Finding the Very Best Ab Belt of 2012

couple wearing ab belts An ab belt can be an effective tool to help tone and firm your abdominal muscles. When combined with a health diet and regular exercise you’ll likely be surprised at the results you can achieve.

The question is which EMS ab belt should you buy and use?

There are three main brands to choose from online and here at AbBeltX.com we’ve profiled each device and compared features to help you choose the best ab belt. Check out our ratings for 2012 below by clicking on the device of your choice.

Our 2012 Ratings

#1 The Flex Belt

10 Programs
Rechargeable Battery
150 Intensity Levels
Sleek and low profile fit
Convenient Remote

#2 Contour Abs

7 Programs
Takes AAA Batteries
100 Intensity Levels
Bulkier fit

#3 Slendertone

7 Programs
Rechargeable Battery
100 Intensity Levels
Low profile fit

Abdominal Toning Belt Buyers Guide

Tis the season when infomercials and ads for ab belts start showing up all over TV and inside fitness magazines. With Spring into full swing that means that summer is just around the corner, and with summer comes swim suit season which is when we all want to look our best.

So with that in mind I decided to create an updated buyers guide for ab belts this season.

There are a whole bunch of manufacturers who make electronic muscle stimulation toning devices, but there are only a few worth taking the time to look at. In this post I’ll walk you through which Ab Belts are worth considering, the differences between them and my recommendation for which ab toning device is the best.

There are 7 things I looked at when comparing all of the abdominal belts I reviewed.

They were:

Intensity levels
Built in programs
Design and Controller
Battery Type and Life
Gel Pad Life and Cost of Replacement
Warranty and Guarantee
and Cost

While some are more important then others there was a purpose to including each one of these items in my comparison.

Intensity Levels: As a rule of thumb the greater number of intensity levels a belt has, the bigger the results you can achieve with that device? Why? Let’s use a simple example to explain. If you start off training your abs at intensity level 1, then move up to level 2 and then 3 and so on we have to assume that your abs are getting stronger and their endurance is increasing as you progress through each higher intensity level. So if a device like The Flex Belt has from 0-150 for intensity and the Slendertone belt has from 0-99 then we’re safe to assume that you can achieve greater results by moving through all 150 intensity levels in the Flex Belt Vs the 99 levels of the Sledertone belt.

Built in Programs: All ab belts that I reviewed use Electronic Muscle Stimulation (EMS). How the belts work is by turning on the EMS for a given period of time and set intensity then turning it off for a moment. When the EMS is on your abs are flexing, when it’s off they’re relaxed. Programs vary the length of time, intensity and time between on and off EMS. It helps with muscle confusion so your abs don’t get used to the same workout over and over. As a rule of thumb more programs is better.

Design and Controller: Each ab toning belt has some form of controller either in the form of a remote or buttons directly on the belt. This is what you use to adjust the intensity of the EMS and set your workout programs and time. Ideally a remote style controller that’s not connected to the belt and can be easily seen while wearing the belt is best. Also in terms of design a sleeker and lower profile device that could be worn under clothing and is less obtrusive is considered to be better.

Battery Type and Life: Most belts take AA or AAA batteries. It’s not a make or break point but it is a pain in the butt that you have to replace the batteries and recharge them. A couple of devices we reviewed came with a built in rechargeable battery. This is my preference.

Gel Pad Life and Cost: All ab belts require gel pads or some sort of contact gel. How long those pads last and what they cost to replace can be important. Especially if you have to pain big bucks to replace your gel pads when they’re worn out.

Warranty and Guarantee: Since all abdominal EMS belts are electronic devices things can sometimes go wrong with them. Having a solid warranty is important. Not to mention a guarantee. Ab belts aren’t for everybody so being able to return your device for a refund if you’re not completely satisfied is nice peace of mind.

Cost: Like it or not of course cost is going to come into play here. Even if one belt is clearly far better then all the others you’re likely not going to pay three times as much for it.

The three belts I compared were The Contour Abs Belt, Slendertone System Abs and The Flex Belt. After a brief review of all the other devices on the market, these 3 were the clear leaders in technology, features and price.

The Flex Belt

During my research I discovered something interesting about The Flex Belt. This device is in fact made by Slendertone, but marketed under a different name. While it’s not the same as any other device marketed under the Sledertone brand it does have several similarities to the Slendertone System Abs belt (which we discuss below).

This belt led the pack in two distinct categories. It had the highest intensity level varying from 1-150 levels and also offered more built in programs (10 different workout programs). Based on our research this meant that this device offered the largest potential results of any EMS belt we looked at.

