For anyone who is looking for a recent review of this product by an individual who will offer honest, educated, and rational input, then please continue reading.
Before I begin, I would like to share I am a 5"10 male, 175 pound @ 12% body fat, with six days a week of perfect eating habits (need my one cheat day) and 4-5 days a week of cardio/HITT training. I have a flat stomach, and when I *flex* my stomach, muscles show, but not without flexing them. (Fast Forward 60 days)
Believe it or not, I purchased 1 of these units 6 years ago, used it 7 days a week, (2) 30 minute sessions a day for 90 days, and I my abs were stronger, and toned, but still I could not see a 6 pack (185LB). Previous years ago, I used this belt with a poor diet, with perfect exercise. (I know odd combination?)
I decieded to purchase a newer model, the Flex Pro and begin my self tests.
I''d like to advise everyone how to use this device correctly.
I''ve been using EMS/Tens units for years, and after learning the proper techniques, I can offer the following advice.
#1. Wipe your sides, and stomach off with alcohol swabs to rid your body of dirt, oils, and other oils.
#2. Unless your using electrode gel (Spectra 360 Gel $5.50 each on amazon), you are wasting your time on the product. Because this is *SO IMPORTANT* you are wasting your money, unless you invest in electrode gel, one bottle of 8.5oz gel will last you 2-3 months using the belt 7 days a week, applying generous amounts of gel.
Using electrode gel on your stomach & the pads, will make the 80 settings feel twice as strong as the 99 setting without the gel. I''m using the same belt as all of you, on 99 setting with the gel I feel my entire stomach contract, and send extremely strong shocks of ems into my stomach, to the point where I feel like I''m going to fall over. (Please do not put on 99 right away when using electrode gel, it makes the product a night and day difference.)
*This greatly increases the sensation of your pad not working in the stomach area.
#3. Please clean your gel pads with rubbing alcohol or hand santizer, & clean your plastic covers with windex; pads will be able to be used for 60-90+ days doing this.
#4. Most importantly, the positioning of the belt itself. I personally find the tighter the better. Set the belt to your tolerable level, meaning where it could be thought of as enjoyable (75 in my case). Place the belt higher on your stomach at first. Ask your honestly, do I feel stimulation on the left, center, and right of the pads? If you don''t, during the rest phases (or pause the unit) and slightly pull the belt left, or right (with gel, the belt will easily slide and let you re-position without ruining the pads) until you feel proper stimulation on all 3 pads. Pause the belt, lower the belt to around medium level on your stomach, see how it feels, and lastly lower the belt on your lower abs/stomach and see how it feels. If you feel a sensation in your legs, raise the belt higher and slide or slightly left or right.
Everyone is different, I prefer to wear my belt tight, and keep it higher on my stomach (I would say take your belt off, and attempt to line up the center pad so your navel is in the middle, then move it up an ich or two, that is my preference).
The moment everyone was waiting for.
*****
60 days later (I will update this thread at 90 days & 120 days again). I''m actually at 13% Body-fat, and moved up to 177LB (Doing more weights + creatine), but I have a "V Cut" in my abs, where you can see your lower abs without flexing, my stomach is flat, tight, and I can see very noticeable definition in my entire abdominal area.
I haven''t done any AB/stomach exercises in my training routine, but I honestly do 3 days a week of 30-45min on the elliptical machine. (I''ve been using this maching for years though, so nothing changed there).
I can say this belt has increased the overall appearance of my abs, the strength of my entire core; I''m finding it easier to do other exercises which utilize my core to assist in the completion of the exercise.
Hopefully both men, and women alike enjoyed this detailed review, and it either encouraged you, or discouraged you to purchase the product bassed on your needs.
If you are within 5-10 Pounds of your goal weight, purchase this product, otherwise you won"t see physical results of the belt working.
If you are over 10 pounds of your goal weight, I''d still suggest this belt just for the fact that it will strengthen your core, and help your overall day to day walking posture; having a stronger core (even without being able to see stomach muscles) is very important in daily life.
Enjoy,
Thoughts, or questions will be answered!
