# electrical exercise **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2001, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-exercise/83892 "2001-09-26T11:51:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![geepee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ebca7d/32.png) [@geepee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geepee)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-exercise/83892/1 "2001-09-26T11:51:47Z")
hmm i’ve always wondered if those electric body toners actually work , where you stick a few pads on and muscles are repeatedly exerted , reason is i do cycle about 4 miles to work daily but my life got busier so i started driving to work instead and i started seeing the odd bulge appear on my usually firm gut , anybody have any experience or know about these body toners? are they fake to entice the lazier person inside us all or anybody have some good results? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-exercise/83892/2 "2001-09-26T12:38:02Z")
They really do work. And the result is measurable. Try this: Weigh yourself on a scale with a readability of 1 gram. (Note that a scale of this accuracy and resolution might be hard to find.) Then take five $20 bills out of your wallet and send it to the P.O. box advertised on TV. Put your wallet back in your pocket and weigh yourself again… you should see a weight reduction of about 5 grams. Guaranteed. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-exercise/83892/3 "2001-09-26T13:02:56Z")
And don’t ever go to an ATM machine or a bank. That is one of the fastest ways to gain weight. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-exercise/83892/4 "2001-09-26T13:49:37Z")
Channel 9 news here in the Twin Cities reported on a study at the University of Minnesota where they took about a dozen students and subjected them to 45 minute sessions several times a week for several months in lieu of actual exercise. No measureable effect other than acquisition of a distinct dislike of being shocked. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-exercise/83892/5 "2001-09-26T14:17:09Z")
Well, there is a thing called a “TENS” unit, but it’s not for exercise, it’s for pain relief. [http://www.spineuniversity.com/faqs/pt2/pt2\_tens.html](http://www.spineuniversity.com/faqs/pt2/pt2_tens.html) > [@](#): > > TENS is an abbreviation for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. > > This treatment stimulates nerves by sending an electrical current gently through your skin…Electrical stimulation can ease pain by sending impulses that are felt instead of pain. Two respected scientists discovered a theory, called the Gate Theory. This theory says that when you feel a sensation other than pain, like rubbing, massage, or even a mild electrical impulse, your spinal column will actually “close the gate” and not let pain impulses pass to the brain. In the case of electrical stimulation, the electrical impulses speed their way across the skin and on to the central nervous system much faster than pain. By getting there first, the electrical information “closes the gate” to pain, blocking its passage to the brain. Once the pain eases, muscles that are in spasm begin to relax, letting you move and exercise with less discomfort. Other settings on the unit can be used to help your body release endorphins. These are natural chemicals formed within your body that behave like a strong drug in reducing the perception of pain for up to eight hours at a time. They use them for sports therapy, chronic back pain, physical rehabilitation, etc. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-exercise/83892/6 "2001-09-26T15:29:41Z")
These things used to be sold back on the 50’s and 60’s. I thought that had been outlawed by FDA. I guess they found a way around that. ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-exercise/83892/7 "2001-09-26T15:33:10Z")
Sure, they exercise your muscles, but not any more than if you made those tiny movements yourself. If you cranked up the juice enough to actually build muscle mass, it would probably pull a tendon, or break a bone, given the lack of control and coordination compared to when you move them. Plus, you’d have sore muscles, etc. just as if you’d moved them yourself. Arjuna34 ---
**Author:** ![geepee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ebca7d/32.png) [@geepee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geepee)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-exercise/83892/8 "2001-09-26T16:07:43Z")
ah thanks for the input i’ve always been a bit cynical about such things that are too good to be true but then friends say i was too cynical , thanks anyhow