Do ab muscle stimulators really work to build muscle?

Heather Campbell
 min read

Do ab muscle stimulators really work to build muscle? If you’ve ever tried to get nicer, bigger abs, you know it’s far from easy.

Do ab muscle stimulators really work to build muscle?Even if you work yourself to death at the gym and pay tremendous attention to your diet, it can still take a long time to achieve the desired results. It is therefore understandable that people often look for tools to help this happen.

As a general rule, a stimulation belt for the abdominal muscles is not a miracle solution. Without the right nutrition and dedicated physical training, a stimulation belt by itself will not build muscle. They are only useful if used in conjunction with healthy eating and the right training.

During that search, you will soon come across ab stimulation belts. Manufacturers of such abdominal muscle stimulation belts promise that they passively train your abdominal muscles.

The idea is that these ab belts will make it easier for you to get that six-pack you’ve been dreaming about without any extra effort.

But growing abs passively… Is that even possible with a stimulation belt? That is the question we will answer below.

Do ab muscle stimulators really work to build muscle? Introduction

Of course, before we can talk about why a stimulation belt for abdominal muscles does or does not work, you need some basic knowledge.

Let’s explain what kind of tool a stimulation belt actually is and how they would work according to their manufacturers to give you better and more beautiful abs.

As the name suggests, a stimulation belt is a kind of belt that you put around your waist, which is supposed to stimulate your abdominal muscles.

The abdominal muscles are stimulated through electric currents.

Stimulation belts are most popular for abdominal muscles, but they are also increasingly used as an aid for training arm and leg muscles.

How exactly does a stimulation belt for abdominal muscles work?

But how exactly does that work? The pulses of electricity that the belt sends to your abdominal muscles cause your muscles to contract at a low, medium, or high rate.

Such an ab belt contracts your abdominal muscles tens to hundreds of times per minute, much more than in ordinary exercise activities.

The idea behind this, of course, is that you are training your abdominal muscles by putting them to work.

The contraction of your muscles is the basis of all exercises used to build muscle mass, so it is not in itself a bizarre idea that such a stimulation belt could help with that.

Did you know: Even if stimulation belts prove to work well, the proper diet is also essential to minimize your fat percentage and reduce your amount of belly fat.

A good diet and fat-burning exercises are what it takes for a nice six-pack. Also, you will most likely need to lower your fat percentage to get rid of belly fat rolls and for a flat and tight belly.

Does an abs stimulation belt really work?

If a stimulation belt really works as advertised, it is a miracle drug recommended for everyone.

Unfortunately, no scientific research shows an apparent effect of such a stimulation belt on the abdominal muscles.

As a result, we cannot guarantee that such a stimulation belt for abdominal muscles works well.

In the absence of scientific evidence, we should keep it primarily theoretical.

In theory, of course, muscle contraction is the basis of any successful exercise. These electric pulses really cause your muscles to contract (which you will feel after prolonged use of such a belt).

So probably, a stimulation belt does affect the development of your abdominal muscles. But how significant that effect is, however, is a lot less clear.

Compared to intense training, it seems to be a minimal effect. Those impulses and contractions do help, but these artificial contractions are, unfortunately, very superficial.

And for that very reason, they are a lot less effective than a good, focused workout of the abdominal muscles.

In addition, such a stimulation belt does not work well, if at all, in the case of excess abdominal fat and too high a fat percentage.

Conclusion: A stimulation belt for the abdominal muscles is not a miracle solution. Instead, consider this tool a small addition to your regular core workouts.

It might well help you somewhat, but you really shouldn’t expect a world of difference because of it because then you are guaranteed to be left disappointed.

Thus, a stimulation belt for the abdominal muscles is an aid and not a panacea.

What are the dangers and side effects of using an ab stimulation belt?

At most, an ab stimulation belt can be a tool in addition to training, but maybe that still sounds very appealing to you. After all, you could use every bit of support you can get.

But there are also some risks associated with using a stimulation belt. So these are also kind of important if you are considering purchasing a stimulation belt for the abdominal muscles.

Risks of a stimulation belt for abdominal muscles

First of all, a stimulation belt for the abdominal muscles can cause unwanted stimulation of the bowels.

Of course, that’s not surprising because there’s suddenly a device that delivers pulses and pulses of electricity on top of your intestines. First of all, this is far from natural. Secondly, your abdominal muscles can’t stop all of those power surges.

As a result, you may experience pain, digestive problems, and even spontaneous diarrhea. So anything but pleasant!

In addition, your stomach can also get tremendously stimulated by all those power surges. This can lead to symptoms such as abdominal pain and digestive problems.

It can also make you very nauseous and may even cause you to vomit due to that nausea feeling.

Finally, you may experience annoying pain in your abdominal muscles because stimulation through electric currents is obviously not the most natural way to train your abdominal muscles.

So your abdominal muscles may start to itch, tingle, or actually hurt. These symptoms are not very serious in the long run, but it is not comfortable or fun.

So how do I make sure I get better abs?

We fully understand that such a tool seems tremendously appealing because we know that training abs can be pretty challenging.

We can very well imagine that you are feeling a little defeated right now and thinking: So what helps better to get a six-pack?

Well, effective training of abs essentially revolves around 2 things: The right exercises combined with the right nutrition.

Exercises

Strength training is the most effective way to train your muscles, including your abs.

Some of the benefits of strength training are as follows:

  • Improves blood flow
  • Provides more strength and energy over time
  • Accelerated growth of your muscle mass
  • Lowers your fat percentage over time because muscles burn more calories
  • Improved metabolism

All of these positive effects of strength training help you get a visible washboard!

So, unfortunately, there is no shortcut to beautiful abs, and you will have to work physically for it!

Nutrition

In addition, of course, nutrition is also critical.

You mustn’t take in too many calories because you have nothing to gain from big abs if there is a layer of fat in front of them that ensures no one can see your underlying abs.

You also need to have the right building blocks for muscle in your body, with protein being essential.

However, other building blocks, such as iron, are also important, so don’t rely solely on protein shakes and focus on a balanced diet packed with fiber, vegetables, and fruit.

Do ab muscle stimulators really work to build muscle? Conclusion

Unfortunately, abdominal muscle stimulator belts won’t do all that much to get you that six-pack.

However, they are useful, but only when used with the right nutrition and physical training.

If there were a quick fix, no one would go to the gym!

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About Heather Campbell

As a nutritionist, my field of specialization is science-based nutritional advice but more importantly, it is my goal to share capturing and inspiring stories, examples and solutions which can help plus-size individuals overcome their specific difficulties. Read More