the %$#@ i'll try it for that price. I'm on day #2 so i'll let ya know how it goes...Not sure either about the long term effects of electro shock therapy...Yikes!!

I cannot remember which magazine I saw it in, but there was just a really good article. Says that there is only one brand that even makes an iota of difference (naturally, I cannot remember which one it was), and even then, you have to wear the thing forever. Basically, they came to the conclusion that they are just a gimmick, which appears to be what other people here have found.

Originally posted by Rackemup My abs muscles are already in good shape, now I just gotta get them to the surface =)

Mine too!

I think that doing situps, crunchs and aerobic exercise are all things that are more likely to bring them to the surface then an ab exercise belt!

I actually saw a report on a news show about them and they said that none of these types of products work at all. Actually said they're usless, except to make money for the manufactures.
Oh well looks like we all have to stick to the old fashion way of excersizing

I can see where it would work in theory as far as working the muscles. It *does* force muscle contractions, much as a sit-up does (although as other wonderful people here have already stated, it's not going to do squat for fat loss).

Here's my problem with it...the claim is that 5 minutes with it is the equivalent of 600 sit ups (or some such outrageous claim--I probably have the #s wrong here). How many people are in a condition to do 600 sit ups at all, much less in 5 minutes?!? If a person were to actually strap that thing on, then sit through even a 30 minute tv show whilst it's running, that's 3,600 sit ups! How much pain would your muscles be in the next several days?!? Not to mention the fact that electro-stimulated muscle contractions are much more intense than physically induced ones--youch!!!

No thanks anyhow for me--I'll stick with crunches the old-fashioned way.

Actually, I guess I don't have to worry about it--they probably only come in one size fits all anyways. Wouldn't be able to get the belt around my gut to even make it work!!

Here's a website with reader reviews for all of the above if you're interested in reading..

www.fitnessinfomercialreview.com

Also wanted to mention that if anyone is interested in trying this that it sounds like the Rio Ab Belt is the one to go with (The rest of them use a conductive surface that is similar to tinfoil which wears out quickly and requires you to replace the belt (additional costs). This one uses a neoprene or rubber conductor which enables it to last a lot longer. I've researched these a little bit as I have back problems which make it tough to do the full range of situps, crunches, etc. I know that its not an escape or easy out for exercise and other weight workouts, but would be nice as an addition to them.

In my opinon they don't work! My dad had something wrong with his shoulder and they used this type of device to strenghthen his muscles and shoulder to make it less stiff he didn't get these amazing muscles from it in fact his shoulder looked the same before and after and he went five days a week for months....so JMO!

My step mom bought one, and I strapped it on
my arm and gave it a try. It was only on for less
than a minute. Well my arm was sore for the next
few days, kinda like the feeling after the first
softball game of the season!