The design of the Flexbelt was sleek and low profile. It could fit underneath a sweater and the wired remote control was small and offered and LCD screen to review time left in session, setting of programs and increasing or decreasing intensity. The remote also doubled as the rechargeable battery for this unit which means no need for AA or AAA batteries.

There’s one set of Gel pads included and additional sets cost you about $15. I have seen some coupons available that make these a bit cheaper and offer you free shipping. So they aren’t all that expensive when compared with other brands. You should get 8-12 weeks from a single set of gel pads depending on if it’s only one person using the belt and how frequently you use.

The Flex Belt sells for $199, but as mentioned I’ve seen coupon codes that reduce that price by $25 or 10%. The warranty is a leading 2 years and they offer a 60 day money back guarantee. Overall this is my top choice for an ab belt.

Contour Abs

A close runner up to the Flex Belt is the Contour Abs belt. The big differences between these two devices came in their size, batteries and intensity levels. While the Contour Abs claims to be the most powerful abdominal belt on the market, it’s not easy to determine from their website exactly how that’s measured. In terms of intensity levels the Contour appears to have 100 and also offer 6 built in programs.

Unfortunately unlike the Flex Belt, Contour requires regular batteries. As mentioned above, if given the choice I’d prefer the rechargeable battery pack. Also the size of the Contour belt doesn’t easily allow it to be worn under clothing.

Guarantee from Contour is 1 year on the device and they offer a 30 day money back guarantee. If you buy direct from their website then you can save 10% and the belt costs $179.80.

Slendertone

The Slendertone System Abs belt is more or less the same as the Flexbelt with a few exceptions. Unfortunately the exceptions come at the cost of decreased intensity levels and reduced built in programs.

When you look at the System abs belt it looks identical to the Flex belt. Same remote, same gel pads etc. It’s on the inside that things change.

The Intensity levels of the Slendertone device range from 1-99 (so 50 less then Flex Belt) and there are 6 programs in the Slendertone belt rather then 10. However the remote still contains a rechargeable battery and the warranty and guarantee is the same.

The price of the System Abs belt is $149, so $50 less then the similar Flex device. However if you use one of the online coupons available for Flex Belt you can get this price closer to the same.

I’d still opt for the Flex Belt since it offers greater potential for results, but of course $50 bucks is $50 bucks.

My recommendation is The Flex Belt. It’s the EMS abdominal toning device industry leader. Sure the other devices offer similar features, but for the small difference in price between each of these belts why sacrifice potential results for a few bucks.

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Weight Training Tips for Beginners

Males think that not only do they need to have six packs but they also need to have pumped biceps but if you are just starting out you may be a bit disappointed to find that you may not be ready for some exercises.

Building muscle is great, when you have more muscle you will burn more calories at rest than before and of course there is the number one benefit – it makes you look good. You have to be careful when you are just starting out because you could harm yourself extensively if not. Since it is so easy to get caught up we have put together a list of tips for our beginner weight trainers.

The first thing you want to do is avoid muscle magazines, most of these don’t provide good information for beginners. You also need to lay off on the harder exercises for the first three months. During that time you should be doing no curls but instead should be compound exercises. Compound exercises are those that work multiple muscle groups at a time. How do you know when you are ready for harder exercises? – when you can do 15 chin ups.

You need to do your research to find one program that you will stick to for the remainder of your time weight training. You can find all the information you need right here online with a little bit of research. While you are searchign for the perfect routine you can go ahead and do bench press exercises. These are compound exercises and if you incline the bench you can get even more out of the workout. You also want to do your squats ensuring you go down all the way. Dead-lifts are also a great option just make sure you have the form right before you do extensive amounts. To intensify your movements in the begining you can use light weights or body weights while you are trying to get the form right. Then later you can add the real weights.

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A Popular Fitness Mistake that Could Be Working Against You

When we are trying to get a six pack we tend to go at it with our all, at least at first and want to do 100 sit-ups or something like that. But this is not the best method as if you are not ready for certain exercises at certain intensities you actually will just make your belly push out more.

When you start working out on your abs if you are older or have had children it may not be wise for you to start with sit-ups or similar exercises. As simple as a sit-up may seem, it is quite advanced and if done improperly or when you are not ready for it you can really push out your stomach. You could also injure your back if you do these exercises and don’t have a strong core. When we don’t perform these at the right intensity and don’t perform them accurately they will not be effective in producing the results we want in which case an ab belt by itself may be more effective. When you are just starting out you have to start off slowly and ensure you are activating your muscles in the right way. When you can feel your core muscles coming together then you can start increasing the intensity of your exercises and can start increasing reps.

If you have recently had a baby you may have suffered from something known as Diastasis Recti which is a separation of yur ab muscles which occured in the later months when your baby got bigger. If you have this then you have to do post-natal exercises that can help get the ab muscles back together prior to doing regular abdominal muscles. If you don’t then you will end up pushing the muscle further apart and that will cause an unwanted bulge.