-K-
Before I bought this item, I kept seeing people complain that the pads wore out so quickly. I saw some people that said that they drenched the pads in rubbing alcohol to make them last longer. Others online recommended using window cleaner after each use. And still others said to use water based lubricant. I tried the rubbing alcohol and window cleaner and that didn''t really work well because if you were using a towel to apply the stuff to the pads, the towel would stick and leave residue on the pads. The water based lubricants would probably be too messy. After thinking about it some more, I came up with the perfect solution. I found something that combines all the things everyone else had recommended (or elements of each) in a nice, none messy solution... so if you want to keep your slendertone pads working for a very, very long time, just use PURELL (OR ANY ALCOHOL BASED HAND SANITIZER) after each use. Put a couple drops on there, rub it on the pad to cover the surface and then wipe off the excess or just let it dry. No dripping mess, no towels sticking to the pads and no mess on you either. Works like a charm and the pads become sticky and work like new each time. I haven''t had to replace any of my pads in months and months.
Buy Slendertone Flex Pro Abdominal Muscle Toner Now
As a lifetime athlete who in recent years has gotten too busy for doing sports every day as I have in the past, this is a good addition to my various methods of dealing with the change in lifestyle.
I used to go cycling every day and do other outdoor sports on occassion, but my move to NYC five years ago and into corporate America has turned me into your typical weekend warrior. Just as the atrophy of office life was what first turned me into a serious athlete when I was 20, I am inspired at 41 to once again try new things to keep myself in shape--and enjoying it. Most recently these new things include an indoor trainer that I can use with my roadbike to pedal out the miles on weekday evenings, and this belt to work those muscles that cycling does not.
No real CON, but a few points I want to make:
I''m actually taking a star away for the instructions; you pretty much have to figure out how you want to incorporate this thing into your physical training on your own. For the price, they could include an adaquate training guide written by an expert. Perhaps someone at Amazon could suggest a relevant book.
The lack of adaquate instructions caused me to do the couch potato mistake of using the belt while slouched on the sofa in front of the TV and the uneven training gave me a bit of back pain for a week. It wasn''t a big deal though.
Perhaps coincidental, but I started pooping like a newborn when I started using this belt.
You should be careful not to overdue it at first unless you already are used to working your abdominal muscles on a regular basis. The suggested levels and use times are a pretty good guide--just don''t exceed them.
I was blown away by how much power three AA batteries were able to put out, but maybe it really doesn''t take that much power. In any case, the power is more than adaquate.
DO NOT attempt to move the belt while it''s turned on because you will literally be in for a shock. It''s amazingly strong when the current goes through your fingertips.
BOTTOM LINE: This belt is very effective. My only caviat is that you should look for some kind of guide as to how to use it for maximum effectiveness and without causing yourself undue discomfort or pain.
Read Best Reviews of Slendertone Flex Pro Abdominal Muscle Toner Here
COMMON MISCONCEPTION:
Most people that will buy this item will think they can strap it on and they''ll get a 6 pack in a few weeks. WRONG, think of this item as a muscle TONER. it will not work if you flaps of fat on your stomach, you will need to clean up your diet first (less fat and sugar). this item is MOST EFFECTIVE ON PEOPLE WITH VERY LITTLE STOMACH FAT, and is looking to shape up the core muscle so it turns into six pack.
FIRST TIME SETTING:
wait about 10mins after the last time you drank some liquid (this will lower the shock factor and give you a more accurate feeling on the setting). for first timers i would suggest setting it to level 20/20 for the first 20mins. this setting will help your body slowly get used to electric current, and your muscle warm up to the way it contracts. the last thing you wanna do is be egotistical and turn the setting to 50 and shock your muscles. after the first 20mins, rest for about 5mins. then start it up again, but this time, do level 25/25. i recommend doing 2-3 20-25 min session every time you use it. keep increasing the setting by increments of 5 every session until you reach your limit. remember this is not about pain, when you use this, try to find the setting where you can feel your core muscles contracting, try to find that same contracting feeling as you get when you do crunches. this is the setting you want to achieve. it might take you a week or 2 to get to this setting. but slow increments is the key. also the more fat you have around your stomach, the higher your initial setting will need to be.
