Slendertone Men's Flex Abdominal Toning System Belt

I was so excited to get this set, and I also purchased the thigh and bottom shorts. Both were such a dissapointment. I used each one daily, sometimes twice a day, and it did absolutely nothing as far as toning, however, I did feel quite energized afterwards. The shorts we also very difficult to put on and remove. I was surprisingly pleased with how long the stick on gel pads lasted though.

This is a review of the model here: Slendertone Gymbody Abs Belt - Mens, a previous version. I was skeptical when I decided to try this product, but yes, it works. Read on, only if you're willing to take a little bit more medical detail than you might like. I ordered the unit when I weighed about 195. I was 52, and 6'3", so not overweight, but not fat-less either. I exercised fairly regularly, 3-4 times a week, including 50 crunches, and a number of other abdominal exercises, along with light weights. I used the Slendertone for a few months, and then learned I had cancer. About a month after the diagnosis, I had to have a stomach tube or PEG implanted for feeding, at the same time I had my port installed for chemo. This is normally a one-hour general anesthesia procedure. Three hours later, they got done. Even under general, I distinctly recall being "hammered" on and hearing my surgeon yell at me to relax. Later, my wife told me that my surgeon said to her: "Your husband has the ab muscles of a 20 year old." All due to the Slendertone? Probably not, but I know it helped. As soon as I got my PEG removed two weeks ago, I started using it again. I dropped 35 pounds during treatment, and don't have anywhere near the energy I used to have [but I will get it back], but the Slendertone I can start using right away, even though my exercise routine is still very light. And I'll admit that the electrical sensations actually feel okay.

I saw there is a new Flex Belt out, and although the website is unclear, it appears to be a Slendertone product, retail priced at 199. It uses a rechargeable battery pack [definite improvement] with finer and wider ranging control [another], and the stim unit on the front is less bulky [biggest current drawback]. It claims to be the first FDA-approved class II medical devices for EMS muscle stimulation. Based on my experience so far, I just may have to try it.

if you're considering these, my recommendation is to invest your money elsewhere.
my belt size is ~31 (32 is too big & 30 is a little small) & i'm a fairly active person with a lot of walking & healthy eater. i bought it after extensive review/research and knowing its limitation. but since i drive a lot, i go "what the heck"..... yet after 30 days of INTENSE use (max setting at 99, 2-3 hours / day. 4-6 days / week), i have noted minimal improvement in my abdomen musculature. so i don't know if these are as good as the claim. my take is to limit your calorie intake & increase daily physical activity (30+ min /day, until sweating) is much more cost effective than these, especially considering the cost of the replacement pads. when you exercise, you use whole lot more muscle mass, instead of only the ones stimulated by this belt.

Slendertone Men's Flex Abdominal Toning System Belt

If you're going to go high tech, understand what it is you're working with!

I'm writing this, becuase this product derserves a fair representation and some of the reveiws are very misleading.

I have been using this belt for a long time and also know a bit about the technology in relation to using a tens unit as well as having a decent understanding of the medical device industry.

This is not a cheap product and everything that is utilized in the manufacture of the product is in line with the grade of the tens unit I use that was made by a medical device manufacture and regulated by the FDA and recieved through insurance - Not some cheap little unit bought from a TV add. The slendertone is not cheap and it's not easy to muck up. The following items are the areas that I felt were important to review and share for consumer information.

1. The comments about the pads and how they don't stay on the belt are extremely misleading. These pads are extremely sticky; they stick perfectly fine and stay on. Continuously re-adjusting the pads on the belt will cause them to lose their adhesive. So if you're taking them on and off the belt continuously, they are of course going to lose their adhesive affect and fall off. Avoid taking them on an off and constantly re-adjusting them and you'll find they will stick just fine. Tip: The guidelines on the belt are for a standard waist size. Everyone's measurements vary, so don't necessarily go with the guidelines on the belt. Hold the belt up and identify the best positioning based on where your muscles are that you need to work out for your waist and postion the guides accordingly. You can use various adhevsives on the protective covers to figure out positioning that will work for your body.

