Unless you’re 16 years old or a genetic marvel, you’re going to have to work really, really hard to get any kind of “pack”, let alone the kind of washboard abs you see on Olympic swimmers. Having a body like that is practically a full-time job. Well, for most. Some guys want the look so badly, without all the work, so they’re willing to go under the knife to get the job done. And, thanks to a boom in body contouring innovation (it’s the Kardashians world, we’re just living in it), plastic surgeons have finally figured out how to achieve faux-abs without the use of silicone implants, which never looked quite right. That means we could see more than just an obsessed few opting for a surgically enhanced mid-section in the near future.

A study published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal earlier this summer claimed that “abdominal contouring using selective lipo-contouring with fat grafting,” a technique developed by one of the study’s authors, New York plastic surgeon Douglas S. Steinbrech, achieves better-than-ever results. Steinbrech’s 45 clients who opted for the procedure showed “improved definition of the six-pack” at the 9-month and 1-year follow-up, with fewer complications than implants typically pose. Although, to be fair, there were still complications. “Seroma [accumulation of fluid], irregularities, infection, and seroma requiring drain placement”, are some of the issues than can arise when getting this procedure done.

While a trial like this won’t tip the scales alone, it could be a sign of what’s to come: Guys rolling up to the gym with Phelps-like stomachs, when you know for a fact they only come three times a week. As if trying to achieve the perfect body wasn’t punishing enough.

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