Abtronic - The Future of Fitness = ) (1 Viewer)

[David Nguyen]

I just had to know more about this after wasting half an hour of my life watching the Abtronic infomercial on tv. Has anybody else heard about this? It sends some sort of signal to your body to contract your muscles over and over again, simulating a real workout, and is supposed to burn away fat while building muscle.
Sounds too good to be true, you say?
http://www.abtronic.net/index.html
Does this actually work? I remember seeing ads for places that used to do the same thing, but on a larger scale, and of course, for more money. Sounds like a scam to me, as most infomercials are, but if it works, sign me up! Hehe...

 

[Kevin T]

i saw that infomercial as well. never used the product before but as you said it sounds too good to be true. the skeptic in me serious doubts the claims made by abtronic but there is that one glimmer of hope in the back of my mind that cheers "a six pack without situps...yeah!"
kevin t

 

[CRyan]

These "systems" have been advertised in the back of workout magazines since the conception of said magazines. Honestly I am surprised they only showed up in infomercials recently.
Have you also seen the "electronic facelift" using the same "technology"?
Your muscles work by using the electric potential between the outside and inside of the muscle cell or fiber. Sodium and potassium channels open and close allowing a change in potential to propagate down a nerve fiber and "into" a muscle cell. A change in calcium concentration within the muscle cell allows your muscles kinetic proteins to interact and contract.
Your body NEVER creates more muscle cells or fibers after birth. Muscles get bigger simply by increasing the number of kinetic proteins within the muscle cell. Your muscles get bigger by "tearing" those proteins making your body replace and add additional protein. You accomplish this by working out.
An electric stimulus used to artificially change the calcium concentration in and around the muscle fiber does nothing in the way of increasing muscle mass by making the body create more kinetic protein. Yeah, they contract, but only because calcium is being allowed in and out of the muscle cell.
Oh, but what about decreasing the fat content around said muscle tissue to help create the ripped look - even if it does nothing for the muscle itself? Your body removes fat by a transportation process using HDL, LDL, VHDL etc using the liver as a packaging and un-packaging plant. Your body does this based upon caloric input versus caloric output. Meaning, you could work out for five hours a day burning up to 2,000 kcal, but if you pig out on cake all day and take in 2,001 kcal, you have lost nothing.
This device is not making you do any work as far as your body is concerned. Your heart rate is not elevated, blood is not being moved any more rapidly, and you are not expending any additional calories (nothing worth counting).
Simply put - no they do not work.
C. Ryan
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http://www.elitestoragedesigns.com/RyanOAR.bmp

 

[Jim_F]

I'm sure these devices will give astonishing results if you use them exactly as directed, while eating less and exercising more.
Or if you skip using them entirely, and just do the last two things.
[Edited last by Jim_F on October 16, 2001 at 04:19 AM]

 

[Jay H]

Is that the "Hi, I'm Jacinta" commercial that's all over DishNetwork????

Damm I hate that commercial, the product is something what you describe, uses electrical current to contract muscles and stuff. And the commercial is sooo annoying. Like Kevin T says, I don't think anything beats crunches, situps and stuff. And the benefit is that they are free, the Abthingamabobs aren't!
"I highly recommend"... Aarrrrgghhh not again!
jay
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HUGBEES!
Certified HTF bike nut and mayor of
Obscuria.

 

[BrianW]

What CRyan said. This technology is useful in reducing muscle atrophy in comatose patients, in providing some relief from chronic back pain, and even in slowing the advance of progressive scoliosis. But without resistance, you’re not getting a workout by any definition of the word. This is definitely a bogus application of this technology.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

But hey, if you use the FREE diet pills that come with them, you'll lose up to 2 inches!

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Link Removed | Burt Lancaster is Link Removed | dOc

 

[Dennis Reno]

Thanks for the explanation! I've been wondering how the heck it could possibly work.
One more question - what about the diet "stuff" that is advertised on the radio? Local radio personalities talk about how they lost XX lbs by simply taking a couple spoonfuls of "Magic Formula X" before bedtime. No other dieting, no excercise required. It seems waaaay to good to be true, but one thing sticks out - all require you to stop eating for several hours before you go to bed. Could this crap work simply by having people stop stuffing their face for a couple of hours in the evening? Just curious!

 

[Holadem]

I am no expert, but one thing I do know and have read several times is this: You will NOT lose weight on your stomach by only targetting your abs. Your abs might get stronger, but they will still be buried under that layer of fat. The only way to lose weight in your midsection or anywhere else for that matter is to exercise you whole fecking body i.e. running, swimming, biking, whatever...
--
Holadem

 

[Deane Johnson]

Let's take the question a step further.
Has anyone ever seen anything on an infomercial that did what they claim it would? I haven't.
You can pretty much discount anything offered in an informercial, by a telemarketer, or with spam email.
These things are all designed to work on the weak minded.
Deane

 

[MikeM]

Wow, CRyan, you go boy! That was a great explanation about these systems. Thanks for the info!
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[MickeS]

Has anyone ever seen anything on an infomercial that did what they claim it would?

