Exercise Review: Vacu Power at Body D’vine, Midvale!

When I first heard the words ‘vacu power’ I had images of a space age machine rolling over my body, whilst I was wearing a space age compatible suit, sucking out any parts that I didn’t like. Then I remembered that this is a surgery called liposuction (sans space age suit) and that ‘vacu power’ probably meant something else.

BUT GUESS WHAT? I wasn’t actually too far off. The Vacu Power machine at Body D’vine in Midvale can easily be described like this, a machine (see?) on top of a treadmill. You get into a wetsuit-like half suit (SEE?) that goes over your shoulders and creates a ‘skirt’ around your middle. You step into the machine and the skirt zips in creating an airtight lock. Then you turn on the treadmill, start running/walking and the machine creates a vacuum suction that makes your legs work HARD.

Motivational material comes with the session!

This treatment is described as ‘body sculpting’ and is meant to help you lose weight and eliminate cellulite by making you exercise certain parts harder and smarter. The great thing about this treatment is that you are still increasing your fitness and doing something very active to try and achieve results (better than surgery hey?) AND you can do it while watching something on your own personal TV attached to the machine (they have a large range of DVDs at Body D’vine to keep you occupied for the 30 minutes, ‘Cher in Concert’, anyone?) All you have to do is wear your gym clothes, bring your running/walking shoes, a towel and some water. Everything else (lockers, headphones) is provided.

So does it work? While trainers will tell you that there is no way to spot reduce fat on JUST your legs, there is a whole wall of photos at Body D’vine of lovely ladies of all ages smiling large above a number- the amount of kilos and centimeters they have shed all over since starting Vacu Power. A sign the body sculpting is at work.

Random picture of attractive legs for good measure!

Personally I found this enjoyable, the 30 minutes flies by when you have your mind on something else (music, the TV etc) and you can go as hard as you feel comfortable (this is not a group workout). Each time I went I was able to go faster and I saw my fitness levels increase even over the relatively short period of 2 weeks. I felt all the normal effects of good exercise in the short term- that little extra bounce in your step- and would actually describe the whole Vacu Power experience as just a different form of exercise. If you are expecting dramatic and literal ‘vacuuming’ this isn’t for you. The staff and other clientele (mostly women) are lovely and there is a real sense of community in the place. My ONLY gripe is that it is in Midvale and the opening hours were limiting for my schedule. But this could be for you.

Find out more at the Body D’vine website – Body D’vine.

Review by Adriane Daff, super-duper famous actress and TOTAL Cher lover. 😉

Be well,

xoxo