Category: Health and Wellness
Well! Who's tried SlenderTone on here and what do they think?
For those Zoners who're encountering SlenderTone for the first time on this board and arere basically thinking what the... Well here's the basics.
The SlenderTone abs trainer belts come in several different arrangements to suit various parts of the body. One for the stomach and abdomin, one for the thighs and/or arms and you can also get SlenderTone shorts, which are presumably for both your leg muscles and your abs combined.
What does it do and what is the point of it?
SlenderTone is basically a compact EmMS unit with velcro plus three adhesive gel pads connected to leads secreted inside the belt which are in turn, connected to a very slimline semicircular control pannel. You can set it to several different programs to either give you a nice relaxing massage or powerful muscle contractions to stimulate your abs, legs, arms or wherever you want to strap it on. The belt itself is made of a very soft but robust spongy cotton material and fastens on with velcro. You can get different belts for men or women. You should wear it for just 5 days per week and use it for half-hour work-outs. This is equivalent to 700 sit-ups in 30 minutes. The instructions tell you to start out at 40 and of course, you'd gradually increase the levels and programs as time went by. I found 40 wasn't enough for me though, so after the first session, I increased the charge to 45, third session was 55 and I'm now on around 60/65. I purchased the SlenderTone Flex just last week and already, after just three days, people're starting to notice a difference in the size of my trunk, just from an hour and a half's EMS (Electromuscle stimulation). The sensations of EMS should not be an uncomfortable or painful experience for you, so just adjust the pulse as far as your pain threshold allows and so that you can really feel the belt contracting those muscles. i first came across EMS some years back when I was having physiotherapy on my totally flat feet. The machine was plugged in to the mains though, so it was just slightly different from the Abs trainer obviously. That runs on 3 AAA batteries.I also attend the gym at our local leisure centre twice a week, plus we also have a cross trainer at home which I thought I'd benefit from when we bought it 5 years ago, but O no. It had no effect what so ever, so I started to do some research on a relatively risk free way of shedding those 4 dress sizes so I no longer resembled a beached whale, then just weeks ago, problem solved. I bumped in to these SlenderTone abs trainer systems. I watched some online video footage of SlenderTone in use, looked in to all the pros and cons and thought well, why not? Why shouldn't I do it the lazy way. Why should my family rule my life for me?
A totally portable and very convenient way to work out, though rather lazy. You can be doing the housework, sat at the computer, in the car, watching TV or even down the gym while you're working out.
Jen.
I first heard about these back in 2001 or so. I was so excited. I got one immediately. I never could really tell a difference. Later, I heard that companies were even beginning to recall them and that they didn't perform as advertized, but I don't know.
I've rad articles where they state these systems do not help at all, are merely an excuse for people not to work out. Of course I'd be happy to be wrong and really see that these contraptions do anyting for you, but I think they are mostly aiming for the lazy or those who have difficulty finding a place to work out.
For a cross trainer to be effective you have to walk very fast or run for at least 25 minutes, over 30 is better as you really start burning off fat after the first 30 minutes, at first you are mostly burning carbs.
I am absolutely 100% certain that half an hour with an electrically charged belt is nothing like 700 sit ups, you try doing 700 sit ups and let me know, I never did more than 400 when I was at my most serious training, now I do just a 100 and it just about kills me.
So, short answer, I think those things are total rubbish, but I also wish for them not to be, because they would be so convenient.
I recommend the rubber sit ups ball and, hand weights and the rubber bands, you can all this at Wal-Mart for may be 20 to 25 bucks and they can provide a heck of a work out, concentrate on stomache and back muscles.
Cheers and good luck, whichever way you go.
-B
cross trainers work, but you need to work at them. or just run about after horses for a few days, that's gonna make you lose them pounds too. heheheh.
Well from all the footage I've seen, there was a lot of positive feedback about the belt. One lady said she felt she'd really had a good workout when she'd used the Abs trainer. I must say, we've just been down the gym again this morning and I found some of the weightlifting equipment was kind of too easy on the weights I had them. Even the treadmill which usually gives me one hell of a stitch when I'm going at 4.5 with an incline of 2.0 was a lot more bearable. Yeah, I still had it, but I only had to slow down for two minutes or so and decrease the incline to 2.0. After I'd slowed down for a bit, I increased to 4.8 speed for the remaining 10 minutes or so, then finished off on the bike for 5 minutes so mum and I could both wind down from the treadmill, so don't knock the belt guys. Some people find it a great help, plus its very comfortable to wear round the house and you can do your abs workouts whilst doing other things like housework, watching TV or playing around on the computer or lappy as well.
Jen.
A stomache muscle trainer belt is not going to do anything for your endurance doing aerobic work outs, so you cannot thank the belt for that.
You asked for opinions, then you can't complain if the ones you get do not agree with yours.
Well, it may not do somebody else any good what so ever, but i read some very positive reviews on it before I got it. If ya don't like it, ya know what you can do.
Jen.
Ok, here's my *professional* Opinion.
The abs belts have the potential to work, certainly. They will work, and work well, if you know how to apply the electrodes over the muscle origin and insertion that you want to work. Even then, you have to hope that the current tracks through it at the correct intensity to stimulate muscle contraction, and not to stimulate massive nerve conduction which can, in the long run, lead to increased pain receptivity. Now, even if you get these set up correctly, and you're working away, happily contracting your abs, the belt doesn't, and cannot, increase your aerobic endurance. In order to increase aerobic fitness, there's a formula that you have to use to work out a person's ideal pulse rate. Then, to become fit, you work to an exercise level which keeps your heart with in a 10 BPM ratio of that number. I don't discount that you could have got the belt set up correctly. What i do discount is that contracting abs alone increases your heart rate. It doesn't, and it can't. Medical fact. What it does do however, is increase muscle bulk. The more times a mustle contracts, the bigger its bulk becomes. So then, when you do come to train aerobically, it is, perhaps, a little easier to lift weights or run for longer. However, don't make the mistake of thinking that this means it's getting you fit. It isn't. Bigger abs mean more core stability, which, in turn, means less work for muscles such as erector spinae and biceps femoris. Less work from these muscles means they can put more effort into the work out, meaning, in the end, that it feels easier to you.
If you want huge abs, then the belt is obviously working for you. But if it's fitness you want, them i'm afraid there's no other way to get it than to do propper, vigorous exercise.
All criticism welcome
FM