For most of the last decade the "Six Pack" has been shorthand for being fit, as in 7-figure-salary-worthy-celebrity-fit. But now--thanks to Michelle Obama, Jennifer Aniston and Kelly Ripa (three of the top-5 arm-icons named by women seeking arm-lifts from plastic surgeons)--arms are the new abs. Upper-arm lift procedures have shot up 4,378 percent over the past decade, according to a new report from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Not everyone can raise their arms in public like Michelle Obama, pictured in The New York Post.Last year about 15,000 women (and a few men) had liposuction of the upper arms to remove fat from around muscles, or a surgical procedure called brachioplasty to remove flabby loose upper-arm skin--the scourge of women in evening gowns everywhere. Just a dozen years ago, only 300 people had such procedures over the course of a year.
While the growing popularity of weight-loss surgery has created legions of newly thin people with excess skin on the arms (losing 80 pounds or more can leave a lot of flesh hanging); the rise of famous women with the triceps of Adonis (yes a Greek god, not a goddess) also has a lot to do with the trend.
According to the poll commissioned by plastic surgeons, a full one-third of women want the arms of Michelle Obama, followed by Jennifer Aniston (29 percent), Jessica Biel (16), Kelly Ripa (13) and Demi Moore (11).
Perhaps shelling out $8,000 for a sculpting procedure is the fastest way to get a smokin' hot pair of "guns"--as Raphael Nadal calls his formidable biceps, triceps and deltoids. But we doubt that's how Kelly Ripa does it.
Spinners at cult spinning studio SoulCycle in Manhattan report frequent (ie. 5 days-a-week and sometimes Saturday mornings) sightings of Ripa in killer spinning classes. Let's face it, if you really want to reduce body fat there's no substitute for aerobics, sweat and tears.