Spot Reduction: Do Abs Belts Work?

Healthy lifestyles have become a challenge in our modern society and it’s something that many people struggle with - constantly looking for an easy way out. There are a lot of products on the market today and many of them work wonders with your body, but not all of them deliver what they promise. When it comes to abdominals, many people have turned to abs belts to help them get that attractive six-pack that they so desire.

They are easy to use, affordable, and claim to help you get a six-pack by simply using the belt for a short period of time every day. Millions of these abdominal belts have been sold worldwide so you might think that they are very effective, but everything might not be as good as they would want you to think.

Massaging Abs Belts

Abs belts are flexible belts that you put around your midsection, and they can reportedly train your abdominal muscles without doing any manual exercises. They send out signals to your nerves, which in turn causes your stomach muscles to contract and relax – working or “training” your abdominals repeatedly. Abs belts have become increasingly popular over the last decade and they have been endorsed by many fitness enthusiasts and even TV celebrities.

Abs belts can help to improve abdominal muscle tone since it causes the muscles to contract, but it is a far cry from being able to help you trim down. They often sell the idea that you can have a gorgeous six pack with just 30 minutes a day. Does that sound achievable? Not necessarily. That is why all of these manufacturers will include an encouragement towards a healthy diet and exercise program – even though it might not be their main point of advertisement.

While electronic muscle stimulation (EMS) is a legitimate medical treatment used in physical therapy settings, particularly for patients who have suffered certain injuries or conditions where muscle atrophy is a concern, its application in fitness and weight loss is limited.

First, while the belts might cause abdominal muscle contractions, these contractions are not as strong or coordinated as the ones you'd achieve through actual exercise. True muscle growth and toning require progressive overload, meaning that the muscles need to be challenged continually with increasing resistance, something these belts can't provide.

Second, even if these belts were effective at building muscle (which they are generally not), muscle growth in the abs alone won't make them visible if there's a layer of fat covering them. The belts do not burn calories in any significant amount, nor do they target fat loss in the abdominal region. Achieving a toned or "six-pack" appearance requires reducing overall body fat, and spot reduction (losing fat in a specific area by targeting that area) is a widely debunked myth.

Lastly, many of the claims made by manufacturers of these belts are not backed by robust scientific research. Anecdotal evidence or poorly-designed studies might be used to support these claims, but they don't stand up to rigorous scientific scrutiny.

In 2002, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has brought charges of false advertising against some of the big names in the industry, including the Ab Energizer and the AbTronic. The FTC was quoted as saying: “You cannot get rock-hard abs with no sweat", and ordered the various manufacturers to pay more than $12 million in fines. "The only winning combination is changing your diet and exercise," said FTC Chairman Timothy Muris in a statement.

The fact is that by simply adding an abs belt to your current lifestyle, you will not cause your body to shed fat and bring out a flat stomach. This can only be accomplished by healthy diet and an effective exercise program.

Medical Abs Belts

Medical abdominal belts have been used as a rehabilitation tool for years - and with great results. Many physicians have used these belts to help prevent muscle degeneration in patients that have been inactive for long periods of time. These belts can be applied on various muscle groups of the body, such as the arms, thighs and mid-section. Although these medical abdominal belts can help to contract muscles and improve mobility, it is not an effective replacement for strength training.

Abs belts work by using electrical stimulations that contract the muscles, which causes them to exercise without needing a total body workout. These belts contain electrodes that, when pressed against the skin, send out electrical pulses to the abdominal muscles. Similar electrical stimulations have been used by doctors for ages to rehabilitate muscles that have been injured in accidents or illnesses and claims that they have an impact on abdominals are true – but they cannot lead to weight loss within the body.