Electronic zapper machines for making muscle

[DaN]

So guys..

 

Naturally I am quite slim, & have a crazy metabolism so that I can eat soooo much food & not gain weight.It sounds great but its too extreme!

 

Recently I have been eating 4000 calories a day & weight training & I am gaining considerable muscle.To put this in perspective I have gained 14 llbs since I joined this forum & became fully vegan in only 3-4 months (if anyone wants to know specifics of diet or training just gimme a shout)

 

I have however started to gain a little fat around the belly.Its only small, like you cant see it when I stand up but if I sit it rolls a little over the trouser.To be honest I have never had an ounce of fat in my life & I dont like it!!!

 

I tried cutting down my calorie intake but if I do that I dont gain strength as much as I do with the 4000 calories plan.

 

So I know of these machines in shops that are supposed to attach with little sucker pads onto your body, & they zap your fat with electricity & turn it into muscle.My six pack which I had up until 3 months ago is now hidden by the fat.Would the machine work at toning the fat a little & making it a bit more muscle?

 

Would especially love advice from anyone who has got, used or come in contact with these machines.They are relatively cheap but do they work at all????????

[medman]

Those machines are essentially useless. They advertise that they contact your muscles without you putting in any effort (true), and that this leads to muscle tone and fat loss (false).

 

First off, in terms of fat loss, it will spend even less energy than if you just flexed your abs on your own. The only way to affect fat is to reduce the calories in:calories out ratio. Cardio is the easiest way to increase the "calories out" part, though any muscle contraction (such as weights or ab workouts) will burn energy, and eating less is obviously the only way to reduce the "calories in" part. You mentioned that you don't make as much strength progress on lower-calorie diets. That seems to be true for most people - and that's why so many people go through bulking/cutting cycles. Some people manage to find the perfect balance for their body in order to put on muscle without any fat, but not everyone.

 

The reason that those electrical machines don't actually do anything for a muscle is that muscle tone is a neurological phenomenon - the more you use a muscle, the more your brain is sending signals through the motor neurons that innervate that muscle. So you're also "exercising" the motor neurons - and when you do this, they learn to fire more often ("firing tonically") at rest, giving the muscle "tone" as it ends up in a more contracted state at rest. These machines stimulate the muscle directly, leaving out the motor neuron part of the equation. So even though the muscle is contracting (and burning a tiny bit of energy), the motor neuron does not become conditioned to fire more often, and so the muscle will not develop more tone. Contracting the muscles on your own (isometrically or through any of the various exercises), on the other hand, will develop tone.

[liftandcode]

Those machines are essentially useless. They advertise that they contact your muscles without you putting in any effort (true), and that this leads to muscle tone and fat loss (false).

 

First off, in terms of fat loss, it will spend even less energy than if you just flexed your abs on your own. The only way to affect fat is to reduce the calories in:calories out ratio. Cardio is the easiest way to increase the "calories out" part, though any muscle contraction (such as weights or ab workouts) will burn energy, and eating less is obviously the only way to reduce the "calories in" part. You mentioned that you don't make as much strength progress on lower-calorie diets. That seems to be true for most people - and that's why so many people go through bulking/cutting cycles. Some people manage to find the perfect balance for their body in order to put on muscle without any fat, but not everyone.

 

The reason that those electrical machines don't actually do anything for a muscle is that muscle tone is a neurological phenomenon - the more you use a muscle, the more your brain is sending signals through the motor neurons that innervate that muscle. So you're also "exercising" the motor neurons - and when you do this, they learn to fire more often ("firing tonically") at rest, giving the muscle "tone" as it ends up in a more contracted state at rest. These machines stimulate the muscle directly, leaving out the motor neuron part of the equation. So even though the muscle is contracting (and burning a tiny bit of energy), the motor neuron does not become conditioned to fire more often, and so the muscle will not develop more tone. Contracting the muscles on your own (isometrically or through any of the various exercises), on the other hand, will develop tone.

