He'd bent down to pick up a sock. That's all it took.
I heard the sound he makes. Half a groan, half a swear word. Then nothing.
When I got upstairs he was on his side on the carpet, one hand on the bed frame, not moving.
Our grandson Max had followed me up. He's four. He stood in the doorway and asked, "Is Grandpa broken?"
Bill laughed so Max wouldn't be scared. It took him forty minutes to get off that floor.
Bill is 55. His back locks if he bends wrong. His knees crack going down the stairs.
He isn't lazy. He used to coach Little League and mow two lawns on a Saturday. His body just stopped letting him do things.
He'd tried everything, and everything hurt
The gym. Membership canceled after the third injury.
Resistance bands. In a drawer somewhere.
The ab roller. Lasted two days before his back gave out.
Every one of them asked him to bend, kneel or lift. That's the exact thing his back won't do.
That night, after Max went home, I sat up in bed with my phone and went looking for something that didn't.
So I ordered it without asking him
I found a kit you strap on while you sit. Abs, arms, thighs and calves at once, in 20 minutes. No bending, no kneeling.
I read the one-star reviews first. People said theirs only tingled. I figured if it tingled, I'd send it back.
When the box came, I carried it in while he was on the couch with his coffee. You saw that part.
I made him a deal. Wear it for 20 minutes during the evening news. If he hated it, I'd return it myself.
See what was in the box"Okay. That was something."
He strapped it on in the living room. Belt around his stomach, bands on both arms, both thighs and both calves.
He sat down, didn't bend once, and pressed start on a low level with his eyebrows already up.
The arm bands grabbed first. Then his thighs. He looked at me like I'd plugged him into the wall.
The belt took a minute. I tightened it a notch and misted the pads with the spray from the box. Then his stomach pulled in and held.
"That's my stomach doing a sit-up," he said, "and I'm not doing it."
Twenty minutes later he took it off and said, "Okay. That was something." From Bill, that's a standing ovation.
See the belt that got a standing ovation from BillSore, and for once it wasn't his back
The next morning he came down the stairs slow, holding the rail. My heart dropped. I thought, here we go.
Then he pressed on his stomach and laughed. "My back's fine. My abs hurt. And my legs."
He was sore the next day, the good kind. The kind you get from muscles that haven't worked in years.
At 7 p.m. he was back on the couch with the belt on. I didn't say a word.
Why his old belt tingled and this made him sore
Every one of these sends a signal into your body. What matters is which nerve it reaches.
SKINFATMUSCLE
Signal stops in the skin
Muscle stays still
A TENS unit is built for pain. It talks to the nerves in your skin, so you feel a buzz. Most cheap ab belts work the same way. The muscle underneath never gets the message.
Your muscle has a line. Below it, nothing happens. The signal has to reach the nerve that tells the muscle to move.
SKINFATMUSCLE
Reaches the muscle nerve
Muscle contracts
The real thing is called NMES. Physical therapists have used it for years. It sends the signal deep enough that the whole muscle squeezes, like a hard rep, while you sit still.
- 600+deep contractions in one 20-minute session, about the same as 3,000 crunches.1
- +59%strength in an 8-week study of users.2
- 94%saw visible toning in 60 days.3
That explained the stairs. His muscles had done hundreds of real reps while his back stayed flat against the couch cushion.
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He was standing up straighter
By week two he didn't need the deal anymore. He was using it every day and turning it up himself.
One morning I watched him walk out to the porch for the paper. He wasn't hunched. His shoulders were back.
Here's the part I care about most. Not one session set his back off. There's nothing to bend over, nothing to lift. He sits in his spot and the muscles do the work.
See what Bill sits in for 20 minutesHe stopped at the hall mirror
His arms felt tighter. He took the stairs without the rail one evening and didn't even notice.
Then I caught him at the mirror in the hall. Turned sideways. Then the other side.
"Something's different," he said, like he was reporting a noise in the car.
He wasn't only losing the softness. There was shape in his arms I hadn't seen since his thirties.
I'll be honest with you. Around then he also stopped eating chips in front of the TV. He said if he was doing the work, he wanted to see it.
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Max asked for a ride, and Bill said yes
The video makes him look like a cartoon action hero. He loves that. In real life Bill has a 55-year-old body. But it's firm, his arms have shape, and his legs look like they did when he coached.
His back didn't flare up once from the workouts. His knees didn't give out once. Not once in 60 days.
Two Sundays ago Max ran at him in the driveway and yelled, "Shoulders!"
Bill bent his knees, picked him up, and walked him around the yard twice.
I went inside so neither of them would see me cry.
Bill is a cartoon. These buyers are real.
I went looking for real people after Bill's day 60. These are Ape Born buyers, with the photos they posted in their own reviews.
I must admit that I thought all ab stimulators were gimmicks.
Clearly shown in the attached picture of what I was able to achieve within 3 months.
