Could you stomach a £3,000 summer tum-over?
A new machine promises to do the same for your abs as 20,000 sit-ups — in just half an hour. So how does it work, and does it really give you a six-pack . . .
THE rot must have set in with David Gandy, that floppy- haired Adonis who burst on the scene a few years back in a vaguely pornographic aftershave advert.
Pouting and bronzed, the 39-yearold Essex boy demonstrated, for perhaps the first time in modern history, that a british man can look good on the beach. Even when wearing a pair of brilliant-white budgie smugglers.
Things then got worse with the rise of Love Island, the strangely addictive hit TV programme that seems to be at least partly based on the premise that male self-worth revolves around a decent ‘six-pack’.
finally, just as the nation’s chipscoffing men were booking summer holidays, we were treated to the sight of the absurdly buff movie star Jude Law, 46, visiting the seaside.
What a figure Law cut, wearing tiny swimming trunks and affecting a look of obscene smugness as he swaggered past a cabal of bikini-clad lovelies, in viral photographs taken on the set of his upcoming television series, The New Pope.
What a washboard stomach, for a twice-married father of five! What middle-aged man wouldn’t dream of walking a mile in his flip-flops?
All of which is a roundabout way of explaining how, six weeks ago, I found myself lying on a couch in my underpants, strapped to a machine called the EmSculpt.
The venue was mallucci London, one of Chelsea’s most exclusive cosmetic surgery and beauty clinics. On my tummy, held in place by a large rubber band, was a plastic plate, shaped like a sort of oversized iron. It was connected by cables to a large control panel.
Directing proceedings was a smiling clinician called Kully. her purpose: to get my long-neglected 41-year-old upper body ready for this summer’s family beach holiday.
At the flick of a switch, Kully’s contraption whirred into action. A few seconds later, my stomach lurched, my abdomen tied itself into a knot and my guts felt like they were being pummelled by a mallet.
The peculiar and somewhat painful sensation lasted several seconds. Then stopped. Then started again. I grimaced and giggled and wished I’d eaten a smaller lunch.
FOR half an hour, things continued in this manner, during which time my deepest stomach muscles were repeatedly wrenched into strange and uncomfortable contortions. The spasms were severe, involuntary and mildly terrifying.
I’m tempted to compare them to contractions which herald the early stages of childbirth, but I fear female readers — including my wife — might raise a stink. So I won’t. Suffice it to say, this doesn’t tickle.
but no pain, no gain. for the EmSculpt is a machine designed to fulfil an extraordinary purpose: it has been created to give users, young and old, a zero-effort six-pack.
The whole thing employs the same technology as an mrI machine. That iron- shaped plate, strapped to my belly, fired electromagnetic pulses deep into my abdomen.
Apparently, they activated motor neurons, which forced every single muscle to suddenly tighten, more vigorously than you could possibly achieve in the gym.
According to the manufacturer, a Czech firm called bTL, a single, 30minute session on this device will make your abs perform the equivalent of no fewer than 20,000 sit-ups.
The idea behind all this isn’t exactly new — you’ve probably seen vaguely similar devices, with names like
Slendertone, advertised on late-night TV infomercials since the Nineties. however, the old-fashioned devices use relatively tiny electric (rather than electromagnetic) pulses, which make your muscles merely twitch.
The EmSculpt, which is so severe it needs to be handled by a trained physician, is exponentially more powerful. Or, as Kully puts it: ‘Those things are pellet guns. This is like firing a bazooka.’
According to scientists, it works, too. Clinical studies found four sessions over a two-week period can reduce tummy fat by 19 per cent, increase muscles in size by 16 per cent and cause ‘average waist reduction’ of 4 cm in men and women.
A sheaf of before-and-after photos, provided by bTL, suggest that the mild discomfort patients suffer will shrink paunches, add definition and reveal a couple of ribs.
The thing only launched last year (it’s now in 15 clinics in the UK), but already boasts an array of glamorous celebrity fans, led by 44-year- old hollywood actress Drew barrymore. She’s described it as a ‘game changer’ which has allowed her to venture out in a bikini once more after becoming a mother.
‘I love exercising, but after two kids I kept getting injured because I just did not have a core. my midsection was like a fish tank,’ she has said.
‘A little more than a month after treatment, I can see the results and can tell the difference in work-outs.’
There is, however, a catch: like all modish beauty treatments, EmSculpt costs a pretty penny. In fact, its price
is astronomical: an initial course of four treatments will set you back just shy of £3,000, while topup sessions, recommended every subsequent six months or so, cost another £700.
