More than likely you have read somewhere online about how fat burners, both pill form and topical lotion, aid in fat loss. I have tried both pill and topical forms over the last 2 years during my NPC Bikini competition prep. In this blog review, I will be reviewing the effectiveness of two popular topical lotions that are supposed to aid in weight/fat loss, Sweet Sweat and Steel Fit Buns of Steel and Abs of Steel lotions.
With people being more hesitant to take a pill form fat burner, topical lotions and creams that claim to help you shed some extra people are becoming more popular, and expensive.
First up is Steel Fit's Buns of Steel and Abs of Steel.
The Abs of Steel is a maximizing muscle definition cream claims to help define your abs to get that razor sharp, hard looking abs. This cream contains a thermogenic with 5% coaxel.
I used this product for a week when I was 5 weeks out in my competition prep. I would apply it before I started my workout. The consistency is thick and smells amazing. You really have to rub it in, that might take you a minute depending on how much you use. I realized quickly after my first time applying it I used too much. Oops. Go with a smaller amount, it spreads easily. I felt the thermogenic start immediately after applying it. My abs, obliques, and back instantly started heating up and my skin started getting tightening. My skin also slightly tingled and turned pink. This effect lasted throughout my entire workout, roughly one hour and 15 minutes. Due to my skin being hotter I naturally starting sweating more. It was slightly obvious to me that my skin was tighter in the areas I applied the product too as well. Would someone else notice this difference? Probably not. Overall, I was satisfied with the product. It did exactly what it said it would do. It heated my skin and tightened it. Would I pay $49.95 plus shipping for it, no. Like I mentioned I could slightly see the difference it made but anyone else looking at you will not. My favorite aspect of this product was the way it smelled and that it heated my skin up so I was able to sweat more during my lift.
The Buns of Steel is a maximum toning cream with 4% intenslim. It claims to help make your 'booty pop' with the advanced heated formula. It also says it MAY help reduce the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks.
I used this product for a week when I was 4 weeks out in my competition prep. I would apply it before I started my workout. Again, the consistency is thick and smells amazing! I would apply it to my entire rump-shaker along with my inner and outer thigh area. Within minutes of applying this product, my skin turned red, tighten, tingled, and got really hot. This product had the same effects as the Abs of Steels just much more intense. I could see quite a difference in my skin in the areas I applied it to. My skin was very tight and more red than pink. It did not hurt. It was just very obvious I applied something to my skin. The effect lasted throughout my entire workout and I was sweating something fierce! The thermogenic in this is strong. Overall, I was very impressed with this verses the Abs of Steel. I would pay $44.95 plus shipping for this product. I could see it coming in handy not just to during workouts but before photo shoots or going to the beach.
Sweet Sweat is a topical gel that improves circulation, energy, and sweating during exercise. It claims to accelerate warm-up and recovery time, targets slow-to-respond problem and injured areas while fighting muscle fatigue.
I used this product both the coconut an the original for a week when I was 3 weeks out. I would apply the gel before I started my workout along with the Sweet Sweat Waist Trimmer. The consistency is very creamy and light. It spreads easily and is gel rather than a lotion or cream. The original has basically no smell to it and the coconut smells just like coconut. I applied them to my entire core, obliques and lower back. After applying I felt nothing. There is no tingle or heating, its like you just applied a gel to your stomach. The first time I took off the waist trimmer after my workout I made the mistake of taking it off in the lobby of my gym on the tile floor, sweat went everywhere. The waist trimmer traps your sweat under it and when you remove it a pool of sweat just drops to the floor. There's no way around it, I tried. No matter how you take the waist trimmer off you will have a pool of sweat fall to the floor.
While I was performing my workout sometimes I could feel myself sweating under the waist trimmer and other times I could not, no matter, however, the pool of sweat was always there when removing the waist trimmer. As for coconut verse original, I did not notice a difference in the performance but the coconut does leave your skin feeling softer and hydrated.
Overall this product to me was so-so. I used the waist trimmer without the gels and still received the same effect with sweat. I would happily purchase the waist trimmer. The material it is made out and its comfortable design and fit are worth $29 plus shipping to me. I noticed using the over the week helped me lose water weight due to the extra sweating. The workout enhancer gels I would not purchase. I am not sure they even did anything other than the coconut making my skin soft.
Below is a picture of my core after my workout using the Sweet Sweat coconut gel and waist trimmer.