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Why Females Gain Belly Fat Faster Than Males

A study done on mice may have found the answer to the question of why it is easier for females to put on weight in their midsection than males. The study has been published in the journal of Diabetes and shows why women are more susceptible to weight gain especially after menopause.

The process seen in female mice starts with the activation of a particular enzyme and ends with the formation of visceral fat. Visceral fat in turns starts to accumulate around the organs and then our risk for type II diabetes, cancer and heart disease rises. The enzyme in question is responsible for a number of different tasks but producing this hormone that also comes from vitamin A is one of its strong points.

Both men and women produce the hormone when they consume a high fat diet but women tend to produce higher amounts of the enzyme. In the study, the researchers changed the genetic makeup of the mice and took away the enzymes. This resulted in the female mice remaining slender in their mid section even while on a high fat diet. While males also lost fat during the study, the results were not as significant as that of the female mice.

As a result of this study, researchers could find a treatment for obesity for both males and females. This study also proves that for some obesity is caused by their genes and not just in their diet and activity levels. Additional trials were done which found out that there are some fat cells in the female mice that do not have this enzyme but instead create proteins that get heat from fat, thus burning fat in the mice.

Can this study be extrapolated to the human race? Researchers examined the fat tissue of persons who had undergone surgery and found out that this enzyme was also present. They measured the levels found in overweight women and thin women and found that overweight women had higher levels of the enzyme in their fat tissue. They also found that the enzymes stopped working in the presence of estrogen and this indicates why it is so easy for women who are post menopausal have difficulty with easy fat gain in their stomach area.

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Causes of Obesity

There are many reasons people become obese, here are a few of those reasons.

1. Eating too much translates to ingesting too many calories. Even though there is a lot of available information on why to eat healthy and how to eat healthy people are still overeating and this is one of the leading causes of obesity across the globe.

2. Leading a relatively inactive lifestyle. Over the years new technologies have made us less active. With video games we no longer go outside to play, with television we don’t go out for entertainments, with remote controls we can control our televisions, AC units and other things without moving and with washing machines and dryers the laundry can be done with little effort. Gone are the days when we used to walk to the grocery store, now we drive everywhere even if it just half a mile away.

3. Getting inadequate amounts of sleep. People who do not get enough sleep are at the double the risk of becoming obese. This information is based on studies done by the Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick among other research that has been done in different places. This is true of both children and adults so we need to send our kids to be at night, at a particular time.

4. Endocrine disruptors that interfere with our metabolism of lipids. Research found that beverages that contain fructose have the ability to alter the metabolism of lipid and can cause metabolic syndrome and fatty liver.

5. Smoking cessation – The NIH; National Health Institute is saying that some people when they stop or start on the road to the cessaton of smoking find that they gain excessive amounts of weight because smoking is an appetite suppressor. On average these individuals will gain six to eight pounds but some gain a lot of weight – more than 30 pounds in a lot of cases.

6. Medications – many persons put on weight after starting a particular type of medication. Information found in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy show that a significant amount of weight gain can be seen in some persons when they start taking certain prescribed medications. Weight gain can be so significant in these cases that alternative treatment methods have to be sought out especially in persons who are already overweight prior to taking the drug.

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Vitamin C for Lowering Blood Pressure

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The Sports and Nutrition Link

We all know that in order to perform well at any sport one must be properly nourished. But good nutrition is not only best for famous athletes but also for the rest of us who play the occasional game of basketball or go cycling ever so often. While being properly nourished doesn’t mean that you [...]

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What Liquid Calories Do to Your Six Pack

If you have been eating a healthy diet with non high fat foods but are not seeing the results while you regularly workout at the gym you may be consuming too much liquid calories. These calories add up quickly and they can be what is contributing to the lack of movement in your waistline towards lesser numbers. [...]

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Five Moves to Toned Abs

We all want to have abs that are nicely toned so we can look great in our clothes especially when we go out to the beach or the pool. But we don’t want to do all the work necessary for us to get to where we need to be. The good news is that if [...]

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Ab Exercises – Every Day or Every Other Day?

There is the question of whether or not it is good or even useful for one to do ab exercises every day of the week or just to do them every other day. There are some fitness experts who will tell you that you should do these every day while others will tell you every other day. [...]

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Grilled Foods, Obesity and Diabetes

We try to eat healthy by avoiding fried foods and so instead we are advised to grill, broil, boil, steam and stew. But new studies are showing that grilling may in fact be a factor that is leading to obesity and diabetes. A research done at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine showed that there [...]

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Finding the Very Best Ab Belt of 2012