 

Good Answer! I was just going to say don't buy that crap. They are completely worthless pieces of junk sold by snakeoil salesmen. I thoroughly believe anyone who tries to sell you one of those should be kicked squarely in the nuts, or associated female genitalia!

[hilary wright]

Dan, let me know if you get one . . . I've got a bridge for sale.

[VeganEssentials]

Dan, let me know if you get one . . . I've got a bridge for sale.

 

Heh, I got a chuckle from that one.

 

Yeah, those machines are pure rubbish for doing anything useful. They may have a purpose to help prevent atrophy when someone is immobilized and cannot do physical activity (at least, that's what I've heard the one fair use may be), but as far as it actually building muscle without working out, if it were remotely true, every lazy person who wanted to look good without the effort would be strapped into one of those things nightly.

 

You could get the same effect for free by rotating muscle contractions of various body parts while sitting at your computer typing. Steer clear of anything that ever promises high returns with little to no physical work.

[zinzen]

Say what you will about those machines, all I know is bruce lee used them constantly when he wasnt working out or kicking ass so...

[Octopussoir]

They are used everyday in Physical Therapy. Dont knock it until youve rocked it.

[VeganEssentials]

Say what you will about those machines, all I know is bruce lee used them constantly when he wasnt working out or kicking ass so...

 

Which would be good for the machines, if Bruce didn't have an insane work ethic for massive amounts of time training physically, not to mention I'd read an interesting article that he actually did full-body weight workouts as well

 

Like I said, for things where you can't train (e.g. physical therapy) they certainly can have use. However, for one who wants to gain muscle and strength without having to train physically to get rsults, it's like flushing $500 down the toilet.

[zinzen]

Lazy people will always try something.

I love bruce lee

[Marcina]

I used those things in physical therapy too. It's good for helping muscle tissue grow a little if you're too injured to use it yourself. I had whiplash and it helped strengthen my neck muscles. As far as real muscle building goes though, I don't think they are very useful.

[medman]

Those are good points. They have their PT uses. I just meant they're useless for DaN's purposes - for fitness in a healthy individual.

[Richard]

I heard about Bruce Lee using them, but to be fair, that's just one case, and we don't know what he would have looked like if he hadn't done it. Maybe it really didn't have much of an effect on him? I think you have to look at large scale results before coming to a conclusion on it; I don't know anything about it so I don't have an opinion on the things, except that they look uncomfortable to use!

[HCPinGviini]

-- except that they look uncomfortable to use!

My friend tried once and said the same thing too. And I could agree with you on this one too, eventhough i haven't used one myself.

[DV]

If they REALLY worked than you wouldn't see muscle wasting in quadriplegics, paraplegics and paralyzed stroke patients. When you consider that people in physical therapy are generally engaging in multiple therapies and are in a temporary healing situation, it's difficult to contribute their progress to any one therapy.

 

On the other hand, I paid a lot of money years ago to use this therapy at a spa for a week. It wasn't comfortable, despite the yummy smelling clay wrap that accompanied it. However, I lost inches!!! Of course, the woman who measured me before the therapy held the measuring tape a lot looser than she did after the therapy. But my pants still fit the same.

[veganeatingout]

I generally don't trust anything I've seen an infomercial for.

[gfxlonghorn]

Say what you will about those machines, all I know is bruce lee used them constantly when he wasnt working out or kicking ass so...

Now Kimbo Slice doesn't use them.. 1 on 1.. for the battle of the stupid ab belts.

[DaN]

Good responses, thanks all.

 

It sounds like I should volunteer to be the guinia pig.I can get one on 30 days return policy.I might get it, zap my belly for 29 days, & see what happens.

 

I know I have a killer six pack under my small layer of fat (I can do literally hundereds of situps & it was there before my current high calorie diet)

 

So if the thing works, out they will come! If not at all, I will let you all know.

 

Dan, let me know if you get one . . . I've got a bridge for sale.

 

Explain.....