Although physical exercise is the standard practice of building and toning muscles, regular workouts require time and effort. Manufacturers of various fitness devices promote their products as tools that help tone your body and increase your muscular strength. The Contour Sculpting System is an electronic muscle stimulator designed to target and tone abdominal muscles.
Muscles
Your muscles consist of many small fibers. Resistance training, such as weight lifting, tones and builds new muscle fibers, making your muscles denser. Performing resistance exercise causes small tears within the worked muscles. Toning and strengthening occurs in response to this damage, as your body lays down new tissue to repair minuscule tears.
Electronic Muscle Toners
Electronic stimulation devices, usually in the form of belts or straps, produce currents of electricity that cause muscle to contract. Originally developed as a medical device, these toners can help individuals with muscle spasms, decreased range of motion and muscle atrophy regain their strength and muscle tone. The electronic toning devices create muscle contractions by causing ion currents to flow through cellular membranes, producing a twitching movement within the muscle fibers. Some manufacturers of electronic muscle toners market these devices as an alternative to resistance training.
Contour Sculpting System
Contour is the brand name for one company that markets electronic muscle toners. According to the company's website, their device uses higher frequencies than the therapeutic units intended for rehabilitative purposes. This system uses a belt that produces electrical impulses, creating muscle contractions in the underlying tissue. The belt has various settings, allowing users to adjust the frequency of impulses. Depending on the setting, the electrodes send out 10 to 120 impulses per second, exciting the nerves and causing the muscles to twitch. Although the company advises consumers that the results are subjective in regards to the device's ability to increase muscle tone, the company claims that some results may occur after the first session. The system includes an eating plan that may help reduce body fat, resulting in a thinner body shape.
Considerations
The Contour website warns that their electronic muscle toner may cause some initial muscle soreness, especially when using it at the higher intensity settings. Columbia University warns that evidence does not exist to support the claims that these devices help burn fat, sculpt or strengthen flabby muscles, although they can help rebuild the muscles of patients recovering from an illness or injury. According to the Vanderbilt University Psychology Department, the effects of muscle growth from using electronic muscle stimulators are negligible. Neither do these devices burn body fat from specific regions, such as the abdomen. While these units may burn some calories, the amount is likely not enough to make a noticeable difference.
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