Entertainment

MEN WHO WANT MUSCLES OPT FOR LIPOSUCTION

Try as he might, personal trainer Aaron couldn’t get a six-pack. Even with great eating habits, routine cardiovascular workouts and daily abdominal exercises, genes just weren’t on his side.

“I wasn’t overweight, but I had these little pockets of nastiness on my belly. And even as a trainer, it’s hard to target that area and they weren’t going away,” says the 38-year-old.

So to get the fab abs he’d been striving for, Aaron went under the knife.

“I had lipostructure to get rid of the bits of fat on my stomach,” he says. “Afterward, it definitely looked like I had the muscle I couldn’t get from working out. I have no fat anywhere now.”

Plastic surgery and obsessive primping used to be the sole province of beach babes and trophy wives. But now, it seems that now guys have gotten in on the act, too.

A new procedure called Vaser High Definition Lipostructure promises to deliver swoon-worthy definition to guys who are already in decent shape.

Dubbed the “minute makeover for men,” lipostructure consists of a doctor using a pencil-thin utensil to remove fat from certain areas of the body. Some fat is left in other areas to create the appearance of muscle, like a six-pack. It’s supposedly quick and easy, costs between $6,000 and $9,000 and is catching on rather quickly.

“This trend of finite sculpting is, without doubt, becoming more and more popular,” says Paul Frank, a plastic surgeon in New York.

“About 50 percent of my clients are men and the ones who get the best results from lipostructure are the guys who are in good shape to begin with.”

In fact, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgery, there’s been a 16 percent increase in the number of men opting for aesthetic surgery in recent years.

Phillip works out regularly and is in good shape. He had lipostructure performed on the most popular problem area – his abs.

“I worked out hard four days a week to try and get that six-pack I used to have in my twenties, but the older I get the harder it is,” says the 39 year old.

That’s when the idea of sculpting surgery sparked his interest.

“It chiseled away the extra fat in my lower back and stomach that I couldn’t get rid of otherwise. And the best part is, it’s really not that serious a surgery.”

However simple it sounds, don’t be mistaken – lipostructure is still surgery.

But doctors claim it’s easier, less invasive and less risky than traditional liposuction, which takes a number of hours, requires weeks of recovery and has side effects that include swelling and scarring.

“Lipostructure is much less intense than traditional liposuction because the fatty tissue in the area is broken up before it’s removed, making the procedure much gentler,” says Michael Nagy, a doctor who performs the procedure regularly on men.

“The concept is more advanced because the utensils are much thinner, we liquefy the fat before sucking it out and we use a local anaesthetic,” he says.

“This all lessens the post-operative pain and bruising, and generally gets people back to work within a few days.”

Michael, a 36-year-old Manhattanite, also had it done and now has defined abs like he’s never had before.

“I have a visible six-pack and it looks excellent. No one could ever tell it wasn’t a result of hard work and eating right. I just looks so natural,” he says. “And I was back at work four days later.”

With so little recovery time and natural-looking results, it’s no surprise most men choose to be mute when it comes to ‘fessing up to their surgery.

“It’s embarrassing for anyone to admit they have fat on their bodies, let alone tell people they had it removed so they look muscular,” says Aaron. “Some things are just better left unsaid.”

But keep in mind that to keep the secret, you’ll have avoid physical contact for at least two weeks, during which time patients are required to wear a medical girdle to guard the area. After that, there’s only one other catch: You must hit the gym to keep up the six-pack.

“It’s not a magic pill and after you take it you can totally stop working out,” says Phillip. “You have to maintain it, but the good thing is when you see you’ve already got the abs you want, it makes exercising much more motivating.”

marina.vataj@nypost.com