KEEPING THE STICKY PADS CLEAN AND STICKY:
this item comes with 3 sticky pads. if you read some of these reviews you will see people complaining they have to replace the pads after a couple of weeks. this is because they dont keep the pads clean or their body clean. first clean your stomach area with alcohol and cotton pads. make sure there''s no oil or dirt or any loose hair before each use. the pad is like a piece of tape, it''ll lose it''s adhesive when more and more dirt gets on the pad. so you want to clean the pads out of dirt after every use. to do this you need some water based hand sanitizer (90% of hand sanitizers are water base) and paper towel. put some hand sanitizer on the pad wipe it off with a folded paper towel (folded to about the thickness of your finger). spread the hand sanitizer all over the sticky pad and carefully wipe all the dirt and residue off. make sure you dont touch the paper towel on the part that doesnt have the hand sanitizer or it''ll stick. Clean the plastic cover with windex and make sure it doesnt have any dust or finger print (oil residue). try to remember and keep the same side of the plastic that goes on the sticky pad.
if you do this, your sticky pad will last for months to even a year.
CLEAN UP YOUR DIET:
like i said above, you have to clean up your diet. this thing wont work if you have layers and layers of fat on top of your core muscles. situps wont get rid of those either. but clean diet will. start by looking at everything you eat and make sure you eat food that are low on SUGAR, FAT, CALORIES. it''ll take more than a $80 item to get six pack abs. this item WILL SHAPE YOUR CORE MUSCLES TO SIX PACK. you just gotta get rid of the flabs of fat hiding it.
DO SOMETHING ELSE WHILE USING IT:
especially during your first times using this item. its best if you watch tv or read a book or surf the web or whatever, while having this belt on. if you do nothing and focus on what the belt is doing, your body is actually automatically trying to go against the contraction. in other words. if you''re looking at youyr stomach while you''re doing this, your brain automatically tells you to fight whatever this machine is doing to your body. so this item is trying to contract your muscles but you''re flexing it subconciously, thus making the belt less effective. it''s best if you sit down and relax and think about something else other than what this machine is doing to your body. play some games on your cell phone or something.
please mark this review as helpful if it helped you make your decision. so that it can show up in the front and have it help others as well. thanks.
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Getting my abs to look like a chiseled model has always been one the hardest things for me to achieve. After years of work, I know the only true way to make that happen is exercise and a GOOD DIET... you have to remove the weight/fat to get the abs to show. Otherwise, you are just wasting your time exercising your abs.
That being said,after a month of use, I truly feel that this product has helped improve the look of my abs. I have kept the same diet and continued my same workout routines, and simply added use of the Slendertone to about 40 mins every other day. A really difficult spot for me is the obliques. I truly believe the use of the Slendertone has helped tighten up my obliques to help accentuate more of a V-shape through my midsection.
I should also state that this is the third elctro-stimulation ab product I have used. Compared to the other two this is much better. The main thing that sets this apart is the use of Gel pads. Both of the other two devices required a liquid Gel that you put on the electrodes. With both of those products I found myself getting tiny little abrasions where the electrodes touch my skin... not good! With the slender tone, the fit is great and the gel pads stay snug against your body, which eliminates the abrasions.
In summary, if you are pretty avid athlete that has trouble getting those abs to show, give this a try it will probably help. But make sure you aren''t ruinging all of your effort by eating to much fatty foods. If you are trying to lose weight, don''t waste your time with this. Get yourself to the gym and work hard, eat well, and you''ll see results on your own.
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I was able to purchase this a month before it was released to the general public through a friend who is a Beachbody coach. Perhaps it''s because I had such high expectations for the Master Series or perhaps it''s because I had been waiting over two years for this new set to come out, but, regardless of the reason, I''ve found that it doesn''t have the same "magic" to it that the original Brazil Butt Lift set has. For several reasons, which I''ll explain below, I''d give it 3 1/2 stars.