The best part is it has velcro straps and not the gel pads like others.
I came into this situation of purchasing an EMS stimulator with skepticism.
Within weeks, I noticed a visible improvement in my core definition.
I can really feel the contractions and it makes your breathe like you would in a workout.
Verified Ape Born reviews, quoted word for word. Results vary.
The belt needs to be snug. Loose, it feels weak. Tight on bare skin with a mist of the spray, it grabs.
It won't melt belly fat. It builds and tones the muscle. Food decides how much of it you see. Bill's chips had to go.
He still walks. Every evening now, around the block. This trained the muscles his back wouldn't let him train any other way.
A lot of Ape Born buyers are like Bill. Fifties and sixties, a back or knees that ended the gym. NMES reaches the nerve that moves the muscle, so you get a real contraction without loading the spine. That's why he was sore on day 2 and his back stayed quiet.
Start low, add a level or two each session, and follow the 8-week plan. Keep walking, and keep an eye on food, because food still decides what you see.
See the kit that comes with the 8-week planThe kit comes with the 8-Week Transformation Challenge built by Olympic coach Jake Platt, plus weekly live calls with Jake Platt for Elite Club members.
The box Bill rolled his eyes at
It sends the signal past the skin and fires the muscle itself, in four zones at once, while you sit. No bending, no kneeling, no sticky gel pads to replace. The Velcro straps and built-in pads last, and the 8-week program from Olympic coach Jake Platt tells you what level to run each week.
The one honest catch is time. Day 1 feels like a novelty. Day 2 is when you find out. Bill only found out because I made him a deal.
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After the video, friends kept sending me reviews. One is a wife like me. One is a 60-year-old coach who thought these were gimmicks. One says what Bill says about the straps.
"I got this for my husband he was previously using one he bought that was cheaply made. But this one is more than I expected I like the material."
"I'm 60 and been a weightlifting coach, personal trainer, as well as a strength and conditioning coach for 35 years. (Former competitive lifter too.) At my age, I still like to experiment with things like supplements and equipment on myself. I must admit that I thought all ab stimulators were gimmicks. I purchased this and have been using it for 6 months. To my pleasant surprise, it has amazingly helped with chiseling up my core even more."
"I did not have high expectations when I ordered this but I like it a lot and use it almost everyday for my lower abs. I can really feel the contractions and it makes your breathe like you would in a workout . But I can do this while reading or walking or sitting back watching tv. Quite amazing."
"This is my 8 months journey while hitting the gym along with using these stimulators. The best part is it has velcro straps and not the gel pads like others. It surely is expensive than other machines out there but is worth the price."
What people ask me about Bill
The same things I asked before I ordered it.
My husband has a bad back. Is this safe for him?
You sit or lie down, and nothing loads the spine or knees. That's why it worked for Bill. If he has a pacemaker or other implant, or a hernia, it's not for him. With a heart condition or recent surgery, ask his doctor first.
It's just a TENS unit.
A TENS unit is built for pain. It works on the nerves in your skin, so you feel a buzz. NMES reaches the nerve that moves the muscle, so the muscle squeezes. That's the difference between a tingle and being sore the next day.
Mine only tingles.
Start low and go up a level or two each session. Snug the strap so the pads sit flat on bare skin, and mist them with the spray in the box. Most people feel the arm and leg units hardest at first. The belt took Bill a few days to dial in. If it still only tingles near level 19, contact support or use the guarantee.
Does it burn belly fat?
No. It builds and tones muscle. What you eat decides how much fat sits on top of it. Anyone who promises you fat loss from a belt is selling you something else.
He won't use it. He never uses anything.
Bill said the same. It's 20 minutes on the couch during a show he was watching anyway. No getting dressed, no driving, no floor. Once he felt day 2, I never had to ask again.
Will it fit him?
The Velcro straps adjust a long way. Extension belts are available for bigger waists. If his arms or calves are on the small side, ask support for a size-adjusted band so the strap doesn't cover a pad.
What's the free Elite Club trial?
It's Ape Born's members club: video coaching and weekly live calls with Jake Platt, the member community, a lifetime warranty and monthly store credit. Your first 7 days are free. Keep it for $49.99/mo or cancel in one tap from your account.
What if it doesn't work for him?
It comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee. Stronger muscles in 60 days or it's free. That was my deal with Bill, and it's the same deal you get.
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Sixty days ago my husband was on the bedroom floor, telling our grandson he was fine.
Today he walks the block every evening and carries that same grandson on his shoulders.
All I did was order a box and make him a deal.
Why it isn't a $30 belt
- One zone
- Surface tingle
- Sticky gel pads to rebuy
- No clearance number
- Four zones at once
- Deep NMES contractions
- No pads to replace, ever
- FDA-cleared, Class II
At $124.99, used for a year, the kit works out to about 34 cents a day. His ab roller and bands cost about that much too, and they're in a drawer.
