EMSculpt vs. truSculpt fleX: Which Is The Best Muscle Toning Treatment?

If you’ve landed here you probably have a few questions…

It takes a very long time and a lot of commitment to build muscles. When you workout, your muscles are stimulated through manual contractions. Once a threshold is reached the muscle fibers tear. This triggers your body's natural reparation process, which repairs the muscle fibers, resulting in an increase in size. 

Even though working out is great and highly encouraged the actual physical motion can now be replicated with technology. 

And to nobody's surprise, technology can achieve the same thing but faster and much, much more effectively. 

What is a Muscle Toning Treatment?

The EMSculpt and truSculpt fleX are both FDA approved muscle sculpting treatments administered to tone muscle. 

Both are non-invasive procedures, require zero incisions or injections, and result in no downtime at all, just muscle soreness. 

How Do Muscle Toning Treatments Work?

With muscle toning treatments there is no strain on ligaments, bones and joints meaning that the body doesn't need to produce energy. This means there is significantly less lactic acid build up, which is also why there is limited soreness post-treatment. 

In many ways it's bypassing the body's natural function and thus eliminating the related side effects while also being more effective. 

Moreover, results can be seen immediately for both treatments. They can both be used to target specific, hard to reach areas and drastically increase the results you would get from going to the gym.

However, although these two treatments can help you achieve the same goals, they use very different mechanisms. 

What is EMSculpt Muscle Toning?

EMSculpt muscle toning is one of the first and most popular treatments. Not only does it add muscle mass to targeted areas, but it also diminishes fat cells in the area. 

However because of its 2-in-1 approach to shaping the body, it is not as effective as treatments specifically created for fat loss and gaining muscle.

How Does EMSculpt Work?

The EMSculpt device delivers electromagnetic energy to muscles being treated causing contractions in a supra-maximal fashion during each 30 minute session.

In other words, the machine causes muscles in an area to contract and experience more stimulation than would be possible with a manual workout. As a result, muscle is built while also allowing for fat reduction and body contouring. 

Pros of the EMSculpt

Studies have shown that the EMSculpt can help patients loose up to 20% in fat and gain 15% in muscle mass per targeted area. 

It also has no side effects or downtime.

Cons of the EMSculpt

While the EMSculpt successfully activates motor neurons, there is no specific focal point of the stimulation. This means that it is less targeted, and as such, less effective at targeting specific muscle fibers. 

Due to the electromagnetic stimulation technology being used the muscles can only be stimulated in one direction (i.e. it doesn't twist and turn the muscle like an oblique crunch, it just stimulates muscles in a linear fashion.)

This means that the EMSculpt doesn't stimulate the muscle from end to end and only has one mode, whereas the fleX has three.

How Much Does EMSculpt Cost?

The EMSculpt is very expensive, and can range upwards of $5000 for a full treatment, which will also consist of several EMSculpt sessions. Furthermore, only 2 areas can be treated at once.

What Does the truSculpt fleX Do?

The fleX, on the other hand, uses Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) energy to specifically target muscles and force algorithm controlled muscle contractions by way of electrical currents.

Each fleX session is the equivalent of 54,000 repetitions per muscle group targeted. That's a lot of repetitions! In fact, more than twice as many as the EMSculpt.

A full fleX treatment yields the results of 3-6 months of consistent High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) or personal trainer sessions.

How Does truSculpt fleX Work?

The fleX process allows for very specific muscle fibers to be targeted. In fact up to eight muscle groups can be targeted in a single session. 

Unlike the EMSculpt, the truSculpt fleX is best for individuals who are relatively lean, but results can be achieved regardless.

The fleX was explicitly designed to help increase muscle mass, unlike the EMSculpt which also serves to burn fat. 

However, Cutera also makes the truSculpt iD, which is a more effective non-surgical body sculpting treatment.

Pros of the fleX

The fleX uses multi-directional muscle stimulation, which allows for more authentic replication of muscle and strength training. This leads to significant gains in muscle thickness, size and mass. 

There are also three unique treatment modes: 

• prep mode (for those that don't work out), 
• tone mode.
• sculpt mode. 

A package of 6 sessions will include 2 of each and a package of 4 will include the latter two.

Furthermore, up to 8 areas can be treated in a single session and results are sustained for 3 months, and they will continue to improve if you sign up for a fleX maintenance membership program or workout manually.

Cons of the fleX

The truSculpt fleX is a newer machine, which means it can be harder to find a provider. 

Not all medical practices are willing to dish out hundreds of thousands of dollars on additional equipment, especially when they may already have a CoolSculpting, or EMSculpt device.

Is truSculpt fleX or EMSculpt Better?

Choosing between the truSculpt fleX vs. EMSculpt is hard, because they're both pioneers in muscle toning technology. They are both able to replicate muscle hypertrophy more effectively than manual strength training as you're not limited by your body's point of exhaustion.

However the fleX uses the most recent advancements and its technological developments have significantly improved the efficacy of this type of treatment. Its use of MonoPolar RadioFrequency (RF) energy allows for the most targeted muscle stimulation ever seen. 

The EMSculpt is good but wasn't designed for the sole purpose of muscle mass increase and its use of electromagnetic stimulation simply isn't as effective. An EMSculpt treatment is the equivalent of 24,000 repetitions, whereas a fleX treatment is equivalent to 54,000 repetitions.

For those looking to remove fat while adding increased strength and muscle definition the EMSculpt is not a bad choice. There are also other options out there for fat removal like SculpSure or truSculpt iD.

However if you want both less fat and more muscle the iD + fleX combination, called the truBody Package, is probably your best bet.

On average the EMSculpt increases muscle mass by 16% and reduces fat by 20%. Whereas the iD leads to 24% in fat reduction and the fleX leads to a 33% gain in muscle mass.  

Is truSculpt fleX More Expensive?

The flex usually consists of 4 treatments, costing around $500-$800 per session. When fleX sessions are bought in packages of 4 or 6 the cost is reduced. Furthermore opting for the truBody Bundle will lead to even more discounts.

So overall the truBody Bundle will be cheaper than the EMSculpt and lead to better results.

If you're interested in reshaping your body, then come into Clique Med Spa for a free consultation where we can create a personalized treatment plan for you and your goals.