You can buy a decent family beach holiday for less, with enough change to invest in some Hawaiian shirts to cover that beer belly.
My mission, therefore, was to answer a simple question: is this extortionate (but revolutionary) new approach really worth it?
A glib answer would, of course, be that it depends how rich you are. But having gone through the full EMSculpt process, with results you can see on this page, I would offer a more nuanced assessment. Let’s start with a point of fact: going to the gym also costs money (£32 per month is the UK average, but in London you’re looking at two or three times as much). It then requires hard work, commitment and plenty of free time.
Exercising stomach muscles is also notoriously tricky. As most personal trainers will tell you, the vast majority of gym punters get sit- ups and other crunchy exercises wrong.
Even when the technical stuff is done correctly, our body then allows muscles to be held at their highest level of natural tension, known in the trade as ‘maximal voluntary contraction’, for only a split second. A blast from the EMSculpt will, by contrast, override the body’s natural systems to generate something known as a ‘supermaximal’ contraction. And, whether you like it or not, the machine makes you hold each one for several seconds.
In other words, this device will build up those precious abs.
However, as any bodybuilder will explain, to achieve a six-pack, you also need your abs to be covered with very little stomach fat.
Going on a strict diet may help, but it’s impossible to be sure exactly what part of your body will actually lose weight.
The EMSculpt can also solve this problem: it targets a specific area, forcing localised muscles to dramatically remodel and strengthen. That breaks down nearby fat cells and should make you lose fat in the areas that most need it.
That’s the theory, at least. So, hoping to chart a transformation, Kully photographed my torso from every angle. Measurements of my waist, stomach and chest were also taken.
The clinic’s proprietor, Patrick Mallucci, talked me through the treatment. Muscle growth would occur between two and four weeks after my visits, he said. Fat reduction would ensue a couple of weeks later.
Apparently, the machine works best on patients who are already in reasonable shape. While I’m not much of a gym-goer, thanks in part to the demands of three small children, a couple of games of tennis a week, plus regular outings for my village cricket team, apparently mean I fit the bill.
‘If you’re podgy, the EMSculpt won’t be much good for you,’ is how he put it. ‘For those clients, we might first recommend a coolsculpting treatment [ a noninvasive alternative to liposuction] to debulk, and then use this to achieve a final polish.’
The device can also be used to improve your buttocks, while versions that activate your biceps and leg muscles are said to be under development.
Its maker, BTL, already has a range of other products on the market using similar technologies. As for Patrick Mallucci, he turns out to be quite the visionary, with a career-long interest in perfecting the human form.
In fact, you may recognise his handsome frame from frequent TV appearances as an expert talking head.
A top plastic surgeon who spent 15 years as an NHS consultant, he offers a range of clinical and nonclinical cosmetic procedures, including the EMSculpt, at his discreet private clinic in a mews near London’s Brompton Cross.
MALLUCCI says the EMSculpt is one of the few treatments on offer in his upscale establishment that’s used by equal numbers of men and women (when about 90 per cent of his client base is female).
He blames its cost on each machine retailing for more than your average British house, and needing expensive maintenance.
‘Some people spend their cash on cars or watches, but others see something like this and say, no, let’s invest it in me,’ he says.
Why not, indeed? For men have been chasing the six-pack for as long as civilisation. A recent BBC Radio 4 programme traced the sixpack back to Ancient Greece, where marble sculptures had chiselled stomachs through the art of the Renaissance (on Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling, Adam has a beefcake stomach).
The Victorians were fans, too: in 1901, at the Royal Albert Hall, a Great Competition of bodybuilding was held to find the era’s greatest abdominals. Judges included Arthur Conan Doyle.
As you can see, my pursuit of this historic goal achieved at least partial success. And there were some unexpected side- effects: within a few days, my core felt stronger, leading to welcome sporting improvements.
On the cricket pitch, my batting average crept up (from 26.43 last year to 37.17 this season, in case you’re wondering). On the tennis court, my balance improved.
Then there’s the matter of how I look. While my stomach may never be a proper washboard, it does now boast significantly improved definition. My love handles have shrunk, too, and I can even see a few previously invisible ribs.
A return to Mallucci’s clinic, six weeks after my final treatment, confirms my chest has gained 1 cm in muscle, while I’ve lost 3 cm from both my waist and belly.
So I’ll be taking my shirt off this summer. When your stomach cost £3,000, can you afford not to?
EmSculpt is available at mallucci london. For optimal results, four 30-minute treatment sessions over two weeks are recommended. Best results will be seen after three months, with continued improvement over six months. prices start at £3,000 for four treatments (mallucci-london.com).