Original Article By Sarah Kinonen
No matter how many bicep curls I manage to squeeze into my beloved Barry's Bootcamp class, the seemingly endless reps never to seem to be nearly enough to sculpt the chiseled arms of my dreams. Blame it on my incessant need for lean, long limbs-along with my admitted penchant for dessert-but regardless, regular old reps just aren't cutting it right now. Which is why news about CoolSculpting, an FDA-approved, non-invasive procedure that freezes off fat cells-up to 25 percent-causing them to die, piqued my interest. Because originally, it was developed and approved only for specific areas of the body such as the abdomen and flanks. Now, Coolsculpting for your arms is an option, too.
The CoolSculpting procedure was created by Zeltiq, a medical technology company, in 2010-and has only gained in popularity in the seven years since its inception. Now you can find the treatment offered not only at doctor's offices, but at medical spas as well-and sometimes, with a Groupon-esque code for it all. But again, it was initially only approved for use on certain body parts-arms not included. Until this week, that is, when the FDA approved its use for removal of upper arm fat.
What surprises me, though, is that there are lots of other women and men who have the same #armgoals as I do. According to Zeltiq, of the 29 million people (in the U.S. alone) who are curious about CoolSculpting, more than 14 million have "expressed concern about unwanted arm fat." Which, according to the company, makes the limbs the "third most popular area for consideration of non-invasive fat reduction." Along with the introduction of upper arm treatment comes the addition of the CoolAdvantage Petite applicator, which was created to better target small areas in just 35 minutes, rather than the typical hour or so it takes for larger areas, such as the thighs, abdomen, and flank.
But be warned: A typical CoolSculpting session will set you back about $2,000 to $4,000, so consider it an investment procedure. No word on how the cost of the arm-targeted treatment compares to its predecessors, but, if we had to ballpark it, our guess is that it probably falls within the same price range, or a smidge less, if anything.
While I'm not 100 percent convinced I'm ready to undergo something as serious as CoolSculpting (even though, as I mentioned before, it's really not that serious) to help sculpt my guns, I'll tell you one thing: I now have no excuse to curl a little harder at my next at Arms & Abs class with Barry.