Article: Fab Abs/ If you want 'washboard' abs, don't look to those 'no-sweat' belts. There isn't a shortcut to getting in shape.

The Federal Trade Commission had bad news last month for couch potatoes everywhere: Electronic abdominal exercise belts, the agency warned, will not transform abs of jelly into abs of steel.

The FTC filed complaints in federal district court against the marketers of three widely advertised ab belts, which use electrical stimulation to supposedly improve abdominal strength. The FTC said such claims as "Now you can get rock hard abs with no sweat" and "30 percent more effective than normal exercise" are false advertising.

"The electrical stimulation, that's just mass marketing catering to the American desire of 'I want it now with no effort,'" says Tim Murray, a personal trainer at the YMCA in ...

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