'Booty buster' banishes bulge

Sisters from Hampshire have invented the so-called ‘booty buster,’ an exercise device that works core muscles around the stomach while targeting cellulite in the bottom and thighs.

The device is shaped like a wok and has an unstable base which forces the user to work their stomach muscles to maintain balance. It contains fixed ball-like nodules which massage the bottom while the person is sitting on it.

Jenny Thorpe, 39, and Debbie Riseborough, 36, had their design prototypes tested by sports scientists at Portsmouth University and early results are said to be promising.

In order to monitor muscle activity, Dr Joanna Scurr,  from the university’s Department of Sport and Exercise Science, used a process called electromyography (EMG) which records electrical impulses that are produced every time a muscle is used. She attached small electrodes to the skin which picked up the electrical activity of the muscle underneath which were then monitored by a computer.

'The booty buster showed significantly more muscle activity than other devices on the market,' she said.