Yes, one thing: Pro-Activ skin care products. Works exactly like they say. I was amazed.
Too bad it's the only infomercial product I've ever seen work... it gives Pro-Activ a bad name.
/Mike

 

[David Nguyen]

Aw, you guys just had to go and crush my dreams of being a ripped stud. Haha!
Anyway, Bodysolutions is the elixir thing that you and I keep hearing about on the radio Dennis. Probably snake oil, like everything else.

 

[CRyan]

No problem Mike. I really enjoy discounting infomercials. It is a hobby. Now, I guess that makes me a biased viewer, but I can't help it when it comes to infomercials. However, I would never discount something I know nothing about!
The herbal extratcs and elixers for weight loss can actually help you lose weight. However, many of the elixers are nothing more than a diuretic. You lose water weight and that is it. Others depend on stimulants such as ephedrine and caffeine - horribly bad for you. They basically work by increasing heart rate. Ugh. Of course none of these work in the long term.
I do wish that abtronic system worked!
Oh well,
C. Ryan
....and one more thing regarding my post above for those that want to know. Those kinetic proteins are in general called Myosin (thick filaments) and Actin (thin filaments).
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http://www.elitestoragedesigns.com/RyanOAR.bmp

 

[ikiru]

Sorry to revive a dead topic, but I injured myself playing volleyball and my main focus of late has been weight training and injury prevention. Losing weight is an ultimate goal for me since jumping would be easier if I didnt have as much weight to anchor me down. Anyway, I came across a lot of miracle products in my journey to get started. What gets me about all these products, like the abtronic and the bowflex, is that the models who are promoting the products did not get that way using that product. Nothing beats hard work and dicipline.
About body solutions... The most important part of the body solutions program is getting the user on good eating habits. The key is going to bed on an empty stomach. This means that you are going to be hungry in the morning, thus eating a bigger breakfast...which is a healthier thing anyway. What this program does is to force the dieter to eat smarter and give the body an opportunity to use the calories during the day, rather than storing them at night.
Another aspect in any lose weight program is water. Most people do not drink enough water and their bodies store water like camels. When your body is not properly hydrated, it goes into emergency mode and stores any last drop of water it can. By rehydrating, eventually your body will release the stored water and you will start to lose weight. The big ingredients in a lot of diet pills is caffeine. Caffeine is a diuretic and forces water out of your system. Water weight gain can be easily as much as 5-10 pounds. But consider the tradeoff. Your body is mostly water and it needs water to function correctly, especially in weight management. www.water.com has a lot of good information.
What it comes to is this. There are no good shortcuts outside of dicipline and hard work. Your money is best spent on a gym membership and dietary suppliments over wonder products and snake oil.
-ikiru

 

[Scott Hayes]

I wonder if you could rewire the abtronics and hook them up to an amp and use them in the same way you would a bass shaker. Now that would make for an interesting home theater experiance!

 

[Ryan Wright]

Yes, one thing: Pro-Activ skin care products. Works exactly like they say. I was amazed.

Not for me. Didn't work at all. I went back to using plain old soap all over my face in the shower and it mostly solved the problem.

 

[DaveF]

I wonder if you could rewire the abtronics and hook them up to an amp and use them in the same way you would a bass shaker.

Be careful! If you plug them in wrong, you'll reverse the signal polarity, thus causing them to work backwards. You and your guests will *gain* weight, rather than losing it, while watching movies!!!

 

[David Susilo]

I'm on a different diet right now. Because of my current physical condition, I can not exercise. Hwever, I'm losing inches while eating the exact same things I eat before I was on this diet.

I separate carbohydrates from protein.

In the past 3 weeks, I've lost 3 inches and 8 pounds just by doing so. No exercise at all. People in the office can even see the difference although they see me everyday.

I'm 5'10" and used to weigh 193lbs. Now I'm 185lbs.

One problem though, I can't wear any of my belts anymore and all my pants are becoming baggy pants.

 

[Eve T]

I too saw this infomercial and thought to myself there is no way on earth that this thing works. I wish it did though, I'm on my way to the gym and sometimes it's hard to get motivated to go, I would much rather read post on HTF while getting that tight tummy .
I have found that drinking lots of water and staying with a regular fitness program works wonders. I never would drink water, I hated it and stuck mostly to diet soda's, what I didn't realize is that soda contains high amounts of sodium which causes for a lot of water retention. I was amazed at how quickly you can lose pounds with water, a sensible diet, and exercize. What's more is the good feeling you get when you leave the gym knowing that you worked hard and did something good for your body....now if I could only quit smoking :b
Peace
Eve