Electronic Muscle stimulation is an interesting topic and you’ll find many skeptics as it really takes away the effort of actually doing exercise. You can simply put the toning belt around your waist or any body part and the device will send little electric pulses to make your muscles contract. 

Through these contractions you are supposedly working muscles and burning fat and you can do it while you’re watching T.V. I bought the absonic belt and the abgymnic belt as they were dirt cheap and of course I was tempted by the idea of building muscle and toning up with no real effort. The easy way out for me I thought and no more spaghetti arms :P

The electronic muscle stimulator belt comes in a small box, with the main belt attachment, Velcro strap and small circular batteries. It’s hard not to feel silly when you open up the box and see a ripped guy with the belt around his abs. 

Using the Absonic Belt and the Pain

First of all make sure apply the water based lubricant to the area you are going to workout (zap), because without this your body wont conduct the electric pulses properly and you will proceed to burning holes in your skin. It changes the meaning of pushing past the pain that’s for sure when your tazing yourself in the living room.

The Absonic belt has multiple levels of pulses ranging from very weak to very strong and you can vary the time intervals between shocks. I tried the ab sonic belt on my abs and it did make my muscles contract , it even made my bladder do some weird pulsating movements when I moved the belt down a bit lower by accident.

I desperately wanted those rock hard abs so I cranked the speed and strength up to full, and it feels a lot like someone is punching you in the gut. I used it for a little while on moderate settings but didn’t notice any great improvements or a sense of achievement.

I then tried the ab sonic belt on my arms, this was the most fun I had with the absonic belt as it made my arm jump around uncontrollably and I was tempted to strap it on as I tried to prepare dinner. 

So when it comes down to it electronic muscle stimulators can be effective but not in the form of a 2 dollar ab belt. It is basically like electrocuting yourself over and over as you sit there feeling awkward. 
It is very dangerous especially when the water based gel dries out , some people have even complained of large red spots and others of organ problems. So please stay away from these types of devices for your own well being.

If your looking for an easy workout don’t let the belt do the work , while you watch T.V tense your abs every now and then as its pretty much the same result without the self mutilation.

The abdominal muscles are like any other muscle and will respond to both heavy and endurance exercises and doing a variety of exercises for your abs will really bring them out. The two best pieces of equipment to help you build your abs I believe are ab rollers and a nice sturdy inclined /decline bench. Other than that bodyweight exercises and cleaning up your diet works wonders.