2. The covers that are used to protect the surface of the gel that comes into contact with your skin work perfectly fine as well and are not cheap. Yes they could be improved upon, but they really don't differ from the medical grade products sold on the market. Improvements could occur with all the products. It would be beneficial for the covers to be a bit more flexible so that the cover adheres with even the slightest bend to prevent the gels from losing that valuable moisture. The more of us that write into the company about requesting this improvement, the more apt the company is in making it. Be a good consumer and do so please. Tip: To avoid moisture loss, continue to place the protective cover on the gel after use and then put the belt in a platic bag and then put the entire belt in your carrier. The plastic bag will add another barrier to keep out the drying air that will dehydrate the gel and cut down on it's adhevise properties.

3. If you're getting shocked, your pads are too old or dirty. The key is to keep them clean and moist and change them when they need changing.

4. As far as batteries go, the device is putting off a high electrical current and somehow that current has to be generated by something which is where the batteries come into play. It's not very convenient to be plugged into a wall with a cord now is it. Yes, a high electrical current is going to zap the energy out of a battery: This is why pacemakers and other devices like those use high buck specialized lithium batteries that provide longevity. So, if you want to use a device like this ab belt that does work, well then be smart about how you generate the energy. Don't buy cheap batteries. I'm not sure if lithium batteries can be used in this device, but it may be worth asking the manufacturer about that. Lithium batteries could be an expensive venture though. I personally use duracel coppertops and the energizer bunny ones at this moment; However, I'm looking for a good rechargable system that I can utilize. I've done that before with other gadgets and it's worked wonderfully. I've misplaced my charger though and now need to get a new one.

5. When it comes to changing batteries, yes that is not the easiest, but it is not over the top difficult either - You might use a swear word or two if you have large fingers, but changing the batteries takes seconds. We're so impatient these days that if something takes over a minute, we fall apart. If you're hands are too big to manuever, get someone with small hands to do it for you.

6. Mold - I would never recommend wearing this for physical activity in which you are heavily sweating. You body will deposit all the nasty stuff from your body which in turn could cause the gels to mold. The gels to remove lose skin from your body becuase they are sticky. So if you're not very tidy when you use the product, whatever particulates you transfer to the gels from your body could from your body could also mold.

Bottomline, the belt works and it is not difficult to use. It's not a shortcut and you can't shortcut with it. This is a great device for folks that have physical challenges and perhaps find regular exercise more difficult. Pair this up with some sort of exercise, good eating habits and you will get great results. Take care of it; store it properly and keep the gels clean. Change the gels when they don't seem to be generating consistent sensations. Be consistent with your use. Be smart about how to use batteries for high tech devices. The battery industry is big business. Let the battery companies know you want stronger and better batteries that last longer and they will continue to work on improving their product. Be a good consumer by telling companies what works about their product and what does not. In the meantime, enjoy that slim waste you've worked so hard to get!

I've been using my Slendertone intensively and faithfully for a full year simply because it not only absolutely works it actually offers incremental development over a long period of time with dedicated use.

I haven't done a single situp at least four years prior, but after a year of Slendertone sessions exclusively, my abs have never looked better now at 56, including a decade ago of focused ab training. Nothing extraordinary, except for me.

The first weeks use showed the promise of helping tighten a sagging midsection as expected. But the current state of slowly, but surely revealing individual ab muscle segments, not yet enough to declare "six pack," but at least giving glimpses, was never imagined.

Enough to see continous use an absolute benefit and promise of results driving desire to keep intensity focused impossible to imagine any passive exercise device could offer.

I suggest the Slendertone System or Flex Pro for their highly advanced power output and particularly for the intensive training sessions programmed. Just like all exercise, increasing intensity over time gives results potential missing in the lower-end belts.

I've done hundreds of sessions and during found the secrets to unleash the short pads life-cycles. Do read the long description how-to in the Slendertone single pad set review comments. Enjoy!