Work
out while you relax.
It
seems that, as a species, we're ever moving towards a place where we
don't have to do a thing to achieve something. Be it drone
deliveries, robot vacuum cleaners, and IFTTT recipes to remind us to
get our mothers a birthday present, we are seemingly slipping ever
closer to being the soft and doughy version of humanity as depicted
by the film Wall-E. Thankfully there is one wearable gadget that,
although requiring no effort on your part to use, actually helps to
keep you firm and thin. We review the SixPad Body Fit.
The
Body Fit from SixPad is a muscle training device that literally
sticks your your skin, stimulating your muscles via EMS. Coming
complete with its own carry case, the gadget is simply peeled off a
protective backing board, stuck with reusable gel pads to your arms,
legs, or waist, then switched on. Running from a changeable (but not
rechargeable) lithium button battery, the Body Fit then pulses
electrical waves into your muscles at 20Hz; the level at which - so
SixPad say - our muscles respond the best.
So
you just sit there, don't you? While you sit, walk, commute, cook, or
eat fatty foods, the Body Fit is pumping away, giving your muscles a
work out. The central hub of the unit (which projects further out
than the pads themselves, but still only by about a centimetre,
letting you discreetly wear it under clothing) features simple + and
– buttons, allowing you to up the intensity to your desired level,
or indeed, tolerance.
Stick
this on your biceps and whack it up to full power, and your arm will
be twitching away for about 15 minutes. The programme follows a set
cycle, with a warm up and warm down bookending the workout. Still, at
full pelt the SixPad Body Fit can fire out some very strong
sensations, and we felt our arm (and leg, and waist) tense and relax
over and over. At first this was a very strange and disconcerting
feeling, but as soon as you get used to it, and become accustomed to
the programme, you can get on with other things and put it to the
back of your mind.
The
included instructions, which also come with the carry case,
protective backing board and adjustable strap to better secure the
Body Fit in place, state that you shouldn't use the device on the
same area of your body twice in one day, so as to avoid muscle
fatigue. Believe this, please. One of our number tried it on his
thigh three times in a row and his leg ached awfully afterwards. Its
very easy to forget what your muscles are going through when being
stimulated by the Body Fit, as it really does feel like you
experienced an intensive exercise session.
Using
the device once (or twice) a day for the set programme resulted in a
battery life of about two weeks. This is pretty good considering the
size of the tiny battery, and the strength of EMS pulses, so if
you're taking it away on holiday with you, you shouldn't need to
carry a extra battery. Speaking of portability – the Body Fit is
very easy to lug around, and once inside the carry pouch it really
isn't much thicker or heavier than a twenty page paper document.
Slide it into the tablet compartment of your bag and you'll be
sorted.
While
the Body Fit has been designed by SixPad to work on your limbs and
waist muscles, their other product, the Abs Fit, is built, as you
might have guessed, for your abs. If you're a guy looking to beef up
your six pack, that's the gadget for you. Meanwhile the Body Fit is a
small, neat, easy to use contraption that – even after just a
couple of weeks of use here at Test Pit Towers – seems to be having
positive effects. Stick with your programme and exercise regularly,
and this could be of great benefit to your health routine.
£82
Available from www.amazon.co.uk