You’re absolutely right about the certification issue of Chinese equipment. Here’s something to consider: many of the devices from AliExpress are aimed primarily at a domestic market and that includes all the hand held devices which you don’t see on Amazon. There’s stuff like laser blood irradiation, for example, that you can’t even begin to properly market here without a ton of headaches and restrictions and liability issues.
But… pretty much all the “domestic” FCC certified electronics used, say, at an American medspa, like the EMS sculpt in the Byrdie article, ALSO came from China, indirectly that is. Some US distributor bought them in bulk on AliBaba and slapped his logo on them, and had them undergo whatever processes they need to be FCC certified and not cause problems here. Once that product undergoes that process the chinese manufacturer applies the same safety standards to all the the units they produce which they plan to sell in America. And anyone can buy these units direct from the manufacturer on AliBaba. The Minimum Order Quantity depending on the price of the product can be as little as ONE — obviously if you buy a single unit you get quoted a higher price per unit than it you buy in bulk. Then you have to pay for shipping but it’s still much cheaper than buying them from the retailer aka the US middleman, who needs high margins to make his whole enterprise worth it.
I’ll try to see if I can find that device for illustrative purposes.
I find this whole thread ridiculous. Do you actually think that building a few more ounces of ab muscles will give you some abs to brag about? You already have abs. You can’t see them because of the body fat covering them. Even if you haven’t devoted much time to building ab muscles you will look pretty good if you just get rid of excess body fat. To really look good you need to get down to 10% or less body fat. That is what bodybuilders who compete do. They go on a temporary diet to get “shredded” which means they get down to less than 10% body fat which is probably not healthy.
So, what is the actual point of the machine? To lose body fat or to build muscles?
If you want to see your abs, and they will be more impressive than you think, just go on a stricter diet and lose the abdominal fat.
These devices to lose belly fat have been around for many decades in one form or another. People have always looked for solutions that don’t involve any work on their part.
And that folks is the end of today’s rant.
It’s kinda absurd that Bryan is using one of those infomercial machines for toning his abs, when as you say, there is no spot fat removal and that requires a 10% BF.
I don’t have a TV so I have no idea if the Emsculpt type devices are on infomercials, and you are right to be skeptical, as I feel skepticism with any product or drug is always warranted.
Or even using an electric toothbrush vs. manual toothbrush.
In all these cases it would seem to make the process / time investment of something that you need to do, more productive. If a device such as an Emscuplt, if cheap enough, can replace a portion of my existing weight lifting or resistance exercise routine with something more productive, then I’m interested in it (as weight lifting and resistance exercise is probably my least enjoyable activity (I’d much rather be out mountain bike riding, kayaking, rock climbing, etc.).
The reviews and ratings by people seem to suggest it is effective at doing what it claims; providing some significant workout of certain sets of muscles. But, i’ve not read any independent research on these types of devices or the processes / mechanisms by which they work, but will definitely do so as part of the review process.
My spider senses suggest to me it is a scam, the wikipedia article is weird, and all the reddit posts are just to the brand’s subreddit. You should see a lot of people discussing it on fitness subreddits if it was actually good. Electric toothbrushes seem to be better and take the same time. Blood flow restriction training is legit afaik. You could probably find a way to do a very small amount of training that will be good for your goals. It’s also possible to simply use steroids or other exogenous compounds which will increase muscle growth…with its risks.
First, there is no reason to have ab muscles beyond what is needed for basic core strength and posture except for vanity. Ordinary abs will make other people envious and people will think you have really done some exercises when all you really did was lose some belly fat.
“Everyone has abdominal muscles, but they are only visible when body fat is low enough.”
Interesting compilation of facts applied historical human conditions.
But not taking into account that scientific advancements are in any ways increasingly exponential in nature and “longevity escape velocity” is basically whether once’s on health/state will still be ok enough to intercept those future advances.
So shifting ones “biological age” by a decade or two or even just a few years could really make all the difference.
Well, maybe if you are doing all these heroic interventions, you can change some of the constants in the Gompertz equation. I changed the constant in the denominator of the exponent of the exponent to get these curves.
I have no wish to exceed 90–I could not afford to live that long even if I wanted to! Eighty-five, maybe. What I want is to remain relatively healthy, vital, independent, and decent looking until I suddenly drop dead. But by some metrics I am aging right on schedule–got presbyopia at 43, menopause in the early 50s (this might have something to do with dietary and or bodyfat, though), and I suspect that I have lost about an inch in height although I haven’t had this confirmed yet. I’m starting to see a bit of bone loss in my jaw, and so on. Overall, I can’t complain. People say nice things. They have no clue how much I do and for how long I have been doing it to look like I do.
But I’m not looking forward to an accelerated rate of decline from 60-70, even more accelerated from 70-80 and beyond. I wish there were a way to avoid that.
That decline that you are afraid of may not start at 60. All depends on you. I’m 68 and I didn’t have accelerated rate of decline after 60. At 60 I didn’t feel much different from my 50. Today I don’t feel much different from my 60. My mother is 2 months short of 91. Her gradual physical (not mental) decline started at 80. She still lives independently and does her own grocery shopping. I know for sure that she plans to live much longer. She takes rapamycin and other supplements with enthusiasm. All her friends are 10-15 years younger. It could be natural that we may easily last till 100 if we take good care of ourselves.
Just say as a thought experiment that partial reprogramming works in humans, a whole range of next gen CRISPR treatments, other gene therabipies etc, etc, etc come online in 10-15 years (that are affordable and safe) such that they reverse your “biological age” by say 20 years
And then after another 10-15 years you get access to even better therapies that give you another 25-30 years rejuvenation
In this thought experiment would you like go become say a 100 year old with a 55 years olds body, cognition and health?
What about 110 years with the body, cognition and health of a 35 year old?
Could you list the ten steps? I’m not a twitter user. I am guessing they will be eat less, exercise more, lower stress, better sleep, but that’s only four.
I have the vertical lines but not the horizontal ones.
I start looking like Cruella De Ville (from the original animated movie) with the cheekbones and chin sharp enough to cut paper when my body fat gets really low (14%-ish for me). And with my BMI of around 18.5 I really can’t afford to lose much so I’m focusing on recomposition rather than weight loss.
Interesting. In the theme of thought experiments. Let’s flip that. Say hypothetically that each of 1-4 in that list go really, really badly the next 3 years, would you recommend to your friends and loved ones that they say goodbye to their lives?
The contrapositive would be this-- if life becomes very difficult and/or painful, it is not worth engaging in elaborate interventions to hypothetically extend one’s life. I’d probably agree with that.
That is a very different thing from suggesting that people kill themselves.
Most people do not look forward to death, but they are constantly engaging in self-destructive behaviors that hasten their demise. By 2050 60-80% of us in the USA are projected to be obese.
Do you know of any interventions to keep the ribcage and pelvis from expanding with age? This is something that happens without gaining weight. That’s the only thing that distresses me with the current state of my body. Everything else is fine.
Where are all the wasp-waisted 70 year olds? I’ve never seen one.
