ab belts....do they work?

[the.dr]

hi, on a recent episode of hollyoaks i saw lee hunter wearing an ab belt whilst in bed. my friend who is a pro rugby player has told me they tone the muscle but dont strengthn the ligiamnets therefore when using the new muslce power to its full you can tear the liagaments because they havent been stregthened...has anyone used one and what were the results like??

[Loosehead]

Your friend is correct, they use electricity to contract the muscle. They have very little effect on actually building as the muscle needs to be worked, ie broken down and the fibres replaced stronger and bigger. This process also strengthens all the periphery, I.e ligaments, tendons even the bones themselves. That can only be done with reistance training, I too am a rugby player, not pro though! There are no short cuts!

[the.dr]

as far as results are you aware, of what they are like?

[Loosehead]

Well I can't see how you can build strength and mass simply by having the muscles artificially invoked. The process requires the muscle to be strained to failure and then suffucient time allowed for recovery so that the body replaces the fibres but a bit bigger and more of them. I can't see how and electrical contraction can acheive this. I have never heard of anyone acheiving the desired results with these devices.