Keeping it Under Wraps: Infrared body wraps burn calories, erase inches and melt the fat off your body


There’s a new type of body wrap in town, and it’s hot!

The infrared body wrap, offered at select spas and fitness facilities throughout the Valley, claims to firm skin, diminish cellulite, erase inches and melt the fat right off your body — no creams, pastes, bandages or indecent exposure necessary. You can even fall asleep with your clothes on while you burn approximately 1,400 calories in a one hour session.

How it works

The wrap burns calories, smooths skin appearance and detoxifies the body.

Skye Roberts, personal trainer and owner of Luna Fitness, a women’s-only gym in Tempe says, “During the infrared body wrap, your circulation increases by 300 percent, and you get blood flow through your heart as if you were running a marathon for an hour, which totally revs up your metabolism.”

Roberts explains that a session in an infrared body wrap heats up the lumpy, bumpy cellulite and allows the blood vessels to flow and break down the cold fat like it naturally would. When it comes to detoxifying the body, the heat of the infrared wrap creates a fever in your body, wherein the body works on flushing out all the toxins, impurities and lactic acid build up.

The perfect candidate

Roberts has been a personal trainer for more than 20 years and even with her sleek and toned physique, after she had her baby, she couldn’t eliminate the postpartum pooch.

Roberts says that she knows all there is to know about a healthy diet and proper exercise, and the only thing that eliminated the fatty pooch was completing infrared body wrap sessions.

Roberts recommends the infrared body wrap for individuals who want to jumpstart their weight loss goals, women looking to shed their pregnancy baby fat as well as those who need increased circulation to combat health conditions, such as arthritis and fibromyalgia.

“The body is designed to heal itself, but you’ve got to have the blood flow to do that, it will increase recovery time from injuries,” Roberts says. “We’ve got marathon runners coming in here post-race to remove the lactic acid, the soreness and treat the sprains and strains.”

Success stories

Roberts has had success stories from her clients when it comes to the infrared body wrap.

“We’ve been weighing and measuring women before and after [each infrared wrap] and monitoring their results,” Roberts says. “I had a lady [complete] three in a week and drop 10 pounds. I had another do two a week for a month ,and she didn’t really workout; she lost 19 inches in one month.”

She’s also had clients suffering from arthritis complete an infrared body wrap and leave with minimal to no pain.

Keep your eyes peeled

When looking for a facility that offers the infrared body wrap or any spa services, Roberts recommends ensuring that the facility is clean and sanitary and that you are comfortable discussing any fears and medical or personal concerns with the person wrapping you.

“We wipe the bed and the silicone pads down with sanitizer,” Roberts says. “We use a fresh sheet and a blanket to cover you with every single session. We are also a women’s only facility to ensure that our members are comfortable discussing any issues that may affect their health.”

Proceed with caution

There are certain people who should not get an infrared body wrap; this includes pregnant women, type one diabetics or diabetics taking insulin, or people with diseases such as multiple sclerosis because heat exacerbates the symptoms.

The client must take out any piercings between the knees and the breasts prior to the wrap. Roberts also cautions against using the machine if you have metal screws, rods, plates or implants for joints.

“We want people to be cautious if they have metal implants, there are certain titanium alloys that don’t heat up,” Roberts says. “Just check with your doctor first, because once the metal heats up there’s no cooling it down quick.”

At Luna Fitness, infrared body wraps are $75 for non-members; gym members are eligible to receive specials and discounts, and occasionally you’ll find a Groupon for the wraps as well.

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For more information about the infrared body wraps found at Luna Fitness:

Luna Fitness
975 E. Elliot Rd., Tempe
(480) 522-2490
lunafitnessoftempe.com

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Pros and Cons of Infrared Body Wraps

Benefits:

  • Burn up to 1,400 calories in just one treatment
  • Cellular detoxification
  • Increase blood circulation
  • Reduce muscle stiffness
  • Lose inches, weight, cellulite

Drawbacks:

  • You can’t receive the wrap if you have the following medical conditions:
  1. Type 1 diabetes
  2. Pregnancy
  3. Multiple sclerosis
  4. Metal implants (please check with your doctor)
  • You cannot receive more than one laser treatment in a day, which includes tanning and laser hair removal. This can produce skin burns. Separate the treatments by a day.
  • Don’t think you can beat the system by receiving an infrared body wrap at one facility and then get another at another facility. This is hazardous to your health and ultimately can cook your insides.
  • Hydrate yourself prior. This depends on your current diet and exercise regimen. You may see results after the second treatment rather than immediately after the first.
  • Though you don’t have to regularly exercise or stick to a specific diet to see results, doing so will improve your chances of maintaining the results after the body wrap.

Source: Skye Roberts, owner of Tempe-based Luna Fitness


What It Did For Me:

We’ve all heard of those body wraps where you take your clothes off; they smear a paste on your skin and wrap you up in bandages so you look like a mummy. I declined at bearing all to a salon attendant who didn’t even know my name, but I agreed to try the infrared body wrap because I was able to leave my clothes on during the wrap and read my book without getting detoxifying mineral clay all over it.

Before the body wrap, I filled out health and liability forms, then was weighed and measured to gauge the results of the infrared wrap on my body. I had the option to watch a DVD, read my book or fall asleep, and with the warmth of the wrap I was dozing off in minutes.

All wrapped up in the silicone heating pads and blankets, I was warm, comfortable and relaxed. The small fan on the table kept my face cool and sweat free while the rest of my body was becoming drenched. After the wrap, my skin felt firmer, and overall I felt revitalized; I couldn’t wait to know my results!

I did interval training on the elliptical machine for 20 minutes post wrap, and then I was weighed and measured. I was shocked when I got on the scale and gained a pound! The trainer said if I weighed and measured myself the next day I would see a difference.

Sure enough, the next day I weighed in and lost three pounds (this included the post-wrap pound I gained). Then I measured my waist, hips and thighs and lost a total of four inches. Combining a regular workout and healthy diet with the infrared wrap would supplement and most likely improve the results.

Scottsdale Living Magazine Winter 2012