Having suffered a debilitating neck injury last summer which put me out of action for nearly two months, it’s taken me a while to get back in the swing of a regular exercise regime. And rehabilitation can take time, so I figured there wouldn't be any harm in a little fast tracking with a treatment such as Emsculpt Neo, which claims to reduce fat and increase muscle mass in just a few weeks.

Building on the foundations set by its predecessor Emsculpt, Emsculpt Neo is said to be a breakthrough treatment in non-invasive body shaping. So what's the difference between the two?

Simultaneously combining heat and magnetic energy, it is currently the world’s first and only technology that uses radio frequency and HIFEM+ (high intensity focused electromagnetic field) to non-invasively reduce fat and build muscle in both men and women. The original Emsculpt uses only HIFEM to achieve results, while the Neo also works on fat burning.

Tell me more…

Sometimes a healthy diet and regular exercise isn’t enough to create real results, and there’s no messing around with the non invasive Emculpt Neo–each treatment is equivalent to 20,000 squats or crunches.

It utilises High-Intensity Focused Electromagnetic Technology (HIFEM®) which induces supramaximal muscle contractions, not achievable through voluntary contractions alone. When exposed to these contractions, the muscle tissues are forced to adapt and respond with a deep remodelling of their inner structure, resulting in muscle building as well as permanent fat burning by apoptosis, which is how the body gets rid of cells that have been damaged beyond repair.

Loved by celebrities including Drew Barrymore and Kim Kardashian, as Emsculpt Neo builds muscle mass, results are long-lasting. However, it is important to continue with a healthy lifestyle to maintain results, with treatment top-ups if required.

The treatment has been historically used on larger areas such as the tummy and buttocks, but there’s now a smaller applicator to treat the ‘harder to burn and build’ areas such as arms and thighs, too. This is a major advancement in body shaping technology as it not only reduces unwanted fat, but actually builds and tones muscle mass in traditionally tricky areas.

The treatment 

I checked in to the Body Suite at Dr Preema’s London clinic for the treatment, which I’d heard wasn’t painful, feeling more like an intensive workout. A typical treatment takes around 30 minutes and I was booked in for five, 30 minute treatments performed weekly.

My clinician, Jessica, started by chatting to me about my goals before taking some measurements and pictures.

There is no pre-treatment preparation or downtime with Emsculpt Neo, so I’d planned to continue with my daily schedule after each session, which for a few weeks included doing the equivalent of 20,000 squats in my lunch break. Win.

It is said that you begin to feel tangible results immediately after the treatment, with positive results usually seen two to four weeks after the final session, continuing to improve for several weeks following the procedure.

Jessica was going to be working on my tummy and decided that my frame would be able to take two paddles (sometimes you’ll just have one) which were placed either side of my mid abdomen.

I settled down and made plans to distract myself with my phone while the Neo got to work. The treatment began relatively gently as Jessica eased me in by starting on a lowish setting, although apparently I got used to it fairly quickly, enabling her to increase the setting during each session.

By the fifth and final session I was breezing through on the maximum setting of 100, which most patients can manage according to Jessica, although apparently some get there quicker than others.  

Overall, the treatment is not painful and relatively comfortable, however there are a number of sensations depending on what part of the cycle the treatment is in. Thanks to the radio frequency element, the pads feel a bit hot at the start but you soon get used to that; at times it feels as though you are being winded, sometimes punched lightly in the ribs, and sometimes it just takes your breath away. It also makes you sweat and gets your thirst up–so, just like a workout, then.

Jessica told me that I may experience muscle soreness like I’d done a workout after each session. While I definitely felt hot, I personally didn’t experience any post-workout aches which was a bonus. Other than that, I was able to go back to my regime as usual.

The verdict

With a BMI of 24 (the treatment isn't appropriate for those with a BMI over 35), I was looking for a more snatched look and, perhaps unrealistically, to regain the abs I had in my 30s. It’s been 12 weeks since my last treatment, and I can’t say there’s a massive difference, but I do feel like I can see more definition in my abdomen area, and my stomach appears a little flatter, too.

I restarted doing Pilates during the treatment period, and noticed that my core felt a bit stronger than I was expecting it to, whether that was down to the treatment or not I can’t be sure.

I have a three-month post treatment review soon, so it will also be interesting to see what my new measurements and pictures look like.